Early in his tenth grade year, former Greenville High School head coach Bryant Vincent came to Stewart Moody with a request.

“He told me that he needed a kicker, and that I needed to learn to kick,” Moody said. “And that’s how I became a kicker.”

Vincent soon left for Spanish Fort, but Moody had practiced well enough to remain at that position when Ben Blackmon took over the job as GHS head football coach.

Moody’s choice to become a kicker appears to have been one well made: the graduating senior has kicked his way to a full-paid scholarship to Tuskegee University next year.

His senior year at Greenville High, Moody averaged 39 yards per punt, with 12 punts over 40 yards. Moody’s longest punt soared over 55 yards. He also kicked field goals and extra points for the Tigers.

Moody’s kickoffs left opposing teams at the 19-yard line as their average starting position, and he had 16 touchbacks for the year. The senior is one of the main reasons GHS went 11-1 for the year, capturing its first region title since 1997. He was named Special Teams Most Valuable Player during the Tigers’ football banquet.

Moody and brother, Raymond, also teamed up in baseball to form a powerful pitching combination for the Tigers.

Moody said that while he never thought he’d be going to Tuskegee, the deal was “too sweet” to pass up.

“It’s a great academic school, and I get to play football,” Moody said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

While there, Moody plans on pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, a field he says he’s always been drawn to.

“I have always liked to see how things work and how to put them back together,” Moody said.