Millikan football coach Romeo Pellum seeks to change lives one scholarship at a time

LONG BEACH – It wasn’t agelong agone that Millikan shot manager Romeo Pellum was successful his players’ cleats.

Like galore precocious schoolhouse shot players, helium had dreams of playing Division I assemblage shot and yet making it to the NFL.

“Millikan football, we are astir getting kids to school,” Pellum began. “On the field, we privation to play fast. We privation to play disciplined.

“For maine arsenic the caput coach, I privation to get arsenic galore kids to assemblage arsenic imaginable for free.”

Long Beach Millikan High caput shot manager Romeo Pellum is changing lives, 1 assemblage assistance astatine a time. @RomeoPellum @BeachVarsity pic.twitter.com/DymxV81zO1

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) September 23, 2021

The 32-year-old Pellum emerged arsenic a wide receiver and antiaircraft backmost astatine Jordan High School earlier transferring and graduating from Sante Fe High successful 2007. He went connected to play cornerback astatine Washington State and Hampton University.

Pellum attended NFL grooming campy but the undrafted rookie escaped cause was waived by Carolina Panthers earlier the 2012 season.

He aboriginal played professionally successful the CFL and with the AFL’s LA Kiss. Afterward, helium founded Players of the Future, a 7-on-7 shot program, and helium presently works with EVO Sports Training successful Long Beach.

However, helium wants his student-athletes astatine Millikan to beryllium amended than helium was. And successful the process, Pellum is changing lives 1 pupil and 1 assistance astatine a time.

“My 2nd twelvemonth here, we had (wide receiver) Ezavier Staples motion with UCLA past year. We person (Millikan elder cornerback) Tacario Davis that’s committed to Arizona now,” Pellum said. “We volition person a bully magnitude of different kids motion assemblage scholarships this year.”

Millikan’s extremity is to person six seniors motion assemblage scholarships successful the Class of 2022.

In the Class of 2023, Pellum believes respective juniors person the endowment and the grades to play assemblage football.

“Our 2024 people is loaded,” Pellum continued. “Just that people alone, we person astir 40 assistance opportunities.”

One of the sophomore standouts is Pellum’s young member Ryan, who was precocious offered a assistance to play wide receiver astatine USC. Ryan Pellum is simply a four-star recruit, with 30 Division I assistance offers from nationalist powerhouse programs similar Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, LSU, Cal and Oregon.

Another standout is the team’s starting quarterback, sophomore Myles Jackson, who already has offers from Texas A&M, San Jose State, Oregon State, Nevada, BYU, and Arizona.

“Myles has the big-time offers due to the fact that he’s a peculiar quarterback,” Pellum added.

Pellum believes it is important to not lone speech astir but amusement underclassmen what is possible.

“They’re seeing that it’s possible. They’re seeing that it’s truly happened and it’s truly true,” said Pellum.

“My archetypal twelvemonth here, we had astir 60 coaches travel done successful the spring, astir 45 astatine our outpouring showcase.”

The ngo is hopeful and simple. When endowment is combined with hard work, opportunities are the result.

“Kids are seeing that. It’s giving them hope. It’s allowing them to bash better.”

32-year-old caput coach

It is simply a balancing enactment for Pellum, who agreed to go Millikan’s caput manager earlier his 30th day successful 2019.

But being a near-peer has its chiseled advantages.

“I deliberation it’s a batch easier for maine to subordinate to the kids, not lone my property but I’ve been done what a batch of these kids person been through,” Pellum explained. “I’ve done what a batch of these kids person done. I’m not an angel. I’ve been successful occupation similar immoderate of these kids and I’m idiosyncratic they tin travel and speech to.”

“I’m not conscionable a idiosyncratic who watched it connected TV oregon work it successful a book. I lived that beingness and I’m a idiosyncratic that tin speech to them. I’m a surviving testimony.”

“I lived that life,” said Millikan manager Romeo Pellum connected being capable to subordinate to h.s. players. The 32-year-old is moving tirelessly to usher student-athletes on the close path. He doesn’t privation them to taking the arduous roadworthy helium took. @RomeoPellum @BeachVarsity @MillikanHSFB pic.twitter.com/ifoV15VN32

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) September 23, 2021

Lived acquisition is paramount for Pellum. He’s been done it all.

He remembers what it was similar to spell done the precocious schoolhouse recruiting process. He remembers playing Pac-10 shot and past transferring to an NCAA FCS program. His clip playing nonrecreational shot besides serves arsenic an property positioning Pellum successful a unsocial lane arsenic a manager and a mentor.

“They thin to thin towards and perceive much to radical who they tin subordinate to,” Pellum added.

Choosing the close path

“You person immoderate kids that travel from unsmooth environments but looking astatine the scope of things, Ryan and Myles, their households are antithetic than a batch of places. I would similar to accidental that this epoch has a batch of kids that are precise privileged,” said Pellum.

“Of people they person to enactment hard for what they bash but successful the scope of things, they are privileged compared to a batch of different kids and that’s bully due to the fact that they don’t person to interest astir going retired and doing definite things to get wealth oregon to assistance provender their families.”

In particular, Pellum said his younger member Ryan has seen however his way successful beingness hasn’t ever been easy.

“I took the incorrect way a fewer times and he’s seen that truthful helium knows what not to bash due to the fact that helium experienced that,” Pellum shared.

Romeo Pellum talks astir present Millikan sophomore WR Ryan Pellum and sophomore QB Myles Jackson receiving large clip assemblage shot offers arsenic freshman. He said some players are peculiar with promising futures. @RomeoPellum @ryan_pellum @MylesTJacksonQB @BeachVarsity pic.twitter.com/N0zHpSVc1D

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) September 23, 2021

Proving it connected the field

At 2-3 connected the season, Millikan is not satisfied with its record. However, the team’s outlook is rising. The Rams are 1-0 successful Moore League play aft their 42-0 rout of Jordan connected Sept. 17.

Millikan’s extremity is to triumph the Moore League but they volition person to bushed Long Beach Poly connected Friday if they privation a accidental astatine a league championship.

Unlike astir teams, the Rams are highly babelike connected underclassmen to triumph games.

“It’s pugnacious to get assistance offers arsenic a freshman… I whitethorn person the resources that a batch of radical don’t person to assistance get their sanction retired determination and speech to coaches but it’s each them,” Pellum explained.

“Those kids are peculiar and what I archer our young guys is ‘you gotta work.’ If you enactment it connected film, I’ll marque definite that it’s seen, but astatine the extremity of the day, it’s going to beryllium connected the colleges to propulsion that trigger and connection you a scholarship.”

As freshmen, Ryan Pellum and Jackson were genuinely outliers, due to the fact that they garnered big-time offers portion not playing their accepted autumn freshman seasons due to the fact that of the pandemic.

However, that does not mean others can’t yet person the aforesaid success.

“You can’t look astatine a Ryan and you can’t look astatine a Myles and comparison yourself to them due to the fact that they’re connected a antithetic level. A batch of freshmen aren’t connected that level,” Pellum admitted.

“But for those kids that are freshmen oregon were freshman that are not getting opportunities that they want, conscionable support working. When you enactment the enactment in, thing bully volition travel from it.”