COMMERCE - The National Champion Texas A&M University-Commerce football team officially introduced the newest members of the program on Sunday as 14-year-old Japheth Cranfill and 12-year-old Jeriah Cranfill of Greenville joined the Lions on their Team IMPACT Draft Day.
 
Japheth and Jeriah came to campus on their official recruiting visit on Wednesday, visiting with the coaching staff and Leadership Council, taking photos with the National Championship trophy, getting fitted for team gear, and going through drills with team members. On Sunday, their draft day consisted of signing a National Letter of Intent (NLI) during a press conference with local media, meeting with newly installed University President Dr. Mark Rudin, taking photos with the Lion Cheer team, and joining in the annual team photo.
 
"I always say you've got to be recruiting everday," said A&M-Commerce head football coach Colby Carthel. "We've got two great recruits here today. We're tickled to death to have them join our team and they're going to help take this program To The Top!"
 
As Lion athletes, these top recruits will become an official member of the Lion Football team. As team members, Japheth and Jeriah will attend Lions practices, games, team dinners, events, and more.
 
Team IMPACT is a national nonprofit headquartered in Boston, Mass., that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes. Since 2011, Team IMPACT has matched nearly 1,600 children with more than 500 colleges and universities in 48 states, reaching over 50,000 participating student-athletes. The child joins the athletic team and the student-athletes join the child's support team. Throughout the journey, the child gains strength, camaraderie and support while the student-athletes experience lessons of courage, resiliency and perspective they can't learn in a classroom.