The final Exchange Bank and Trust Demon Great of the Game for the 2022 Northwestern State football season left behind a legacy of service.

A four-year letterman on the Demon defensive line, Ricky Issac Jr. was named the 2011 NSU Defensive Most Valuable Player after recording 63 tackles (31 solo) as a defensive end. He added 10 quarterback hurries, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a breakout season.

Issac more than doubled his career tackle total in his senior season.

Less than 14 months after the conclusion of his college football career, Issac died in an on-duty auto accident while patrolling for the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office. 

Issac was a Cypress, Texas, native who was active in the NSU Huddle of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He joined the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office shortly after earning his undergraduate degree in December 2011.

He served as Northwestern State’s police escort for the final two road football games of 2012 – at Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin.

Issac, who was 24 years old when he died, is survived by his wife, Akilah, and their son, Ricky, who was born after Issac’s death.

The Exchange Bank Demon Great of the Game program is in its second decade of honoring former Northwestern State student-athletes and staff members. Exchange Bank and Trust has been a key supporter of NSU Athletics throughout its long history as the oldest financial institution in Louisiana.

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