Taylor Cockrell was one of 53 out of the entire region to be selected as a Dallas Honoree by the National Football Foundation.  Cockrell will attend an awards banquet on April 20^th at Cowboys stadium. The committee will select one athlete to earn a 2,500 scholarship to whichever college they choose.

“It’s an honor to be selected,” Cockrell said. “I put in a lot of hard work and it’s nice to be able to be noticed.”

Cockrell was selected for the skills he possessed at his football position, placekicker. However, being an elite athlete was not the only qualification to earn the award. A potential nominee must also do well academically and be heavily involved in the community. Cockrell possesses good grades, is a member of NHS and participates in community outreach programs with his church youth group.

“I tended to think that I would be able to go to college based off athletics and being a field goal kicker but I’m getting scholarships for academics and SAT scores,” Cockrell said. “It turns out that being a strong student is helping me more than an athlete.”

Cockrell earned his talent at kicking from playing soccer.  In middle school, he decided to be the placekicker for his football team. Cockrell played on varsity all four years of his high school career with the exception of his sophomore year because Legacy did not have a varsity team at the time. Taylor’s father, James Cockrell found him a kicking trainer who Taylor has been working with for the past four years. Cockrell affirms that his parents have been very supportive in what he does both athletically and academically.

“My parents have always been very proud of me,” Cockrell said. “They have always been behind my kicking but more than that they’ve always encouraged me to do well in school.”

Cockrell was flattered by the scholarship and says it was a huge boost for his confidence. He entertains the possibilty that if an athletic college career worked out and if the NFL drafted he’d gladly take the pro career. However, he intends to put academics first.

“I’m not going to put all of my eggs in one basket,” Cockrell said. “I’m going to focus mainly on academics and if athletics works that’d be awesome. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’d definitely take it.”