According to fifth-year senior Donatella Luckett, he joined the football team as a “cocky, high school kid who never really had to work for anything.” He was a running back and planned to grow and thrive in that position for his entire college career. The coaches had another idea and asked Luckett to make a sacrifice in the name of the team.

“When we were making the move for him to go from running back to receiver we knew he could do it,” assistant coach Lee Edwards said. “That was never a question, but we were asking a lot of him. We were asking him to go play a position he had never played, and we really weren’t sure how it was going to go. But it shows you how much of a team player he is. He knew what it meant. He knew it meant that he was not going to touch the ball as many times. He has changed games and sometimes never touched the ball.”

Luckett said he struggled with the idea at first, but he eventually realized he could help and serve his teammates by making the switch.

“People probably think that it was a big deal because I went from touching the ball a lot, but in the end it’s not about touching the ball more, it’s about contributing to the team,” Luckett said. “All my life I’ve been that number one guy, the one everyone depended on. But now I have a team of players, and it’s not just me.”

Head coach Ronnie Huckeba said Luckett’s decision was not something most athletes would do.

“He’s one of the most unselfish athletes I have been around,” Huckeba said. “He’s so talented, and in today’s society, a guy is not willing to step back and be more of a blocker and only touch the ball occasionally.”

Huckeba said that Luckett’s willingness to make the transition from running back to receiver is one of the main reasons the Bisons have been 23-4 in the last three years, and the fact that opponents have to change their defense just to key on Luckett shows how great his talent is.

According to Luckett, the time he has spent at Harding and with the coaches has influenced him to focus on what is really important.

“I think some people get the misunderstanding that you need all these stats, you need all these touchdowns and you need to break all these records to be successful,” Luckett said. “But if you break all these records and have all these stats and you’re still losing at the end of the year, then that goes to show that you have nothing. You have no legacy. In the end someone is going to come and break all those records. Records get broken all the time. Our coaches talk all the time about how records get broken and rings get old and fade away, but legacies last forever.”

According to his coaches, Luckett’s unselfish mentality and incredible talent has garnered the attention of multiple Nation Football League scouts.

“Almost every day at practice you will walk out and see someone with an NFL logo on their shirt,” Edwards said. “They don’t send people to scout guys who they don’t think have a chance to play.”

In light of all the attention, Luckett said he is staying focused and ambitious.

“I’ve got bigger dreams than being a college superstar. I want to be more,” Luckett said. “I want to have more. I want to be known as more. That’s part of coming to Harding, it makes you want more out of life.”