High school quarterback Marcus Stokes, who lost his scholarship to the University of Florida for using the N-word while rapping along with a song, received a scholarship offer from HBCU Albany State. The Nease High School quarterback posted to his Twitter account announcing the offer.
“Blessed to receive my first HBCU offer to play at Albany State University!”
Blessed to reciever my first HBCU offer to play at Albany State University! @CoachQGray @ASUGoldenRamsFB @Andrew_Ivins @CoachDrafts @NeaseFTBL pic.twitter.com/5mAsS0Mv3X
— Marcus “JOKER” Stokes🃏 (@marcusstokes06) January 24, 2023
Several schools have expressed interest in the undeclared four-star QB, but the Golden Rams were the only ones to pull the trigger.
“It’s very unique. Very interesting,” Stokes’ father Kevin said over the phone. “We didn’t expect this at all.”
In addition to the offer from Albany State, Kevin said the family will take an official visit to Allen University. The private HBCU is in Columbia, South Carolina, and has been competing in Division II in athletics since the 2020-21 season.
Marcus Stokes Apologized For Using N-Word
Marcus Stokes posted to Twitter immediately following the incident in November.
“I fully accept the consequences for my actions and respect the University of Florida’s decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football,” Stokes said in a note he posted to Twitter.
By all accounts he is learning from his experience last fall, and is maturing as a young man.
BIG thank you to @JeffSims_10 and @marcusstokes06 for volunteering their time to help educate our MS/HS QB’s. Listening to Marcus take responsibility, explain consequences and tell younger guys what he’s going through had me nearly in tears. pic.twitter.com/onscqjvOmf
— Denny Thompson (@denny_thompson) December 23, 2022
That his first offer since the incident is from an HBCU will certainly turn some heads, but perhaps it’s a sign that can be adopted in the larger society. Nobody should be judged by their worst moment, especially a teenager.
Stokes as a white person should have known better. Regardless of whether he was just rapping along or whatever. When a white person says the N-word in any context it will elicit strong reactions. That’s not Stokes’ fault. But that is the reality of the country we live in and its abhorrent past and present with regard to race.
Who Is QB Marcus Stokes?
An Elite 11 finalist who also had offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Utah, Indiana, Pittsburgh, Memphis and Tulane before the incident, is a rarity at the HBCU and Division II level. But if these schools believe he’s a good young man who made a mistake, they’ll make offers.
Stokes is the 24th ranked QB in the class of 2023. During his senior season he completed 136 of 248 pass attempts (54.8 percent) for 1,867 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also ran the ball 118 times for a team-high 582 yards and 13 additional touchdowns. He’s a dual threat.
Now that early signing day is over, one of the nation’s top HS QBs is still available in @marcusstokes06.
6,216 total yards and 58 TDs as a 2 yr starter
Elite pocket presence/throwing off platform
True dual threat ability
Arm talent to push the ball down field
High FB IQ pic.twitter.com/4a3TnstxU6
— Collin Drafts (@CoachDrafts) December 23, 2022
Is Marcus Stokes The Next White HBCU Star?
Maybe this is a scenario where Stokes ends up starring on the field for an HBCU and brings about more awareness not only to the individual school, but HBCUs as a whole. Perhaps an opportunity to learn from and with his peers at an HBCU will continue to deepen his understanding of the history of the N-word and why it is still problematic to this day.
If he does go to an HBCU and graduates, his time could really shape the way he thinks about race relations in this country and maybe he decides to take an active role in working to make significant changes. The possibilities are endless if we use moments like this as opportunities.
