Editor's note: This feature story appeared in the UTSA Digital Game Program for the Army game on Saturday at the Alamodome.
By Julia Maenius, UTSA Athletics Communications
SAN ANTONIO -- As a thriving city, built on the foundation of hard work and dedication, the military ties to San Antonio run deep. Playing in Military City USA, UTSA seniors Hunter Duplessis and Kadari Johnson represent the standard of military families, setting an example with their work ethic while striving for greatness, qualities that are exemplified in the members of the United States Military.
Johnson's father has served in the Army for 20 years. He credits his father as the role model that has inspired a work ethic Johnson brings to the field.
"Having a military father showed me how you have to work hard for everything you want to receive, whether it is in life or in sports, anything," Johnson said. "Growing up, I realized that everything he has done for me had made me into the person I am today."
Duplessis comes from a lineage of service members. A native of San Antonio, Duplessis' father currently serves in the Army, continuing his 30 years of service. Two of his uncles and both grandfathers also served, laying the foundation for Duplessis' work ethic and mental drive.
"Being a military child, the discipline comes naturally because you are representing more than just yourself. You are also representing your parents," Duplessis said. "More than being an individual, you also represent your family and to a certain extent, you represent the United States Army."
Transferring as a walk-on from Saginaw Valley State, which is located in Michigan, in 2019, Johnson leaned on his learned work ethic. His hard work in the offseason led to the fall-camp reward of a scholarship for the 2020 season.
"I chose UTSA because I wanted to come back to Texas, and I loved the city of San Antonio," Johnson said. "When I was in Michigan, I told myself that I felt like I could play bigger than where I was at, so I decided to make the transition."
Duplessis also joined the Roadrunners as a walk-on place-kicker. Duplessis earned a spot on the team, utilizing his sense of individual drive to earn a scholarship later in his career. As a senior in 2020, Duplessis is keeping his name in contention as one of the nation's top kickers. Entering the Army game, Duplessis leads the nation with 20 consecutive field goals made dating back to his junior season.
"It translates because the results and the game repetitions are the easy repetitions, and not a lot of people see that," Duplessis said. "We work very hard as a unit, and when it comes down to kicking, I am a perfectionist. I think it is cool that rep after rep, after thousands and thousands of them, with summer training during COVID and a new coaching staff, overall, to be able to put that on display, execute and play ball is what it's all about."
Proving true to his work ethic on and off the field, Duplessis was nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy. Known as the "Academic Heisman" in the sport of football, Duplessis was named a semifinalist, contributing his success to the foundation of work ethic influenced by those serving the country in his family.
"I have always held myself to a high academic and athletic standard since I have been in college," Duplessis said. "It was a testament to all of the things I have been through in the past. Between moving everywhere, all of the adversity, only playing soccer to only playing one year of football, coming to UTSA as a walk on and eventually working my way up through the ranks to where I am at today showed a lot of perseverance. I think that is the manifestation of years and years of work and although there is a lot of work to be done, it is really gratifying and an absolute honor to represent the university in something as big as that."
Valuable life lessons have been passed down from father to son, setting the groundwork for a strong work ethic and perseverance in athletics for both student-athletes. The military ideals of respect and discipline have been instituted in both players' lives, creating a tone of elevated excellence.
"The biggest one is adapting to different situations and adapting to adversity," Duplessis said. "Just give maximum effort in everything that you do because the Army, and all branches of the military, push for excellence and don't really tolerate mediocrity or inadequacy. It has turned me into somewhat of a perfectionist, which can be good and bad at times, but it has definitely helped me in my career overall."
The foundation created from a military family of hard work and duty has allowed both Duplessis and Johnson to connect the lessons learned from their families, carrying over onto the field.
"It connects," Johnson said. "I know Coach Traylor has the golden rule of be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there and doing what you are supposed to be doing with perfect effort, and that is a similar motto my dad has taught me growing up. I know they use something similar to that in the military as well."
As Military City USA welcomes the Army Black Knights to the Alamodome on Saturday, facing the branch of service representing the two student-athletes' families culminates a tone of respect and motivation for the Roadrunners on the field.
"It does motivate me to go out there and perform to the best of my abilities," Johnson said. "I know [his father] would want me to go out there and perform to the best that I can, so I am just going to go harder this week in practice to make sure I can get out there and bust my tail."
"There is a sense of respect for what these young men are going to do within four to five years," Duplessis said. "The fact that they are selecting to play football when they are also training for a whole career and what the longevity of their goals represent for this country is a big deal to me."
- UTSA -
