Logan Jessup, a junior at UCA, is a defensive lineman for the UCA Bears football team.

In the Oct. 17th game against Missouri State, Jessup tied the school record for sacks in a game. Jessup, who’s originally from Wynne, Ark., grew up playing other sports such as basketball and baseball, but football has always come naturally to him.

“I enjoy playing all sports, and my favorite to play is basketball, however, I was always best at football. I love being a part of a team and working together” Jessup said.

Jessup started playing football in the fourth grade. His initial reason for wanting to play football was because he wanted to hit people without getting in trouble, but now it’s more than that.

“The camaraderie of the locker room and being a family is another reason I really love this game. We have guys from all across the country and we all come together to win games and have fun while we are together,” Jessup said. Jessup has always wanted to play college football and got his first offer to play football in college his sophomore year of high school. It wasn’t until his second semester of his senior year that he finally committed to a college.

“UCA was a winning school football wise. I had other places to go however I felt like this was the best spot for me. Now here we are 3 years in and I feel that way even more so. I love it here,” Jessup said.

Jessup says his favorite thing about playing football at UCA is the relationship between the athletes and the coaches. “We have a lot of fun on the field, but the memories and friendships will last a lifetime” said Jessup.

“It takes a lot of discipline. Knowing that you will have to do your assignments early, and communicate with your professors, letting them know when you will be out,” Jessup said.

He says that as an athletic department they do a good job at putting each other up for success. They do this by “taking the hard classes in the offseason and summer and benefiting from tutors and study hours that are assigned from our advisors.”

There’s a big difference being a student athlete. “It’s very time consuming, that is the biggest difference between a normal student and a student athlete. We have a lot of time commitments,” Jessup said.

Jessup’s major is physical education teacher education with an emphasis on a coaching endorsement.

Outside of football he’s involved in Bears for Christ and is the Vice President of Pi Kappa Alpha.

In his freetime he mostly enjoys going hunting and fishing, and playing Xbox and hanging out with his friends.