STARKVILLE — Starkville High School senior wide receiver Raphael Leonard said there were a number of reasons for choosing to play senior college ball at Florida Atlantic.
After listing several, Leonard paused, smiled and said, “It’s in Florida. What’s not to like about that?”
It was all smiles, hugs, and tears of joy Wednesday at the Starkville High School Field House, as 12 Yellow Jackets signed scholarship offers on National Signing Day.
“This is big day for all of us,” said Starkville High senior defensive lineman Derion Ford, who signed with the University of Louisiana at Monroe. “To be up here with all of my brothers is special. We have gone through a lot. To be up here and have this special and to see so many of us signing is real special. It means a lot to me.”
Starkville High finished as the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State runner-up this past season. Starkville was ranked No. 1 in the state for a majority of the year and won its first 13 games played before falling to eventual Class 6A state champion South Panola in the North State finals.
“This is one of the most satisfying days you can have as a coach,” Starkville fifth-year coach Jamie Mitchell said. “When we first started building the program back here, we dreamed of days like this. For the past month, it has been non-stop, sending videos, sending emails, coaches coming and going through these offices.
“It has been a hassle, but as a coach you wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Starkville, which won the Class 5A state championship in 2012, went 34-8 the past three seasons.
“So many memories of so many good times here,” said Leonard, who capped his high school career with MVP honors in the Mississippi-Alabama Shrine Classic. “We won a lot of games. It means a lot to be sharing this special occasion with my teammates. I am looking forward to going to FAU. I really liked the coaches. I liked the campus. It looks like a place where I can go and fit in right away. You work hard for this moment so it is exciting when it gets here.”
New to the party this season was senior quarterback Brady Davis. In his one season at Starkville, Davis threw for 3,417 yards and 42 touchdowns (seven interceptions). Davis began the season by verbally committing to Memphis. He backed that up Wednesday by signing with the school.
“Even though I played one year it feels like I have been here forever,” Davis said. “What I am looking forward to the most is coming back 10 years from now and getting together with these guys and hearing stories about their career. We had some special players on this team, and I am looking forward to following their careers.”
Senior defensive back Tyler Rogers is the other Division I signee from Starkville. He will attend Jackson State.
“Hard work that is the promise I made to them,” Rogers said. “That is what I leaned from here. I learned about hard work and how to work together as a team. I am super excited about this opportunity. I am ready go to there and give them everything that I have. It’s all about hard work and having the chance to play football.”
Mitchell praised the test scores and academic success of his senior class. He said the ability to balance work in the classroom and on the football field is the cornerstone of his program. He said the younger players will follow the standard set by the seniors for years to come.
“The best thing about today is about $700,000,” Mitchell said. “We added it up and that is the tuition that is going to be paid by the colleges and universities for these young men to go to school. Everybody wants to play in the NFL one day, but odds are you won’t. The best thing is the educational opportunity.
“The ability to go to school and have you education paid for is incredible. We are proud of these guys for helping set the standard for what we expect out of our program every season.”
Two-time defending National Junior College Athletic Association national champion East Mississippi Community College signed senior linebacker Alonzo Flowers and senior running back Jacquez Horsley.
Other Starkville players headed to the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges ranks include: senior lineman A.J. Smith (Northwest Mississippi C.C.), senior wide receiver Keyon Higgins (Itawamba C.C.), senior lineman Tyler Barnes (Holmes C.C.), senior linebacker Jordyn Bowlin (Northeast Mississippi C.C.), senior running back Matt Fuller (Holmes C.C.), and senior kicker Michael Godley (Jones Junior College).
“You look around here and look at all of these guys,” Ford said. “We had one heck of a team.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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