For many college football players, balancing early morning workouts, game-day adrenaline and the grind of classes would be more than enough to handle.  

But for a unique brotherhood of athletes at Eastern, there’s another layer stitched into their experience—one that comes with letters, line jackets and a lifetime bond. 

This semester, redshirt junior wide receiver Landers Green and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Trevon Piggee-Blake crossed to the Theta Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.  

These men are more than just teammates, Green said. They’re line brothers. 

“We played on the football team, but we weren’t as close as we are now,” Green said. “We are together every day, literally outside of football. So, you gain brothers, and you create this bond that lasts forever, essentially.” 

Green transferred to EIU from Union College where there wasn’t much Greek life on campus. He said he waited until Kappa Alpha Psi was back on Eastern’s campus to try to cross.  

“When they [Kappa Alpha Psi] came back on campus, it piqued my interest even more,” Green said. “Then my ship [Piggee-Blake] right here also compelled me to seek interest.” 

Pigge-Blake, who is a legacy of the fraternity, originally wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. 

“As I kept learning more and more about it, I started to develop a love for myself instead of just being, ‘I want to honor my father,’” Piggee-Blake said. “So, it began to become some more to me than it just being because of my dad. It became a reason for me to wake up and be like, ‘Alright, I got to strive to be better than I was yesterday or get better at something.’” 

When Piggee-Blake finally decided to pledge, it wasn’t just about keeping the family line going—it was about stepping into something bigger.  

He wasn’t just his father’s son anymore. He was his father’s brother in Kappa Land. Even though they wore the same letters, his journey looked completely different.  

Alton “AJ” Jefferson crossed into the Tau Theta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. during spring 2023.  

Jamari Johnson crossed into the Theta Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi during fall 2024.  

Jefferson crossed into Omega Psi Phi because of the same cardinal principles the fraternity is based on, and he said he lives them in his daily life.  

“The cardinal principles that the fraternity is based on, manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift,” Jefferson said. “I just feel like those are the cardinal principles that I lived in my daily life, also my fraternity life, and my football life. It’s just in my life in general.” 

Johnson chose to cross into Kappa Alpha Psi because he was ultimately drawn to its focus on image and community leadership.  

“I chose my frat because the way that they present themselves, they have a reputation of being classy, and being professional,” Johnson said. “Once I crossed, I knew that they were serious about achievement in every field of human endeavor. That’s something I’ve always been big on is achieving all my goals, making sure I have goals to obtain and always achieve and go above and beyond in everything I do.” 

Both Johnson and Jefferson were competitors on the field, always battling for reps and pushing each other to get better, but off the field, they became a different kind of family. 

When Jefferson crossed back in 2023, Johnson went to the probate to support his teammate, but when Johnson crossed in 2024, Jefferson went to support his 1911 brother.  

“Our relationship just went skyrocketing,” Johnson said. “I loved my homie before, and now I love him even more. And it’s just because we both went through the same thing, and we both came out on top. It’s a different type of respect for him.” 

Johnson said he came to Jefferson during his process asking for advice and Jefferson was all ears, without hesitation.  

“I looked at him just as a better man,” Jefferson said. “And he was coming to me asking for help and asking for my advice. So, I just, as a man and a brother, I just respect him more.” 

He appreciated Jefferson’s help through it all. 

“Especially, the world we live in, two Black men, we are helping each other,” Johnson said. “It’s a beautiful thing.” 

Johnson graduated from Eastern in December of 2024, and as he was going through his process, his future was on his mind. 

Whether it’s graduate school, coaching, business or community organizing, Johnson knows that their dual experience in football and fraternity life has prepared them for anything. 

“I was more worried about my future after football,” Johnson said. “I wanted to meet other men that could push me into a positive future as far as business, as far as learning different lessons and stuff like that. My reason, it was more like the networking side and building another brotherhood outside of football.” 

Johnson and Jefferson said the fraternity brotherhood versus the football brotherhood is something different.  

“I feel like it’s just a deeper brotherhood inside the fraternity just because once you’re done with undergrad, you’re still going to have the letters on regardless,” Jefferson said. “But once you hang the cleats up, you’re done with football for sure.” 

That’s their drive for being in a D9 fraternity, Johnson and Jefferson said. 

They hope to be remembered as more than athletes. 

“I really just want to continue to bring in great men into the frat,” Johnson said. “Nowadays in this generation, there’s a lot of guys that are doing stuff just to do it for the wrong reasons. I just want to continue the legacy of bringing in respectable men, men that are about what my frat is about.” 

Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at paliggins@eiu.edu.