LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) — There are very few people who exemplify what it means to be a natural-born leader, but then again there are very few people like Long Beach’s Timothy West.
The senior excels in both the gradebooks and the gridiron as the defensive end boasts a 5.3 GPA and a 31 ACT score while starting for the Bearcats since his sophomore year.
There are very few people who exemplify what it means to be a natural-born leader, but then again there are very few people like Long Beach’s Timothy West.(wlox)
While it seems like things just come easy for West, he says his victories in the classroom come from the foundation back at home.
“It is just about sticking to my guns, you know,” West said. “Since I was little, growing up school has been very big in my household so everything has been school-oriented.”
“He is one of those that school comes easy for,” head coach Cody Finley said. “Some guys it is a little harder for but stuff comes easy for him. It is the same way on the football field as far as concepts and things like that. In the classroom it does not surprise me how he excels. He can pretty much go to college wherever he wants to he is just that bright of a young man. He has got a bright future ahead of him.”
While the list of universities seems endless for the National Honors Society member, he’s narrowed it down to LSU and Mississippi State where he plans to major in civil engineering.
West is apart of a special group of seniors that have helped lead the Bearcats to their most successful season in nearly a decade, including their first district win since 2018. The defensive end has been a part of both the highs and lows of Long Beach football but through it all it’s the memories with his brothers that have meant the most to him.
“I have been starting varsity since my last few games freshman year and really, it has been probably the biggest part of my life in high school. So yeah, it has just been really fun hanging out with my brothers these past six years,” said West.
Off the field and outside the classroom West participates in his own nonprofit in honor of his late aunt where he spreads joy in a way that contrasts the havoc he causes on Friday nights.
“Me and my mom set up a nonprofit for me called Sunshine and Daffodils where I go out and give flowers to the elderly on certain holidays and it really warms the heart,” said West.
Regardless of whether it is academics or athletics it all seems to come easy for Timothy West.
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