Overwhelmed with gratitude, Michele Strother walked across Southern’s Pete Richardson field in August.

She was with her son, joyful and relieved. Ashton Strother , the youngest of her three kids, had landed at a dream football destination for his junior season after a winding path in a sport that hasn’t always been kind to him.

“There were times I did worry about him as a person, because he was devoting so much time, so much effort, so much energy to this sport, and he wasn't reaping (what) he thought he should at that time,” Michele Strother said.

Before his phone call from Southern’s coaching staff, Ashton Strother’s resolve had already been tested. Learning a playbook after joining a program eight days before the season opener was far from his biggest form of adversity.

Strothe

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