Area football players taking their talents to college
Wed. February 01, 2012 at 6:37 p.m. | By John Davidson
Luke Wingo puts on a North Alabama cap during a National Signing Day ceremony at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa. Wingo signed to play football at UNA. (Photo by Michelle Lepianka Carter )
“I’ve heard about the recruiting rollercoaster,” said Grammer, who led American Christian Academy to the Class 2A semifinals in 2011. “Now I’ve been on it.”
Grammer had previously committed to Houston, but after coach Kevin Sumlin left for Texas A&M and took his offensive staff with him, Grammer had to rethink his decision.
“I didn’t want to be that far from home and be uncomfortable,” Grammer said.
ACA coach John Causey said he stayed on the phone constantly after the coaching change at Houston, trying to get schools to look at Grammer, a difficult task so late into the recruiting season.
“It was like trying to do the first two weeks of recruiting during the last two weeks,” Causey said. “I think it’s a great situation for him at Middle Tennessee State. They run a similar kind of offense to what we do.”
Grammer said the similarities between the two offenses should ease his transition. Both ACA and Middle Tennesseee run fast-paced offenses with a high number of plays.
“They have similar formations and name calls,” Grammer said. “I like that I can go in there and be ahead a little bit.”
Grammer’s commitment to Middle Tennessee came last week and came together very quickly. He said the school called to offer him a scholarship last Thursday, and he was on the road Friday. He started his official visit on Saturday and was impressed.
“The coaches seemed like genuine, good guys,” Grammer said. “I felt like I could come in and contribute immediately.”
Wingo, who led Hillcrest to an undefeated regular season, said he chose North Alabama because he was excited about the Lions joining the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) in two years. Wingo also said he likes coach Bobby Wallace and his style of offense.
“They run the spread-option there, and you make the same reads as quarterback as we did here,” Wingo said, “The offense is very similar, you just work more out of the gun instead of under center.”
Cheri Wingo, Luke’s mother, said she was very proud of her son and she was especially happy with his choice of North Alabama.
“Florence is my hometown,” the mother said. “A lot of relatives are going to get to see him play.”
Luke’s father, Rich Wingo, said he is glad his son got to play at a high school like Hillcrest, which helped him develop as a player and gave him the opportunity to be where he is today.
“I’m glad football doesn’t define Luke,” Rich Wingo said. “He has many talents, and football just happens to be one of them.”
Hillcrest coach Adam Winegarden said Wingo is a warrior and a tremendous competitor, and he thinks Wingo’s dual-threat skill set will serve him well at North Alabama.
“The best thing about him is he has the intangibles of a leader,” Winegarden said. “Having leadership at quarterback will take you very far.”
ACA had three players sign scholarships on Wednesday, and Causey said he couldn’t be more proud.
“It always does my heart good to see someone go on,” Causey said. “It’s exciting, like having a young family member continuing his career.”
ACA safety Tyler Hughes signed a scholarship with Jacksonville State, choosing the Gamecocks over Florida Atlantic, West Alabama and Samford. He said he clicked well with the Gamecocks coaches and plans to start playing on special teams before rotating into the defense.
“It’s been a long process,” Hughes said. “I’m just glad it’s over and I’m going to JSU.”
Offensive lineman Preston LeGrone, also from ACA, has elected to play at Birmingham-Southern College, a Division III school which does not offer athletic scholarships.
Hillcrest had four players sign athletic scholarships, although only three were on campus for the signing-day ceremony. Linebacker Deddric Williams enrolled early at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
“The one thing I was really proud of was he made the effort to graduate early,” Winegarden said. “It says a lot about his maturity to be able to accomplish that.”
Hillcrest’s Brandon Moss signed with the University of West Alabama as an athlete.
Hillcrest offensive lineman Luke Lawrence signed with Troy and said he was sold after he went to a game late in the season. He received a scholarship offer shortly afterward and committed. He said football played a large part in his decision.
“It’s a good school in a good league with a good team,” Lawrence said. “They won the Sun Belt Conference five years in a row, not counting (2011).”
Lawrence said he hopes to contribute early, and Troy’s coaches told him that with hard work, he should get some early playing time. Lawrence’s mother, Missy Lawrence, was ecstatic about her son’s choice.
“We’re just thrilled he’s going so close to home,” she said. “We get to see all his games.”
Central High linebacker Nathan Carter signed with Georgia Military College, a junior college located in Milledgeville, Ga. He was selected for The Tuscaloosa News’ Class 5A West Alabama All-Stars in 2011 and also received an offer from Miles College.
“I feel it’s a great two-year school,” Carter said, “somewhere I will be successful and go on to a four-year college.”
Tuscaloosa County High School’s DeShawn Burgess will play defensive end for Miles in Birmingham. He signed Wednesday morning in the high school’s library.
Burgess said he chose Miles because the school has shown interest in him since he was a sophomore and because it ihas are a championship-caliber team. The Golden Bears won their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship last season under first-year coach Reginald Ruffin. Burgess hopes to help bring more championships to the school.
“I’m very excited,” Burgess said.
Northridge cornerback Jamarcus Howard signed with Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
“I just like how their coaching staff is,” Howard said. “I like how they teach as well. When they talk about the tutoring, I like how they are going to help me out in school.”
Howard said Coffeyville visited him twice and showed more interest than any other school that recruited him. The 5-foot-11 corner also said he was excited about the opportunity to play for the Red Ravens. Though he had his mind made up prior to his selection, Tuesday night was still filled with anticipation and excitement.
“I was just too anxious,” Howard said. “I couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was signing. I talked to my mom and dad about it, I went on Facebook and Twitter. I just had to brag about it. It’s the best thing ever.”
Northridge coach Mike Smith said he will not be surprised if Howard ends up playing for a BCS-conference team in the near future.
“He’s an outstanding athlete with unbelievable potential,” Smith said.
Tony Tsoukalas and Erich Hilkert contributed to this report.