MACON — Tyrone Shorter couldn’t help but think back Wednesday about how far some of his players have come.
National Signing Day typically is a time for coaches, parents, and players to reflect on an athletic journey that includes plenty of ups and downs and lessons learned.
Six Noxubee County High School football players shared those memories with Shorter, members of the team’s coaching staff, and family members Wednesday as they announced their plans to play the sport in college.
Terrence Barron (Alcorn State/East Mississippi Community College) and Ryald Mitchell (EMCC) joined teammates Ladarrell Hunt, Jacoby Jones, Rodrick Joiner, and Davion Pruitt (Itawamba C.C.) in continuing a tradition of Tigers moving on to the next level.
Last season, Shorter sent seven players on to college following his first season as head coach. Toddrick Tate, DeMarcus Barnett, KeShun Smith, and Corey Williams all went to EMCC.
On Wednesday, Shorter battled through a raspy voice and was more than happy to talk about what the latest group of players meant to the program.
“They were all leaders, and they did a very god job here,” said Shorter, who started coaching the six players in seventh grade. “I am so proud of them to watch them develop into college players. I won’t have to worry about them. I won’t have to check up on them because they are good guys, they are respectful guys, and they are going to represent themselves, their families and Noxubee County very well.”
Shorter said Noxubee County has sent a handful of student-athletes to play at ICC in his 13 years as a coach at the school. He said the removal of protected lists and the ability of junior colleges to go all over the state to sign players could help Noxubee County develop strong relationships — like the one they have with EMCC — with other schools.
“It is good in a way and bad in a way,” Shorter said. “I think ICC got some great players. They got some players Scooba (EMCC) normally would have gotten. It is most definitely going to help their program. These guys are only going to get better. They have a lot of upside to them.”
Shorter said a lot of junior colleges came to Macon in an attempt to sign his players. He said many of the seniors opted for EMCC and ICC because they wanted to stay close to home.
Barron was one of the leaders on offense for a team that finished 10-3 and lost to Amory in the second round of the Class 4A North State playoffs. The wide receiver was overcome with emotion after the loss, and said Wednesday he is excited he has a chance to continue his football career to help erase the sting of that loss.
“Today means a lot,” Barron said. “I get a chance to play football again and, probably, win a bigger game than that.”
Barron had 42 catches for 783 yards and eight touchdowns this past season. He said he will take the ACT on Feb. 11 in hopes of gaining a qualifying score on the standardized academic test that could help him become eligible to play at Alcorn State, a Division I school in Lorman. If he is unable to secure a qualifying score, he said he will attend EMCC.
Barron said he talked with Mitchell and former Noxubee County quarterback Termarcus Conner about the possibility of playing at EMCC. He knows he will have to focus on his studies regardless of where he ends up, and is eager to prove bigger schools wrong that didn’t offer him a scholarship.
Barron also takes pride in that he was a part of a program that won the Class 4A state title in 2008 and that is 49-7 in the past four seasons.
“It is a good program,” Barron said. “Coach Shorter and the coaching staff do a good job of disciplining us and trying go get us better at what we do and being our best.”
Hunt also was a fixture on offense at running back for the Tigers. He rushed for 431 yards and five touchdowns in an injury-plagued season. He admitted he was surprised the ICC coaches recruited him as a running back. He thought he would be recruited to play in the secondary.
“I guess they saw my explosiveness (on tape) and that is why they want to give me a chance at running back,” Hunt said. “I really wasn’t expecting it. I feel it is going to give me a little momentum to go to college knowing I can be a running back my freshman year. I am going to go up there and make something happen and work real hard and improve my skills.”
Jones, a 6-foot, 189-pound linebacker, likely will compete for playing time at outside linbebacker, or rover. He said the transition shouldn’t be too great because he played a similar position at Noxubee County.
“I feel good about it,” Jones said. “I have been coached by some good coaches, and I know they have some good coaches to add on to that and to make me a better player.”
Jones feels his coverage skills and his speed have improved as he has matured. He feels he also is better equipped to read plays, which gives him confidence to compete for playing time at ICC.
Pruitt and Joiner anchored the secondary for the Tigers, while Mitchell was a force up front. Pruitt had 24 tackles, seven interceptions, and five pass deflections, while Joiner had 38 tackles, four interceptions, and five pass deflections.
“It is great to have a chance to play another year or two with my teammates,” Pruitt said. “I feel we can go down there and make something happen. It is really like a dream come true. I was hoping I would get a scholarship, so I stepped my game up. I was really positive I would get that chance. I just love playing ball, and it is great to have a chance.”
Said Joiner, “It’s going to be a very big challenge. I think I will be able to handle it. If I get the right coaching, I will be ready to work and willing to work, and I am going to do what it takes.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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