'An awesome dad': How 2 Mississippi State Bulldogs balance fatherhood and college football

Tyler Horka
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

STARKVILLE – Jaquarius Landrews sat inside his home one night this past summer. He was about to fall asleep when his phone rang. 

"Come to the Palmeiro Center and get some extra reps in," Mississippi State senior safety Brian Cole told him on the other end of the line. 

It used to be easy for Landrews, a senior safety himself, to say yes to such requests. He'd just get up and go. That changed when his daughter, Nevaeh Renee Landrews, was born on Jan. 27, 2019. 

Landrews was taking care of Nevaeh by himself when Cole called him. His fiancé, Quianna Harrington, was out of town visiting her family in Yazoo City. Landrews thought about saying he couldn't go. Then he took a longer look at Nevaeh. 

"I'm coming," Landrews told Cole. 

Landrews showed up at the Palmeiro Center with his cleats in one hand and a baby carrier in the other. 

"Boy, you brought her up here with you?" Cole asked with comical chuckle. 

"Yes, now let's get to work." 

The two safeties went through different coverage techniques and conditioning drills while Nevaeh sat on the sideline. Landrews eventually let her crawl around the turf once he was assured she was comfortable with her surroundings. 

When Harrington heard the story, she wasn't mad. She didn't think it was funny, either. She viewed it as a sign of maturity. In the months after Nevaeh's birth, Landrews has learned to balance the two most important things in his life: family and football.

"I was working hard and then I would stop and look at her and think, 'Man, I know all this is going to pay off one day,'" Landrews told the Clarion Ledger. "It made me realize that I’m doing this for more than myself."

'It's the best feeling in the world' 

Mississippi State senior safety Jaquarius Landrews said the best day of his life was when his daughter, Nevaeh Renee Landrews, was born on Jan. 27, 2019.

Harrington and Landrews have been a couple for almost three years. They sat through Landrews' redshirt season in 2017 and cheered together when he made an impact down the stretch last year. This season, Landrews has started all six games at strong safety. 

None of his football feats compare to fatherhood. Landrews, his head coach Joe Moorhead and teammate Cameron Dantzler can all attest to that. 

"My uncle told me becoming a dad was the best thing that's ever happened to him," Landrews said. "I experienced it, and he was right. It's the best feeling in the world." 

"As a parent myself, when you have a child you realize that there's a life more important than your own," Moorhead added. 

Dantzler, a junior corner, joined the ranks of parenthood when he welcomed Cameron Dantzler Jr. to the world on May 26, 2019. 

"It was the happiest day of my life," Dantzler said. "Having a son and being somebody he can look up to is amazing."

Nevaeh and "Baby Cam," as Dantzler and his girlfriend Cierra Shinault call him, have been to multiple Mississippi State football games this season.

Harrington said Nevaeh doesn't get aggravated by the atmosphere. Shinault said Cameron Jr. usually rips off his protective headphones so he can hear the cowbells clanging. 

"He loves the noise," Shinault said. 

'All we knew was that we had each other' 

After the ringing of the cowbells dies down and only a few fans are left inside Davis Wade Stadium, the exchange Landrews shares with his daughter when they stare into each other's eyes on the field is pure bliss. 

"I feel so alive in that moment," Landrews said. 

The feelings of fondness were preceded by precariousness. When Landrews found out Harrington was pregnant, he panicked – but only briefly. 

"My mind was all over the place," he said. "I was paranoid and like, 'Man, I’m not ready for this.' But I sat down, manned up and told myself, 'We’re going to be OK. We’re going to be able to handle this. God put her in our life for a reason.'"

"We were very scared. We didn’t know what to do," Harrington added. "All we knew was that we had each other. He was like, 'I'm not going to leave you. Everything is going to be fine. We're going to get through this.'"

Landrews was hardened by the death of his mother when he was in eighth grade. He became the man of the house and "grew up fast." Landrews knew well before Harrington was pregnant what he would name his daughter if he ever had one: Nevaeh is "Heaven" spelled backward. Renee is the French form of the late Roman name Renatus, which translates to "reborn." 

Landrews' daughter's name, Nevaeh Renee, means "Heaven reborn" in honor of his late mother. 

"He's an awesome person," Harrington said, "and that has made him an awesome dad."

'That's my son':How Jaquarius Landrews overcame his mom's death to shine at Mississippi State

'He really takes the weight off me' 

Mississippi State senior safety Jaquarius Landrews said he enjoys being with his daughter, Nevaeh, more than anything.

His experience caring for his siblings in the wake of their mother's death prepared Landrews for fatherhood. Harrington remembers one night when Nevaeh was 2 months old and would not stop crying.

It was the middle of spring football season. Landrews was asleep in the bedroom after a tough practice. Harrington tried to calm down Nevaeh but nothing seemed to work. 

"I didn't know what to do," she said. "I had been up for hours. I don't even think I knew what sleep was at one point. I just started crying. I gave up." 

