By Rusty Hampton, Clarion Ledger
Nekelah Howard looked a bit stunned Saturday night as she stood near the football field at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, hugging friends, posing for pictures and trying to answer a reporter's questions.
And it wasn't because her current school, Delta State, had just whipped up on her former school, Jackson State, 27-15, in football.
It was because she had just received a diamond ring from linebacker Lardester Hicks, moments after he had helped the Statesmen win and some two hours after he had proposed to her during the game via a message splashed across the stadium video screen.
Howard, a junior from Mound Bayou, said she didn't know what to think when her name first appeared on the video screen.
"I thought I'd won a prize or something," she said.
But then this appeared: "Will you marry me?"
Moments later, Hicks made an interception that led to DSU's second touchdown.
Hicks, a sophomore from Chicago, led the Statesmen with nine total tackles, including three for losses.
He and his teammates were as prepared for the Tigers as Hicks was for his big moment.
He planned all summer. He contacted stadium officials and set it up, then had a trainer bring the ring from the locker room after the game.
"I wanted it to be big," he said.
Many teammates didn't know what was going on.
"I was shocked," said linebacker Michael Eubanks. "I was like, 'What? Where did that come from?' "
Hicks said he can separate his private life from his football life. "Right now, football's No. 1," he said. "I'm always focused and she understands that."
But after the game, football took a back seat.
"She said yes," Hicks said, smiling. "That's the most important part."
And it wasn't because her current school, Delta State, had just whipped up on her former school, Jackson State, 27-15, in football.
It was because she had just received a diamond ring from linebacker Lardester Hicks, moments after he had helped the Statesmen win and some two hours after he had proposed to her during the game via a message splashed across the stadium video screen.
Howard, a junior from Mound Bayou, said she didn't know what to think when her name first appeared on the video screen.
"I thought I'd won a prize or something," she said.
But then this appeared: "Will you marry me?"
Moments later, Hicks made an interception that led to DSU's second touchdown.Hicks, a sophomore from Chicago, led the Statesmen with nine total tackles, including three for losses.
He and his teammates were as prepared for the Tigers as Hicks was for his big moment.
He planned all summer. He contacted stadium officials and set it up, then had a trainer bring the ring from the locker room after the game.
"I wanted it to be big," he said.
Many teammates didn't know what was going on.
"I was shocked," said linebacker Michael Eubanks. "I was like, 'What? Where did that come from?' "
Hicks said he can separate his private life from his football life. "Right now, football's No. 1," he said. "I'm always focused and she understands that."
But after the game, football took a back seat.
"She said yes," Hicks said, smiling. "That's the most important part."
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