One North Country native is looking to make a name for himself in NCAA College Football. Jesse Giddings from Beekmantown, New York., announced his commitment to James Madison University. The school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is a Football Bowl Subdivision NCAA Division I program, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference. “This has been a big dream for me ever since I was young,” Giddings said. “When I was a little boy, I watched the big guys on TV, I never really knew if I would reach that point. Now that I have, it’s just like a big weight off my shoulders.” Giddings competed for Beekmantown High School’s football team before transferring after his sophomore year. He went to Milton Academy High School, a prep program in Milton, Massachusetts, which gave him great exposure to some of the highest levels of competition at such a young age across the country. “Up here (in the North Country) we’re kind of tucked away in the corner,” Giddings said. “Every week, I go against guys that either are committed to Division I schools or have offers, and they’re all just as big as me and just as talented.” Giddings received multiple Division I offers from other schools, such as Sacred Heart University and the University of New Hampshire, but he opted to choose James Madison with still an extra year left of eligibility in high school football, based on how welcoming everyone at the school seemed to be around him. “I had known for a while that I wanted to go to James Madison,” Giddings said. “The coaching staff was great. They’re all super, super great people off the field. I just saw the way they practice. It’s high intensity, high energy, the coaches are super involved, and they’re also super smart.” Giddings encourages anyone in the North Country who wants to reach the NCAA Division I stage like himself to be willing to keep a positive mindset and put in the necessary work to achieve that goal. “You got to dream big,” Giddings said. “You got to do whatever it takes, whatever that may mean, work out three times a day. You got to do what it takes, and you can never lose faith in yourself. That’s the most important part.” After his final year at Milton Academy this fall, Giddings will prepare to join a Dukes squad which finished 4-4 in the Sun Belt Conference and picked up a win in the Boca Raton Bowl game against Western Kentucky University.

BEEKMANTOWN, N.Y. —

One North Country native is looking to make a name for himself in NCAA College Football.

Jesse Giddings from Beekmantown, New York., announced his commitment to James Madison University. The school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is a Football Bowl Subdivision NCAA Division I program, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

“This has been a big dream for me ever since I was young,” Giddings said. “When I was a little boy, I watched the big guys on TV, I never really knew if I would reach that point. Now that I have, it’s just like a big weight off my shoulders.”

Giddings competed for Beekmantown High School’s football team before transferring after his sophomore year. He went to Milton Academy High School, a prep program in Milton, Massachusetts, which gave him great exposure to some of the highest levels of competition at such a young age across the country.

“Up here (in the North Country) we’re kind of tucked away in the corner,” Giddings said. “Every week, I go against guys that either are committed to Division I schools or have offers, and they’re all just as big as me and just as talented.”

Giddings received multiple Division I offers from other schools, such as Sacred Heart University and the University of New Hampshire, but he opted to choose James Madison with still an extra year left of eligibility in high school football, based on how welcoming everyone at the school seemed to be around him.

“I had known for a while that I wanted to go to James Madison,” Giddings said. “The coaching staff was great. They’re all super, super great people off the field. I just saw the way they practice. It’s high intensity, high energy, the coaches are super involved, and they’re also super smart.”

Giddings encourages anyone in the North Country who wants to reach the NCAA Division I stage like himself to be willing to keep a positive mindset and put in the necessary work to achieve that goal.

“You got to dream big,” Giddings said. “You got to do whatever it takes, whatever that may mean, work out three times a day. You got to do what it takes, and you can never lose faith in yourself. That’s the most important part.”

After his final year at Milton Academy this fall, Giddings will prepare to join a Dukes squad which finished 4-4 in the Sun Belt Conference and picked up a win in the Boca Raton Bowl game against Western Kentucky University.