COURTLAND—Southampton High School senior Jarvis Tucker has received a scholarship to play at Virginia State University in Petersburg.

The son of Terry and Glenwood Tucker of Courtland, Jarvis Tucker last fall made the First Team for the Southside District and second team in the region. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive tackle and guard was a three-year varsity starter for the Indians.

Southampton High School completed the regular season at 5-4 last fall and lost 7-0 to Poquoson in the first round of the region playoffs.

Last summer, Tucker was invited to the Blue Chip Football Academy at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., for college recruiters to take a look a high school talent. He received a few calls from colleges, but wanted to stay closer to home.

“It couldn’t happened to a better person,” said Southampton Football Coach Wes Griffith said about Tucker being asked to play for VSU. “He’s paid his dues and worked hard in the weight room.”

Griffith expects Tucker will do well for the Trojans, who were 5-5 last season and were outscored 247-199 by their opponents.

“If he keeps up the same work effort, he’s going to do great,” Griffith said. “He’s got the body and the tools. He just needs to keep working to be successful.”

Also recruited by Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh and North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, Tucker chose VSU because he liked the environment and its proximity to home.

“It seemed like a close family and the coach was a father-type,” he said.

His mother is pleased.

“I feel very excited about this because it will help him with his education,” Terry Tucker said.

A culinary arts student at Southampton, Jarvis Tucker will study restaurant management. He hopes to become a restaurant owner. In addition to working for the restaurant at the school, Tucker is also employed at Kentucky Fried Chicken.