Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
NAME: Jimi Easterling
DATE OF BIRTH: Feb. 17, 1992
PARENTS: Jamie and Tara Easterling
SIBLINGS: I’ve got a brother named Noah. He’s in the fifth grade.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Algebra.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? Fish, play guitar and watch football.
FAVORITE FOOD: Larry’s Pizza
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: Metallica then a Christian rapper named Lecrae.
FAVORITE MOVIE: Friday Night Lights.[more]
FAVORITE TV SHOW: ESPN or Bassmasters on ESPN.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? Probably Playstation if that counts.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? Go to college at either Henderson or Tech, get my Masters and be a football coach, an offensive coordinator.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? Maybe my aunt. She’s always there for me. She doesn’t have any kids and me and my brother are like her sons. She’s taken care of us and gotten us there when we needed, always there for us.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT FOOTBALL? It’s just fun to play, I enjoy it. It’s the love of my life. I just like beating teams and, when you do things right and execute, it’s fun.
POSITION: Quarterback.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS YOUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY THERE? Be a leader of the team, get the plays off right, be a good role model and make sure we win.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SEASON SO FAR? Well, our goal was to go undefeated but that didn’t happen last week. It was kind of my fault and I take the blame for it. But we’re 5-1 and I’m happy with it. We want to go on and win conference and State.
WHAT'S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT TO THE SEASON SO FAR? There’s not one.
WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL THE REST OF THE SEASON? We’re going to have to keep executing and win the big games coming up at Conway, here against Cabot and against North Little Rock, but just take each week one game at a time.
INDIVIDUALLY, WHAT ABOUT YOUR GAME ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT ABOUT? I’m confident throwing the ball this year, more than last year. I’ve goot a good line protecting me and I’ve got (Chris) Rycraw helping me out a lot. I’m just confident in my throwing and in my coaches. I’m confident in what they call and I go with what they do.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST TO IMPROVE? Probably trying to throw in the flats more. I always try to make big plays. At Van Buren, I threw in the flats but last week against Russellville, I didn’t.
TALK ABOUT YOUR INJURY LAST YEAR AND WHAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET BACK TO THIS POINT. I had to go through a lot of physical therapy and that hurt too. And it hurt just watching the team. They did good without me. Rycraw and the o-line did very well. And that working harder like coming here — I could’ve been in baseball but instead I came down here, worked out every day and tried to get my arm stronger and better and work for next year. But there was a lot of physical therapy. I watched a lot of film too. I’d work out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays I’d just eat and watch film.
AFTER YOU'RE THROUGH PLAYING FOOTBALL AT BHS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT IT? That it was fun and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being here and practicing every day and having fun. I’ll miss it.
