Donor Rewards Centennial Football Players For Off-Field Success

ROSWELL, GA — Centennial High School athletic director Jeff Burch told WSBTV he remembers when he was approached in 2018 by a family with close ties to the Knights football program. The family had an idea.

"They saw a picture on Twitter of a group of our scholar athletes and noticed while there is a large group of African American student athletes on the football team, there was a small percentage represented with our scholar athletes," Burch said.

The family wanted to do what it could to change those numbers, and the Centennial High School African American Football Scholar Athlete Scholarship was born.

The family's plan is to give $1,000,000 away each year in scholarship money that students can use as they go through college. But the money is earned with good grades.

For each semester an African American player on the Knights roster gets an A average, they will receive up to $25,000 toward college. So, each student that qualifies is able to earn $200,000 toward college over their four years in high school.

"It's not just limited to tuition only," Burch said. "This donor wants our students to have the opportunity to be debt-free out of college and have everything they need paid for."

As Burch told CBS News: "(The program is) a life-changer."

Athletes have been taking advantage of the program, and no doubt wish to offer their thanks to the donor. There is one program: one stipulation for donating the money was that the donor remain anonymous.

"It's just a gift, a blessing. People should take advantage of the gifts they are given, so thank you so much," said running back/linebacker Jordan Barbas, who graduated on Sunday and has earned money for college through the program.

Barbas continued: "It's breathtaking and such a blessing to know that's one way to help your family after they provided so much for me," Barbas said.

Evan Walker, a defensive end and recent graduate, said he has been inspired by the anonymous donor's generosity, and he hopes to make a difference in kids' lives.

"I would honestly say thank you for inspiring me to do what you do," Walker said. "That (is now) my goal in life, to give back to millions of kids every year."