Hawthorne’s Injured Quarterback Playing New Role

HAWTHORNE — Wishing he could crawl through his TV, Richard Roundtree Jr. watched the team he led to the FHSAA Rural State Championship last season play without him last month. 

Roughly 170 miles away from home, he witnessed his 1A-District 4 team dominate, 50-15, at Bradenton Bayshore, a team from Class 3A, on Sept. 18. 

Hawthorne went on to win the next two games against Williston and Wakulla, 37-0 and 28-14, respectively, but he could still only watch. 

Hawthorne High School’s junior starting quarterback has been more of a spectator since breaking his leg on the first drive against Northwestern on Sept. 10. 

“When we ran the play, we knew they were gonna blitz out,” Roundtree Jr. said. “So we tried to protect it, but we didn’t. That one play, one of the guys held my ankle, another one came over the top, and it just twisted.”

Roundtree Jr. was able to walk off the field with assistance. He got to the sideline and was ready for the trainer to tape him up, good as new. When he sat down, though, he noticed the swelling.

“And then I ended up taking my cleat off and took my sock down and it just fell,” Roundtree Jr. said about his foot. “It was just dangling.”

The pain wasn’t the problem, but he couldn’t hold back his emotions that night after seeing the state of his foot and realizing his season was most likely over. 

The injury turned out to be a broken fibula. The doctors estimated his recovery time to be three to six months after the surgery. With just under two months of the regular season remaining, Roundtree Jr.’s chances of being back on the field were slight.

“That really hit right there,” Roundtree Jr. said. “Then I ended up telling my coach, and we just got on the phone and talked about it. We talked about the mental aspect. That’s what comes with this, more than the physical. I know I’m capable of all the physical stuff. 

“I know I’m going to be able to do rehab and get back, but it was just more knowing that I can’t go out there with my brothers every day during practice and especially on Friday nights. That’s really what made it hard for me.”

The injury did more for Roundtree Jr. than just breaking his fibula. It gave him a different perspective.

“I have a new mentality now,” Roundtree Jr. said. “Don’t take no play for granted. Every play needs to be 100 percent, because you never know when it’s going to be your last play. I think that’s what I took for granted this year.”

His leadership role on the team is also changing.

Roundtree Jr., the Rural Player of the Year after throwing 2,581 yards and 30 touchdowns en route to leading the Hornets to the state title last season, has worked with his teammates on analysis. He watches game film, dissects it and helps anyone on his team learn how to respond defensively or execute completions offensively. 

“l know the whole playbook. I know how to watch film. I know how to break down defense. So if any of my quarterbacks need help watching film or knowing plays, that’s what I’m here for,” Roundtree Jr. said. 

Eighth-grader Jusiah Roundtree, Richard’s younger brother, and junior Treston Jones have taken on the quarterback position. 

Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram never doubted that Roundtree Jr. was going to show up at every opportunity.

“He’s still important to our team,” Ingram said. “He was out of school, because the doctors didn’t allow him to come back. But every day after that, he’s been at school, in all of his classes and still a phenomenal student. 


“Then, he comes out to practice every day. He wheels out to practice every single day in the hot sun.”

At practice, Roundtree Jr. is sharing the information he finds in his research. He is doing homework off the field so that his teammates can spend more time learning it than looking for it. 

Recently, he decided to start approaching the playoffs, despite having three games left in the regular season for the 7-0 Hornets who play at Chiefland (3-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“I watch football with my dad all the time,” Roundtee Jr. said. “So we were talking, and he gave me an idea to start watching film on the teams that we’re going to play in the playoffs now.

“So we’ll be ready for it before we even get there.”

Roundtree Jr. expects to return to football in the spring. Ingram runs practices as usual in the spring at Hawthorne. He coaches weight training. 

“As soon as the season’s over, we start lifting, and then working out with our trainers, and then we have spring football,” Roundtree Jr. said. “Then we have summer, and then the season. But that’s what comes with it. You must really love it.”

Ingram hosts spring and summer training for the advancement of his team, but also to help his athletes make connections for the recruiting process. 

“We’ve had a lot of success where a lot of college coaches will come out and watch our guys and recruit our guys,” Ingram said. “So he’ll be ready for spring.
And that’s what it’s about, right? Continuing to get recruited.”

Roundtree Jr., who completed 51 of 77 passes for 679 yards and seven TDS  in leading Hawthorne to the 4-0 start before the injury, intends to play at the collegiate level. He has one offer to play NCAA Division 2 football at University of North Carolina at Pembroke. 

“I think his best football is still ahead of him, just knowing him,” Ingram said.


Category: Hawthorne High School, High School Sports