Garrett Ballard was able to take off his shoulder pads a final time for Ozark content with his efforts that made him one of the Tigers’ defensive leaders the past two seasons.
“I’ve got no regrets,” the senior safety said.
However, Ballard nearly put himself in a position in which he would have been remorseful. For a brief bit, he wanted to end his varsity career before it could kick off.
Ballard made the decision to step away from football during summer camp leading up to his junior year.
“I texted coach (Chad) Depee that I was quitting,” Ballard said.
Once Depee received the text, he got a hold of defensive coordinator Justin Emmerton, who promptly contacted Ballard.
Ultimately, Ballard decided to keep football in his life.
“After I texted coach Depee, not two minutes later ‘Coach E’ calls me and we were on the phone for 30 minutes,” Ballard said. “I’m thankful my coaches talked me back into it, so I could be out here.”
His initial decision actually had more to do with basketball than football.
“It’s not like I didn’t enjoy (football), I just wanted to focus on basketball,” Ballard said. “I was coming off of an AAU (basketball) season, so my mind was on that and not football. That was the only reason I thought about quitting.”
Depee stressed to Ballard the benefits he could gain from football that would help him as a basketball player.
“I can’t figure it out because football is my first love, but it’s not always everyone’s first love. It wasn’t for Garrett,” Depee said. “He loves basketball. I told him what you can experience from the game of football will carry on to the basketball floor. I also told him he could be such a valued member (of the football team). It took him a little bit to figure it out. I’m glad he did.”
Ballard was an All-COC Third-Team selection at cornerback last year. This year, he was a starter on both defense, moving to safety, and on offense as a wide receiver.
“It was a fun year,” he said. “I’m grateful for every second of it and thankful I got to play with all my best friends. I’ll never forget it.”
