Senior football player Adel Mountassir has been offered an amazing opportunity of 19 scholarships for college football and recently chose his top choice.

It all started in fourth grade recess when Mountassir’s friend David Lopez asked him to play football. Ever since then the game caught his eye. Mountassir started playing for a team in sixth grade and learned most of his skills today from the Junior Knights football team. From then on, his passion for football only grew. All four years of high school football he played defensive end and offense guard.

“What made me keep playing football was just my determination to get better and proving people wrong,” Mountassir said.

Not only did Mountassir become connected to football but he also grew to connect with his teammates.

“Adel is a leader, he is the one who you’re going to go to if you need help and he is the one who is always pumping up the team,” a teammate of Mountassir, Marshall Hines said.

Mountassir not only has a huge support system through his teammates but through one of his coaches Deric Edwards. He has been coaching for 11 years now and met Mountassir last summer in July. Edwards is a PE teacher at Francis Howell North, while also coaching football, running the new Iron Knights Club, and the new after school weight lifting club starting this month after school.

“Obviously, he’s a bull on the field and his abilities alone demand a level of respect,” Edwards said. “But aside from his talent, he has a demeanor about him that true leaders possess.”

Mountassir never saw himself becoming this passionate about football and has come a long way in his football career. After receiving 19 scholarships one school stood out to Adel.

“I think Lindenwood was the best pick because it was close to home and I feel starting at a D2 program I can get playing time in and I just had the right feelings about the lions,” Mountassir said.

He plans to make the NFL one day and hopes Lindenwood can take him to the next level.

“Football means everything, I would not have the future and opportunity without it,” Mountassir said.