While the game of football might just be entertainment to watch from the stands of Red Tide, it has a deeper meaning to #2 on the field, senior Justin Mabry.

 “Football has always been so special to me because there isn’t a sport that has the same type of brotherhood that football creates through the many hard hours of hard work during the season,” Mabry said. 

On February 14, 2022, Mabry officially committed to Washington University at St. Louis to pursue his love for football at the college level and further his academic career. 

Mabry has played football since he was very young, starting out with flag football. Mabry’s senior year was his 10th year playing tackle football.

Growing up, Mabry played a variety of sports including soccer, baseball, volleyball and basketball, but as he entered high school, Mabry, “narrowed it down to baseball and football. 

“I always thought that if I was going to play sports in college, it was 100% going to be baseball because I put so much more time into it,” Mabry said. 

However, when Mabry encountered an injury in his elbow that prevented him from pitching, “I turned my full focus towards football.” 

While his senior year and legacy at PV comes to an end, Mabry recalls fond memories of his time playing for his high school.

“The past four years playing football at PV were the most memorable years that I’ve played and seeing my body and skill set develop over the past four years has been really special,” Mabry said. “I will never forget the countless memories and tight bonds that have been created in the past four years with all my brothers on the field.” 

He also notes, “The most important thing that I’ve learned from playing football at PV is that hard work always pays off.”

“We were already pretty good friends before football, but over the years and connecting through it, I’d say we for sure got a lot closer,” Justin’s teammate and best friend senior Niall Collins said. “Seeing someone I have been growing up with and working for an opportunity to play at a great school like WashU is pretty cool to see.”

Without a doubt, Mabry works extremely hard in and outside of football, as seen by his various other leadership roles on campus including being a Red Tide captain this year. 

Mabry was able to wrap up his high school career with every athlete’s goal, an official commitment to a top tier university. 

“I started my recruitment process to Washington University in St. Louis because I wanted to get the best education that I possibly could get and see if I could play football in college as well,” Mabry said.

 While Mabry was talking to several coaches and had several options, “the fit of the football team combined with the top 10 nationally ranked academics made the decision to commit to WashU pretty easy.”