JACKSON, MISS — Aqeel Glass, by his own admission, is a pretty chill guy.
But that all went out the window at 5:51 PM CST on May 1st. The Alabama A&M quarterback launched his white and maroon helmet into the air as his team clinched the spring 2021 SWAC football championship.
“It’s an amazing feeling to celebrate with those guys you worked so hard with,” Glass said after the game. “Blood, sweat and tears that you shed with those guys – the bond’s unbreakable. Like we said before the game, ‘leave your legacy.’ Winning this championship, we left our legacy.”
Glass and AAMU most certainly did. After trailing 26-18 at halftime, AAMU scored 22 unanswered points to put just enough room to keep Arkansas-Pine Bluff from mounting a late comeback.
The senior quarterback from St. Louis had a solid day passing the ball by his lofty standards. He completed 24 of 45 passes for 271 yards and three scores in the win. But some of his biggest plays came with his legs. The boxscore shows he rushed 11 times for four yards for the game. Despite his last name, Glass has a lumberjack-like frame and isn’t known for being a running threat.
Midway through the fourth quarter with his team clinging to a one-score lead, Glass tucked the ball and ran twice, with both looming large. The first one was a three-yard run that was aided by a personal foul on UAPB, adding on 15 more yards. A few plays later, AAMU found itself facing a third-and-10. Glass tucked the ball again and ran for 15 yards, placing the ball at the 13 yard line.
“We had a quarterback draw called. I just had to read the blocks,” Glass said. “I knew I had to get the first down, so, it wasn’t no sliding in that situation.”
One play later, Glass found Zabrian Moore for a score that put the Bulldogs up by two scores with 7:16 remaining.
Glass hugs quarterbacks coach Jason Mai. (Steven J. Gaither photo) 
Glass run vs. UAPB (Steven J. Gaither photo) 
Glass hoists the SWAC title trophy. (Steven J. Gaither photo) 
Glass shares the spotlight with a teammate. (Steven J. Gaither photo)
The play was similar to what he did two weeks earlier at the Magic City Classic. Those plays both excite and scare his head coach Connell Maynor.
“He had a big run in the second half, on the go-ahead touchdown drive on a third down,” Maynor said. “It was huge and he got up and pointed and…everybody rallies around him when he does something like that. And so he did it again today. Unfortunately, the guy took his knees out and flipped him on his head.”
But Aqeel Glass got up. Just like Alabama A&M this spring football season.
“It was a point and time in the fall we didn’t know when we were gonna play. Just to come out here and play is amazing. And then with all the cancellations we had, we just had to stay focused. The message this week was – we made it this far, so why not finish the job,” he said.
“If we didn’t win, it would all be for naught. We didn’t want to have that feeling, so we just went out there and did our jobs.”
And while the senior both graduated at became a champion this weekend, Aqeel Glass is not riding off into the sunset yet. He’ll be back this fall before preparing for the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I’m the type of guy, where, I don’t get too up, I don’t get too down. Accomplishments are cool, but there’s always something bigger ahead. Whether it be the draft, SWAC Player of the Year, whatever. I’ve always been a “next play type of guy. I’m just excited for the future.”