Uplifted, she could barely lift up.

She was paralyzed, but by the excitement, too, so Marneka Whitehead said: “Look it here, I’m not getting in the wheelchair, I’m not using this walker, I’m going to walk in here, and we’re going to hold our head up.”

On a sunny Wednesday morning, a ballroom beamed from the inside, as more than 100 St. Louis students celebrated college football signing day with their families. This doesn’t happen in every city, but the local chapter of the National Football Foundation throws this perfect spiral of an event — a breakfast ceremony at Norwood Country Club, where each kid gets a moment in the spotlight, announcing his name and college at a podium.

And so, Marneka locked arms with her college-bound son and stepped slowly into the grand room, amid a relapse from multiple sclerosis.

“I had him at a young age, I was only 17,” Marneka said of Daveon Drayton, a Hazelwood East cornerback headed to Benedictine College. “We struggled, especially these last four years, he lost his dad, and I was diagnosed with MS. To go through what we went through, and for him to come out like this? He’s the first grandkid in our entire family ever to go to college. I almost want to cry, but it would be happy tears, you know?”

On game days, some of these athletes are so talented, it’s as if the playing field isn’t level.

But on the other six days, the playing field isn’t level either.

So we celebrated perseverance Wednesday, each kid in the room with his own story.

“Dreams do come true,” said Lutheran South running back Cody Schrader, headed to Truman State. “It’s a day to take it all in.”

And take in the donuts. There were so many pastries, it was as if every kid in the room was a left tackle. It was a just a fun morning, kids reunited with rivals they’d last seen in the fall, parents snapping cell phone pics from different angles — spring training for graduation day.

Backstage, some of the biggest studs in school stood nervously with their hands in their pockets. Third-and-long is one thing, but speaking in front of hundreds of people was another. Still, each student earned that moment. And each stepped off the stage with a little Friday night lithe.

“It’s once in a lifetime,” said Pattonville’s Caron Coleman, who is headed to Coffeyville Community College. “I couldn’t even go to sleep, I was so excited. I was just up, playing Madden. I probably got two hours of sleep.”

A lineman, Coleman might not have the best feet in the room, but he had the best shoes in the room — a Steve Madden silver rhinestone smoking slipper, size 16.

“I got these for homecoming,” he said. “Special occasions only.”

Lutheran South’s Schrader was honest about the recruiting process — while the desire of most athletes, it can be a grueling and humbling experience. One of the better backs in the state, he didn’t get the looks from all the schools he thought he would. But he found a fit with Truman State, in state, and he’ll plow forward to Kirksville, and maybe plow into his close friend, KeShon Spraggins, a high school teammate headed to college-rival McKendree.

“(Schrader) is one of those rare commodities, because he’s a combination of heart, speed, determination and just good old-fashioned hard work,” Lutheran South coach Jameson Allen said. “There’s no one around who I’ve seen, and I’ve been doing this for a long time, who works as hard as that young man. His body is in shape, he’s mentally prepared. What we’ve done the last two years together is phenomenal. He’s helped me grow.”

The day was a celebration for student-athletes, but most of the pomp of the circumstance was for the athlete part. A former NFL first-rounder focused on the student part. Howard Richards, the great Mizzou right tackle from the late 1970s, gave a speech on stage.

“The biggest thing I’m going to tell you guys is — the gift of college, for most of you, it’s free,” he said. “Free in the form of an athletic scholarship, and you’re able to take the burden off your parents. But when you get to school — take advantage of it, be your best you. You don’t want to become a statistic. ... Come back and make your communities proud.”

From her seat at her table, Marneka Whitehead spoke of her son’s dream — the NFL — and her son’s goal, an engineering degree. The 34-year-old mother was giddy about her son’s full-ride. Seated and smiling to her side, 7-year-old Kaveon probably didn’t understand the significance, though maybe one day he will — his favorite sport is football and favorite school subject is math.

During a 2013 robbery, they robbed the boys of their father.

“Gun violence. A few days before Christmas,” Marneka said. “Their father was murdered in December, and then I was diagnosed with MS in February. … I’ve had multiple relapses This one was probably the second-worst. I’ve been paralyzed. I wasn’t able to walk just five days ago. But being able to be here with my son, and knowing that he doesn’t have that father figure anymore, I’m ecstatic for him.”

Wearing a hat featuring the Benedictine College Ravens logo, the cornerback said, “She’s the strongest person. I appreciate everything she did for me. A single mom, doing it by herself. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”