North Mesquite coach Mike Robinson has instituted mandatory tutorial hours for the players in his program, lasting for 30 minutes during every afternoon practice.
Each player sprints inside to take off his pads and go back into the classrooms.
"We're going to win football games, and we're going to win in the classroom," Robinson said.
Even students with good grades, such as senior offensive lineman Daniel Marrufo, are not exempt. Those players tutor their teammates.
"If we don't take care of each other, we don't care about each other," Marrufo said.
Robinson spends much of his time during the school day ducking into classrooms to check on his players. And the penalties are harsh: Last week, Robinson suspended three sub-varsity players for not being in tutorials at 3:55 p.m., 10 minutes after the players are released.
North Mesquite (2-3) is off this week.
Greg Tepper
