Observing Ransom Everglades’ Football team this year, it was evident that the key factor driving their success was new quarterback Neimann Lawrence ‘28. Lawrence is ranked as the number one quarterback in the class of 2028 according to RnR Sports Media, and he recently made the switch from playing 12 and under football to a starting job in varsity high school football with RE. Since his arrival, the Raiders earned eight wins and one loss, a large step up from their last season (six wins and three losses). Through seven games, Lawrence completed 75.3% of all passing attempts, threw for 2163 yards, and scored 31 touchdowns—all without ever attending a high school class. 

Lawrence first found his love for football when he was introduced to the game by his older cousins who are now in high school. When Lawrence showed up to watch them play, he immediately fell in love with the game, and he has pursued this passion ever since. “All my older cousins played football when I was young. I would always pull up to their games to watch them which inspired me to be just like them and, I guess, want to be better than them,” Lawrence said.  

His football career did not begin as a quarterback, however. He first chose to play wide receiver, resulting in a lackluster year one which produced few results, forcing Neimann to question if he should continue playing. “A lot of people don’t know that [in] my first year of football I played up a year, so I was going against five- and six-year-olds at the age of four,” Lawrence said. “It made me want to quit.”

After this year of struggle, however, he found his stride, and his confidence in his abilities soared. “After that, I came back to the game, and ever since, it’s been steady progression. I’ve just been getting better and better,” Lawrence said.  

Since then, he has been making headlines—specifically on major local South Florida football social media accounts like JerryRisingStars and 305Sports—and attracting attention from scouts all over the nation, already earning verbal offers to the University of Miami and the University of Nebraska to play Division I football.  

As a student athlete, balancing social life, sports, and academics can be extremely challenging. Lawrence commutes from Miami Gardens to attend school every day, about a 45 minute drive without traffic. With traffic, it could be up to an hour and ten minutes. “Since I’ve been at RE, I’ve been on my phone less and studying a lot more,” Lawrence said. On weekends, Lawrence likes to keep himself involved in football, watching little league games where he cheers on his former teammates. He also enjoys playing video games such as Madden and Fortnite. 

Lawrence credits his success to his parents, who work as correctional officers. “The most influential people on and off the field for me have to be my mom and dad. My mom works as the chief correctional officer at the jail, and she taught me how to stay in control and keep everything steady under stress,” he said.  

Being the top-ranked quarterback and receiving immense attention at a young age comes with its fair share of pressure. “Ever since the age of ten, I realized that my name was big. During games, I get really hard on myself because I don’t like letting people down. This motivates me to do my best,” Lawrence admitted. 

Even so, he has found a way to channel the pressure into getting better, as he demonstrated during the crucial Battle for the Oar game against RE rival Palmer Trinity. During the game, the Palmer student section, directly behind the Raiders’ bench, began to chant, “Overrated! Prodigy who? Miami offer who?” after a slow second quarter for the raiders. After the half, Lawrence said, “I had to shut them up, and the only way to do it was to go out there and perform. In the third, we scored two touchdowns on back to back drives. There’s nothing like playing good under pressure, especially when people are saying things like that.”  

On the topic of Lawrence’s career after high school football, he said, “In life, I want to be successful. Seeing people on the streets is not what I want at all. That’s why I stay motivated every day. My main goal is to make it to college football, NFL is just a bonus.”