The real deal

The day after Hamp Sisson underwent surgery to repair his broken fibula, Bobby Peterson decided to pay him a visit. Peterson, the executive director of Bigtime Ministries, wanted to see if he could be of aid to Sisson in the aftermath of his April operation. 

But he was beaten to the punch. 

Rolling around on his post-op scooter, his right leg propped on its seat, Sisson asked Peterson if there was anything he could do to help Bigtime, a faith-based organization where he now serves as an intern. 

To Peterson, the offer epitomized the type of person he knows Sisson to be. 

“His heart, it’s one of these things that can’t be taught,” Peterson said. “It’s for all people at all times. I think that’s what is going to make him super successful in life.”

Already, it has carried him so far. 

In seventh grade, Sisson's heart prompted him to start a kickball tournament at Mountain Brook Junior High School. A couple of his friends on the baseball team had mothers who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and he wanted to help. Kick MS has since become an annual event that, according to Sisson, has raised more than $90,000 for MS research.

“Who does that?” asked Mountain Brook High football coach Chris Yeager, his tone one of bewildered admiration. 

In 10th grade, Sisson’s heart, in combination with his talent and mental acuity, earned him the Spartans’ starting quarterback job midway through the season. He led the team on a game-winning drive in his first game, as Mountain Brook beat Tuscaloosa County on the road, 17-16. Sisson finished with two touchdowns in his pocket and a victory under his belt. 

“Hamp, by any means, was an unbelievable sophomore quarterback,” said his teammate and close friend, Clay Stearns. 

Now, Sisson’s heart has led him here, to his third season as Mountain Brook’s starting quarterback and the undisputed leader of a talented team. Guided by Sisson, the Spartans are off to a fast start, and they are hoping for an even faster finish. 

This is where Sisson, a senior, always envisioned he would be. 

For a kid who grew up attending his older brother’s high school games — and who has long aspired to be the starting quarterback on a contending Mountain Brook team — Sisson’s current situation is like a dream come true. 

But he’s far from satisfied. 

“It’s gone by in a blur for sure, but I’ve had a blast every single season,” he said. “This year, the dream would be to end with a state championship. That’s always been our seniors’ goal.” 

And it wouldn’t be attainable without Sisson, who has helped reinsert the Spartan program onto the forefront of the state’s football scene. In his first full season as Mountain Brook’s signal-caller last fall, he quarterbacked the team to an 8-3 record and a playoff berth. 

The Spartans hadn’t sniffed the postseason the two preceding years, which both ended with only three wins. 

“He’s had a great perspective in knowing the mistakes that he had made and the failures that we’ve had as a team,” Yeager said. “I think he used those as an opportunity to learn and develop as a person and a quarterback. When we see him play now, I think that’s what shows.”

Sisson fits the mold of a prototypical dual-threat quarterback, as he is capable of making plays with his arm and his legs. Through the air, he can spread accurate passes across the field with consistency. On the ground, he possesses the speed and elusiveness to transform a lost play into a substantial gain. 

He has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 to 4.6 seconds.

“There’s a saying, ‘players make plays,’” Stearns said. “He is that guy. He’s the guy on Friday night that is going to make plays regardless because he puts in the time, he puts in the work.”

But even with his automatic arm and smooth stride, Sisson’s biggest asset on the field may be the least conspicuous. Yeager said his quarterback is as fast with his mind as he is with his feet, and there is empirical evidence to support the claim. 

Sisson, who holds a 4.4 GPA, scored a 35 on the ACT college entrance exam. 

His high IQ spills from the classroom to the film room, where he consumes a steady diet of game tape in advance of each matchup. By the time Friday night rolls around, Sisson has logged the reps required to flex his mental muscle.  

“When one of the coaches hands me something, I feel like I do a very good job of mentally processing it,” Sisson said. “That’s something I like to use as my strength, is to be able to do everything I can in my own mind to outsmart the opponent.” 

Yeager said the key for Sisson is to not overthink, which can be a challenge due to his knowledge of the offense’s intricacies. Yeager likened his quarterback to an assistant coach who can instruct his teammates at different positions. 

Sisson became aptly acquainted with a coach’s vantage point earlier this year. After breaking his right fibula during a game of two-hand touch with his teammates, he missed the entirety of spring practice. 

Sisson had scrambled to escape a blitz, but his bone cracked when he planted his foot in the ground to shift direction. 

A scar now traces the outside of his lower leg and ankle where doctors performed the surgery. As he worked toward recovery, Sisson advised and encouraged his fellow Spartans. 

“I think every person on this team knows the kind of leader that he is, that he cares about them,” Yeager said. “Those guys, they’d follow him off the side of a cliff and not even blink.”

Sisson returned to practice in July, and he said he now feels stronger and faster than ever before. Colleges like what they have seen. Wofford, Jacksonville State, The Citadel and Army have all extended offers to Mountain Brook’s starting quarterback. 

Yeager isn’t surprised. 

Whenever recruiters sit in his office, he said they marvel at Sisson’s coveted attributes: the intelligence, arm strength and foot speed. But one thing, in particular, grabs their attention. 

Yeager tells his visitors about the kickball tournament that Sisson began as a middle schooler, along with all the money it has since raised. 

The anecdote surprises them, he said, but it no longer fazes those who know Sisson best. 

“He’s an unbelievable quarterback and an unbelievable person,” Stearns said. “He’s just a real joy to be around.”