I was going in blind when I moved from my hometown of St. Louis to Tallahassee in 2018. I didn’t know anyone in the city. I had no previous interaction with those within the Florida State program. I hadn’t even stepped foot in the state of Florida when I accepted the opportunity to cover Seminoles football for The Athletic.
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College Football editor-in-chief Stewart Mandel and managing editor Dan Uthman took a chance on me only a couple months after I graduated from the University of Missouri and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my journalism career. It took me a little while to find my footing, but I dove in, writing profiles, features, statistical analyses, outside-the-box game stories and film reviews. I covered hard-hitting topics such as domestic abuse, mental health and the potential for race to influence decision making among the hierarchy of college football.
It wasn’t always easy. FSU had its worst two-season stretch since the 1970s during my time covering the team. I covered the entire tenure of former coach Willie Taggart, the ensuing coaching search after his firing midway through last season and the early months of coach Mike Norvell taking over. At times I branched outside of my beat to keep things interesting. I wrote about coach Leonard Hamilton’s journey to leading the men’s basketball program to its greatest stretch of success ever. I profiled women’s basketball coach Sue Semrau and detailed how she transformed the team from a bottom-dweller to ACC powerhouse. I brought to light the efforts of coach Willie Simmons guiding the resurgence of Florida A&M football. I feel this enriched my overall coverage along with my pieces on the ‘Noles.
I’m endlessly grateful for the opportunity. I learned daily, benefitted from the guidance of an incredible staff of college football writers and editors and improved drastically in all aspects as a sports writer. And now, after two seasons, my time on the beat has come to a close. Covering college sports was fun, but covering a professional beat has been an objective of mine since the moment I decided to be a journalist. I’ll now have that opportunity.
Starting in April, I’ll be covering the Las Vegas Raiders for The Athletic. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the subscribers who’ve read my work, interacted through comments, mailbags, live Q&As and social media channels and helped spread the word about the stories I was producing. You’ve made this an exciting and fulfilling ride.
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I’ll be starting anew — again — with the Raiders. I’ve never been to Las Vegas and I have no history with the team. I’m confident, however, that my experience covering college football, expanded knowledge and improved skill set will allow me to transition smoothly.
I’m only 24 years old, but I’ve had my share of professional and personal experiences. While I was a student at Mizzou, I covered high school sports, NAIA college sports, Mizzou football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. While interning at the Commercial Appeal through the Sports Journalism Institute in 2018, I covered everything from the PGA Tour to the NBA Draft to the renovation of a 90-year-old Wurlitzer organ. Shortly after that, I started here with The Athletic.
I grew up in the neighborhood of Ferguson, Missouri, in a split household and lived below the poverty line for much of my upbringing. I was there for the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 and the subsequent protests. I was also a student at Mizzou during the 2015 student protests following a string of racist incidents targeting the black student base. Each of those incidents have not only shaped me as a young man, but also as a journalist. I hope that you’ll be accepting of the perspective, mentality and opinions that come along with that.
My partner covering the Raiders will be Vic Tafur, who’s covered the team for The Athletic the last two seasons after a 12-year stint with the San Francisco Chronicle. While he’ll remain in Oakland, he’ll continue to cover the Raiders alongside me in Las Vegas. There’s no shortage of storylines surrounding the Raiders as they venture into their third home since the illustrious franchise was established in 1960. The late Al Davis led the previous two moves — to Los Angeles in 1982 and back to Oakland in 1995 — and his son Mark Davis will lead the transplant to the $1.84 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Besides the effects on the team, the move will undoubtedly impact Las Vegas as it furthers its journey to become a major sports city following the addition of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Although The Supreme Court of the United States lifted the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, Las Vegas remains the heart of the multi-billion dollar industry.
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An NFL franchise with the history of the Raiders should provide a boon to the overall economy. Through research, interviews and reporting, I plan to examine the nuances of that dynamic headed into the first season and beyond. I understand that the Raiders are going to have fans from Oakland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and across the country and we’ll make sure we serve you all.
From a football standpoint, the Raiders are going into their third year under Jon Gruden in his second stint with the franchise. Gruden led the Raiders to a 38-26 record and two playoff appearances in his first stint from 1998-2001, but they’ve gone just 11-21 and have yet to make the postseason since his return.
There’s little immediate pressure given the fact that his contract runs through 2027, but fans are expecting results from both Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock. I’ll cover how the duo prepares to do so in the 2020 season as well as the looming tension at quarterback between Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota, the exciting second-year crop of players including Johnathan Abram, Josh Jacobs and Maxx Crosby, and the potential impact of additions made throughout the offseason.
The sports world is on hold in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but the NFL continues to move forward. Although the in-person element of the 2020 NFL Draft will no longer take place in Las Vegas, I’ll jump into draft coverage and write additional stories throughout the next month. Whenever things return to normalcy, I’ll be there every step of the way.
I still have plenty to learn about the Raiders and I’m not done developing as a journalist, but I’m thrilled to get started. I’ll be looking forward to you following along for the ride.
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(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)