27 Aug 2024 501 Football Team 2024: Tripp Tapley – Quitman

After suffering a torn labrum last season, Quitman All-Conference senior center Tripp Tapley went the extra mile in the weight room this summer to be football-ready for the Bulldogs this fall.

“There are a lot of things you can’t control, but there are two things you can control: your toughness and your work ethic,” he said. “Pound-for-pound, I want to be remembered as the toughest guy and hardest worker.”

Effort is contagious, and Tapley’s leadership has inspired throughout the locker room. With their three-year starting center leading the charge, the Bulldogs aim to make noise in Class 2-3A action one game at a time.

“Tripp has been one of our most reliable players who always does his job and, a lot of the time, part of someone else’s job,” Head Coach DJ Marrs said. “He is selfless and makes everyone around him better by being the example.”

For Tapley and his teammates, success goes beyond personal accolades. “Our team goal is to not only fill the shoes of those before us but leave bigger ones to be filled for those who follow,” he said. “By working together, we hope to advance farther than we ever have in the state playoffs.”

Off the field, Tapley is active in Future Farmers of America.

“Through FFA, Tripp leads many events that help our school and our program,” Marrs said. “He’s one of the best in the state at rodeo, the vice president of Quitman’s FFA chapter and still holds a 3.5 GPA.”