Spillman brothers journey from West African orphanage to DI football
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BVM) — On March 6, the Spillman family was gathered in the office of Josh Heupel, the head football coach at the University of Tennessee. During this meeting, Nate Spillman made his decision to stay in-state and attend college in Knoxville.
Nate,, was able to live out the dream of accepting a football scholarship, while his brother, Edwin, , was able to see what awaits him in his own future.
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With the hand that the Spillman brothers were dealt, the chances of this moment happening were slim-to-none.聽But with luck, hard work and a good support system, the Spillmans have seized every opportunity placed in front of them.
The Spillman brothers were born in Sierra Leone, a country on the southwest coast of West Africa where . There was never a thought of pursuing an education at an American university.聽
This changed in 2013.
Nate and Edwin, who were 8 and 7 years old respectively at the time, were able to come to the United States through a missionary orphanage program.
Not too long after coming over, they quickly found a love for the game of football.
After finding out what the game was, they were begging their parents to sign them up for a flag league. Once they got a taste, they wanted more.
鈥淚 got to learn the game and we both just fell in love with playing flag,鈥� Edwin said. 鈥淲e loved it.鈥�
This turned out to be the right decision as they are now stars for Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nate鈥檚 ability to make big plays as a receiver and Edwin鈥檚 athleticism that makes him a tackling machine helped lead the Mustangs to a 27-0 state championship win.
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As much as their talent stands out on the field, they depend on their head coach, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, in order to continue enhancing their game.
鈥淗e鈥檚 helped us a lot,鈥� Nate said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 taught me little things like how to learn playbooks and how to be a smart football player. He鈥檚 always been there and is always supporting us.鈥�
Dilfer has also been a big help off the field, giving guidance where he can to help optimize their future.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a real helpful coach we can lean on with recruiting and everything like that,鈥� Edwin said. 鈥淲ith his experience with all of this recruiting stuff, he knows how it works and he鈥檚 been really helpful with that.鈥�
With Nate prepping for his final year of high school and Edwin becoming a rising junior, they would love to repeat as state champions in 2022, despite having a target on their back.聽
鈥淚 know a lot of teams are going to want to come at us because Lipscomb is the big team now,鈥� Nate said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just gonna keep doing us and see where things take us.鈥�
With Nate heading to Knoxville after his senior year, he鈥檒l become the Volunteers鈥� lead recruiter for Edwin, but the brothers will ultimately leave his decision up to fate.
鈥淚 would love if Edwin would come to Tennessee and play with me,鈥� Nate said. 鈥淏ut if things don鈥檛 happen the way we want them to, I think we will be fine with that. We鈥檙e just gonna leave it in God鈥檚 hands and see where he takes Edwin.鈥�
Regardless of where Edwin goes, the accomplishments that the two brothers from Sierra Leone have already achieved, is something no one will ever be able to take away from them.
鈥淢e and Nathan are just two kids from Africa,鈥� Edwin said. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 probably never think we would get offers. We didn鈥檛 even know what that stuff was a few years back. Now, with the Lord, everybody is starting to notice and starting to recognize us.鈥�
