NEXT LEVEL: Eskymo Stevenson Signs With NMU
Click the AUDIO button to hear Javon Stevenson interview.
ESCANABA---On to the next level.
Escanaba High School senior wide receiver Javon Stevenson has signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Northern Michigan University. Stevenson was joined by his family at a signing event on National Signing Day Wednesday afternoon.
“It feels great,” Stevenson told RRN Sports Wednesday night. “Being a part of the program is going to be a wonderful feeling. It's been a couple of months of talking to them, visiting, phone calls a lot, talking to the coaches, the players, getting to know everybody.”
It hasn't been easy for Stevenson. He was on an Eskymo team that went 2-7 in his junior year. But things were better in his senior year, with the Eskymos going 5-4, narrowly missing a playoff spot thanks to an upset loss to Gaylord.
“People around me have helped me a lot, getting my name out there,” Stevenson said. “Coach (Bailey) Lamb helped me a lot, finding me coaches to talk to, and just being part of a program that helped me to develop well and get to where I am now.”
Northern hasn't won a game since 2022, a trend that Stevenson says he wants to help reverse.
“Obvously, we're hoping to turn it around,” Stevenson said. “Get some wins on the board soon, and turn the program back to what it was. I'm gonna play as well as I can no matter where I'm at.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Stevenson says he has a lot of work to do to make the jump to the college level.
“Working hard in the off-season is a major thing,” he said. “I have to work harder now than ever, going into a college team where every guy was “the guy” in high school. It's a lot different. Those workouts are going to be a lot more strenuous on my body. I've got to prepare for that. I've got to be conditioned.”
Before that, Stevenson has his senior season of Eskymo basketball to finish out, and then will play in the UP High School All-Star football game in June at his future home: the Superior Dome.
Besides Stevnson, five other Yoopers signed with Northern: Alex Jayne (Iron Mountain), Ian Engstrom (Negaunee), Aaron Hughes (Gladstone), Jack Dusseault (Munising), and Wes Bennett (DeTour).
