WCHS Football Gets $10,000 Donation From Mariota

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota threw a big pass to the White County High School football team.

Mariota spoke at the school early Tuesday morning and donated $5,000 to the football program. The NFL Foundation will match the grant for a total of $10,000, Mariota said.

“Our family, we’re just excited to be part of this, we want to support you guys, just like you supported us, good luck with the season and we’re very blessed to be here,” Mariota said.

Mariota spoke at four schools Tuesday and was organized by St. Thomas Health, which runs hospitals in the four communities. Sparta’s St. Thomas Highlands Hospital CEO Andy Wachtel also presented a donation to the White County school system on behalf of the hospital. Wachtel told White County Schools Director Kurt Dronebarger to use the donation for whatever the school district needs.

Mariota’s message for the young people in attendance was simple: work hard and do your best. He spoke about working hard but having to wait until his senior year in high school to get the quarterback slot.

“Once I was ready to play and I had my opportunity, there wasn’t this hurdle I had to jump over with school, I was prepared, I knew what I needed to do, school came first, sports, then playing video games and that fun stuff was kind of last,” Mariota said.

He talked about working hard and practicing throughout college and now into the NFL. He also talked about working with mentors and learning through their experiences.