Lesuer will take his football talents and walk-on at Morehouse College, one of the finest Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the country. Famous alumni of Morehouse College include civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., actor and director Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson.

“When I found out I was accepted to Morehouse, I was like, ‘Wow, Spike Lee came from here.’” Lesuer said. “And to have a degree from Morehouse… who wouldn’t want to go here?”

Lesuer was also accepted into Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, Chowan University and Bethune-Cookman University, other well-known schools, but once he was accepted into the Harvard of HBCU’s, it was a no-brainer.

“It’s about what it can do for you in terms of career trajectory,” Hampton said. “Because of the history of the school, the academic potential… the athletics is fine, but there are just certain schools out there that people hear and they go, ‘oh wow’… this is the cream of the crop. You have Howard (University), Spelman (College) and Morehouse.”

Lesuer was a three-year varsity football player for the Lions, and many teammates of his viewed him as an older brother figure. But before Lesuer cemented his name as the face of Lincoln’s program, his character was challenged and he needed to overcome a few obstacles.

“My freshman year I was on-and-off the field because I was outside on the streets,” Lesuer said. “I was skipping school, getting suspended, fighting… But by the next year, I came to common sense. The streets were going nowhere and football is what I love to do. I had to be there for a lot of my teammates. The younger kids and me being a senior… Some didn’t come to practice, and I tried to keep them on the right path.”

“He made some bad choices,” Hampton added. “And that shook him. I think he realized some choices he made took everything away from him. But he had the right group of people around him and after that, he hunkered down and he became a very good high school student and high school football player.”

When asked about Lesuer’s contributions to Lincoln High School football, Hampton didn’t hesitate and immediately began running off a laundry list of words.

Toughness. Heart. Commitment. Loyalty.

“He has a great work ethic in the weight room,” Hampton added. “Always the first guy in the weight room, the last to leave. He cleans the weight room. When it snows, he will be one of the first kids to offer to help come shovel you out. We’re talking about a high character kid. He overcame all the negatives from when he was a younger kid, to turn himself into a very good kid. I’m very proud of him.”

Leseur, a member of the North Jersey Football Coaches Association Top 100 team, will hope to turn around a Morehouse College football program, which finished sub-.500 last season.

Morehouse College, a Division II program which participates in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), finished with a 4-6 record, with featured victories over conference rivals Central State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College and Clark Atlanta University.

Leseur hopes to play safety and running back for the Fighting Maroon Tigers. Academically, he plans on studying business with hopes to one day become a firefighter.

“When I go down there, I’m going to give them all I got,” Leseur said. “What I can bring to the table is a play maker. I’m a play maker. When you need it, I can get it done.”

“This is a drop the mic moment for Lincoln High School,” Hampton added. “For our community, to have a kid come from the bricks… the tough part of life, and to be accepted into Morehouse and be allowed to walk onto the football team to earn a scholarship, you can’t get better than that.”