Orangefield Native Makes Texans Squad

By Michelle Heath
Beaumont Enterprise

With her flashy, red knee-high go-go boots and perfectly curled blonde hair, Jessica Eatman strolled around the Orangefield High School football stadium and coaches’ offices on Wednesday afternoon.

Teachers and coaches greeted Eatman with hugs and the occasional squeals of “congratulations.” The 22-year-old was selected last month out of 1,200 women to join the 2015 Houston Texans Cheerleader Squad.

Eatman, a former Orangefield High School head cheerleader, will be one of 35 women cheering on the Texans when the NFL season opens this fall.

Eatman said she had tried out for the squad twice before and didn’t get picked.

Her family’s love of football – specifically for the Texans – made the idea of standing on the NRG field cheering in front of 70,000 fans a surreal ambition.

So, Eatman got serious about this year’s tryouts.

She moved to Houston last summer – while still enrolled full-time at Lamar University – and started taking ballet, jazz and hip-hop classes.

Eatman also made her own tryout uniform this year: a flowy, blue ensemble. One of her boots broke during the March tryouts, making her the last cheerleading hopeful to show off her skills.

Apparently that last impression paid off.

In addition to preparing for tryouts, Eatman used her move to Houston to start pursuing a law degree. Eatman said she intends to take the LSATs soon.

She said the Texans Cheerleaders don’t fit the old cheerleading stereotypes. Some of the women are nurse practitioners and oil and gas executives, and a few are pursuing master’s degrees, she said.

“They choose good girls because you’re an ambassador for the Houston Texans,” she said.