Eleanor Roosevelt senior Jonathan Lopez spent his high school career protecting the quarterback, and making sure his offense got the opportunity to score the ball. However, the hard work and dedication Lopez put on the field, he translated it in the classroom.
What kept the 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive lineman focused on, and off the field was the love he has for his family.
“My motivation on and off the field is my family,” Lopez said. “So, I work hard in the classroom and on the field, but more importantly the classroom because you don’t take care of business off the field you won’t be able to take care of business on the college.”
Lopez enjoyed every moment he had with Eleanor Roosevelt, who finished the 2016 season with an 8-4 record and earned a trip to the Maryland 4A title game, and learned a lot about the game.
“My career at Eleanor Roosevelt high school as a football player was a great experience. I won a lot of games, had great memories, and I learned a lot more about the game at the high school level,” Lopez said. “I know a lot more about the game now than I did in 2013; when I started playing high school football.”
Lopez credited the Raiders coaching staff for installing the mindset of playing at your highest level and preparing for college.
“One thing I learned from my coaches was to finish every drill, rep , and play with everything you got,” Lopez said. “Some of the advice they gave me was to work, and prepare for college because the pace at the collegiate level is a lot faster than high school.”
Lopez went through the long and stressful recruiting process like every other football player across the country. At one point Lopez didn’t know which school he would go to.
“The recruiting process is a learning, an exciting, and a very stressful process. Two weeks prior to signing day, I didn’t know which school I would commit to,” Lopez said. “I had five scholarships offers, and I narrowed my choices down to two of those schools.”
After he took an official visit to Fairmont State, a Division II school in West Virginia, Lopez found his fitting.
“I chose to commit to Fairmont State this past February because it’s academics and athletics programs are very good,” Lopez said. “Prior to committing, I went on an official visit. Once I got on campus, I knew this was the place that I would want to continue my education and football career.”
Lopez is confident that he will be successful during his freshman season, and help Fairmont achieve the goal of winning a championship.
“I think I’ll bring a lot of success to this program next year,” Lopez said. “Our goal this year is to win the championship.”
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