I WAS FAR FAR AWAY from the Roquan situation, but as the parent of two recruited athletes, I love going to cover the signings of kids who might not be going to UGA or the bigger schools.
My first stop was Central High School, where Jesse Hicks reigns, and Coach Hicks makes signing day a special event. He was quick to say that he was going to take as long as he needed to get the point across that Central football was on the way up
Coach Hicks asks his kids to speak at the ceremony and first up was Christopher Sparks. When Mr. Sparks got to the podium to speak, you could tell that public speaking was not something he was really comfortable doing. It took him a minute to get started, but then he told a story about his arrival at Central only two years ago after attending Southwest before that.
Sparks remembered his first days, when he really wasn't thrilled about being at a new school. He admitted to openly saying that he wasn't thrilled with being at Central, and admitted that his quarterback Derrick Evans told him to just go back to Southwest. But he didn't and soon became one of Evans favorite receivers. Two years later, Sparks was on the podium, signing his letter of intent to Albany State. He could not quit speaking about the relationship he had with his mom, Rosalyn, and that he saw his signing as a birthday present to her, since her birthday is tomorrow.
Robert (Bobby ) Cummings was next. This kid has impressed me for years, because he is one of those athletes who always competes at a high level, but is somewhat under the radar. Not only does he play on both sides of the ball, he also plays basketball, where he basically has the role of defensive stopper and let the other kids get the glory.
Cummings came to the podium with cell phone in hand, and his speech was prepared. His smile had the room from the minute he started talking, and he thanked all the right people. This is the kind of kid that college coaches will love, and I am sure he will be quite successful at Benedict.
I then traveled to Forsyth where head coach Brian Nelson had fiver players sign today, with the promise of four or five more expected to sign in the near future.
Tyler Camp was a joy to talk to and he obviously gets it. He admitted am obsession to getting a scholarship after getting serious about football in the 10th grade. By the time he was a junior, he admitted to staying up until 2am in the morning many nights, sending game film and emails to coaches until he started to get interest. Western Kentucky got him early and he never wavered, and at 6'3 and 300 pounds, expect to see him play for WKU, a D1 team that played in a bowl last year, very soon.
Demarcus Davis and Quen Head both are headed to West Georgia, where they both think they can get immediate playing time. Davis is a talker for sure, and it was interesting to hear that after college, he wants to come back and coach at Mary Persons. That is saying a lot for the love he has for the football program that developed him.
Malik Bledsoe and JT Stokes , both receivers, signed with Wingate, and when I asked them how difficult it would be to compete against each other for playing time, they both looked at me and had almost the exact same answer, which was basically that they would both find the field early, and that they would remain best friends regardless of who found the field first. But, they both were very excited to play in an offense that has 5 receivers on the field for most of the game.
Yakima Wilson form Central signed to play soccer at Mississippi Valley State, despite tearing her ACL in October. She was stuck on the school after they stuck with her after her injury. Wilson was also quick to point out that Jerry Rice went to school at Mississippi Valley, a fact that not many 17 year old girls would know.
It was a great day spent talking to great kids. Don't just go crazy over the D1 kids, go crazy over all the local athletes who signed today. They deserve it
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