Football: Hope and sadness for Jeremiah Allison

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When Jeremiah Allison of Dorsey High signs his letter of intent Wednesday, he’ll be thinking of his mother, Lucille, who has been in a coma since before Christmas after suffering a heart attack.

She raised him as a single parent. He hasn’t received any grade other than A since seventh grade. He had 63 sacks in his high school career playing end and linebacker. Every day, he visits his mother in a convalescent facility. The prognosis is not good.

Family members are helping Allison, who said he had to grow up fast without a father. And, as a 17-year-old senior, he had to make the decision on his college choice on his own.

‘She kept me humble and grounded in the church,” Allison said. “At the end of the day, she let me know it was my decision. She set a path for me to go down. I’ve been doing good so far, so there’s no need to stray away now.’

On Wednesday, Allison said he’ll think of his mother.

‘All the hard work we put in together and how we made this dream a reality and how we have more work to go,’ he said.

-- Eric Sondheimer