Landrews entered the room and cradled the baby with one arm. He rubbed Harrington's back with the other. Nevaeh soon stopped crying. So did Harrington. 

"I will never forget that," she said. "In that moment, I knew everything was going to be alright. I wasn't doing it alone. He really takes the weight off of me. He's always there."

Landrews said he's had his fun as a college student. While some of his teammates go out to bars on weekend nights, Landrews goes home to spend time with his two girls. 

"I’m not down for going to party a whole lot," he said. "I really just handle my business and take care of my family. It’s a humbling experience."

Every day when Landrews gets home from football practice, he sits Nevaeh down and asks her the same two questions: Whose day did you make? Who did you make smile today? 

"When she gets older, I’m certain she's either going to make somebody's day or she's going to make somebody smile every day of her life," Harrington said. "And she has her daddy to thank for that."  

'He'll be taken care of for the rest of his life' 

Mississippi State junior cornerback Cameron Dantzler's life changed when his son, Cameron Jr., was born on May 26, 2019.

If Landrews' mother's death prepared him for fatherhood, then it was former Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram who was Dantzler's guiding hand.

Abram, now a rookie with the Oakland Raiders, played his junior and senior seasons at Mississippi State while fathering his daughter, Harlee, who was born in May of 2017. Dantzler draws comparisons to his and Abram's circumstances to keep himself driven. 

"We both came up from a small town. We both have the same dream. We both have a kid," Danztler said. "We keep in touch with each other each and every day. He's one of those guys that motivates me to get better. He stays on me. Even though he's not here, he stays on me."

Dantzler's child lives with his girlfriend Shinault and her mother in Cordova, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis. During Abram's first year at Mississippi State, his then-girlfriend and now wife, Bri'Anna, lived in Hattiesburg. Abram has coached Dantzler on how to be a father from afar. He said it's important to show how much he cares. 

Before Cameron Jr. was born, Dantzler decorated his nursery with a safari theme. There's plenty of green, Dantzler's favorite color. He bought the baby a plush Mississippi State football, a stuffed bulldog and some clothes, too. Most of those outfits aren't green.

They're maroon and white. 

Sometimes Shinault takes Cameron Jr. to Starkville so the trio can be together for a few days. Dantzler does daddy duties while his girlfriend completes assignments and takes exams. She's a Mississippi State student, but all of her courses are online. 

On days she isn't with Dantzler, Shinault said living 175 miles away from him has not been easy, even with nightly FaceTime calls. 

"It’s been difficult to keep up with school on my own," she said. "When I'm with him, he’s always watching the baby. It’s been hard trying to juggle it all." 

The family could be reunited sooner rather than later. Dantzler ranks No. 73 in CBS Sports 2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings. That makes him a fringe second-rounder. He already has two interceptions this season and has a chance to make more of a name for himself against SEC heavyweights LSU and Alabama. 

Dantzler doesn't know when he'll be NFL bound. He has six games left to prove his worth and keep climbing up draft boards. If he doesn't like where he stands, he could return to State for one final go at it. 

What he does know is that like Landrews, every time he steps onto a football field he's doing it for more than himself.

"It's going to be the best feeling to know that I'm living my dream and for him to know that dad's living his dream," Dantzler said. "He'll be taken care of for the rest of his life. That's my plan from here on out. It doesn't matter if I go this year or next year. I just want to take care of him at the end of the day." 

'People that care about you outside of your performances between the white lines'

Mississippi State junior cornerback Cameron Dantzler has been delighted by the presence of his son, Cameron Jr., at multiple football games this season.

Though he doesn't have the prestige as an NFL prospect that Dantzler does, Landrews has the same aspirations. He wants his daughter to be old enough to watch her dad play the game he loves so that they can share those memories together in the future. 

"I can’t wait for that," Landrews said. "I want to see her to be like, 'Look! Look! Look at dad!' I'm ready for it, but I don't want her to grow up too fast. I love her the way she is now. I'm enjoying it."

WalterFootball.com, a website that regularly updates position rankings, has Landrews listed as the seventh-best safety eligible for the NFL Draft. A similar site, DraftTek.com, has Landrews rated as the No. 17 safety. 

Those numbers vary, but the ones Landrews has put up at Mississippi State in his senior season have remained consistent. He leads the team in passes defended with four and has the fourth-most tackles with 37. 

Moorhead said he "marvels" at what Landrews has done as a football player while having to take care of a baby at home, but he's not surprised. He said he could sense Landrews' pride in being a parent when he took Nevaeh to team cookouts over the summer. 

Parenthood, Moorhead said, has surely kept everything in perspective for Landrews and Dantzler. Even if their playing careers don't pan out, they always have family to fall back on. 

"You may have a bad class or fail a test, or have a bad practice or lose a game," Moorhead said. "But I know something that always comforts me is when I get out of the office and get home and I'm around my wife and around my kids. I'm able to just decompress and realize there's people that care about you outside of your performances between the white lines. I know it's something that those guys find comfort in as well." 

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!