A student-athlete is often considered to live a double life because of having to balance a full-time academic life with a strict schedule of practices.

This is the case of 21-year-old linebacker Geoffrey Hebert, who is in the spotlight for his academic excellence and achievements on the field.

“Both school and football are really important to me,” Hebert said. “I see my self as a student-athlete. I value both things, to do well in the classroom and to do well on the field.”

Hebert is a red shirt sophomore, born and raised in Thibodaux, and is currently a junior, double majoring in finance and accounting with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. He also made the President’s list every semester for the past three years.

As a football player, he received a red shirt in the 2013 season, which means he didn’t start playing until his sophomore year of school.

In the 2014 season, Hebert started 11 of the 12 games he played as linebacker, had 30 tackles in the year, 14 of which were solo, recorded 0.5 tackles for loss and had a personal best of eight tackles on the game at Houston Baptist University.

Hebert’s workload is more intense than the average student-athlete. He spends most of his time during the week at school. He has to manage his time to stabilize his academic life and athletic life between classes, practices and game schedules.

“I don’t have a lot of free time,” Hebert said. “I am on campus from 8 a.m. until practice time and after practice I sometimes have night classes. When I am home, I am either studying, doing homework or working on some project.”

As a son of a football coach, Hebert started playing football when he was 12 years old. Growing up around football and going to practices as a kid were the main factors that influenced him to become passionate about the sport and its strategies.

“It has always been fun to sit down and talk football with my dad,” Hebert said. “He has always been supportive of me in every sport I played.”

Although football wasn’t the only sport Hebert played throughout his childhood and teen years, it has always been his favorite sport. He also played basketball, baseball, soccer and track and field. During high school, the athlete experienced playing different positions in football but embraced being a linebacker, the same position he currently plays for the Colonels.

“I think linebacker is the best position that I fit,” Hebert said. “At Nicholls, I try to lead by example, so we can be successful.”

The athlete grew up a block away from Nicholls State University and decided to become a Colonel because of football and the business program.

The student-athlete’s excellence in both fields dates back from his high school years. Hebert graduated from E. D. White High School with a 4.0 GPA, making the school’s President’s List eight times and was a member of the National Honor Society.

As a football player, he lettered three years for the Cardinals, received Louisiana Football Coaches Association 3A All-State honorable mention as a senior and was named first-team all-district twice (2010-2011) and all-region and played in the Bayou vs. River All-Star Game.