CALEDONIA — During the first game of the season, Caledonia football thought it had lost its senior quarterback for the entire year.
Garrett Weathers, playing for his third school during his high school career after stops in South Lamar and Columbus Christian Academy, went down with what looked to be a broken ankle.
Luckily, it turned out to only be a sprain, and just about a month later, Weathers was back on the field and helped lead the Cavaliers to the third round of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs.
On Monday, Weathers signed his name across the dotted line to begin his new adventure: playing college football at Mississippi College.
“I’m pretty excited,” Weathers said. “It’s kind of weird being put in this position because I’ve always seen people in this position and now, here I am. … When we got there, it was high energy the whole time.”
While the transfer portal has become an integral part of collegiate athletics, not many high school athletes transfer during their prep careers, so to attend three different high schools is unique.
Upon his transfer to Caledonia, however, Weathers was ready and willing to adapt to the new system presented to him.
“He’s one of those kids that we as a staff felt like we wished we would have had him from day one,” head coach Michael Kelly said. “He’s the kind of kid that you can’t replace within your program. Great character. Works extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
This most recent stretch of Caledonia football has easily been the best in program history, reaching at least the third round of the state playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Weathers was able to play the final eight games of the season and made his mark offensively as Caledonia went on yet another deep playoff run.
“I’ve been to three different high schools in four years,” Weathers said. “Everybody has been really big on family. I’m part of the team. These guys, this year, coming in as a senior, it was blood, sweat, arguments. It feels nice to go, ‘Hey, I’m from Caledonia and I’m part of that family.’”
Kelly expects several more seniors to add their names to the ever-growing wall of Cavaliers to play college football, so Monday is truly just the start of the commitment cycle for Caledonia football.
“I’m glad he put his trust in us as coaches,” Kelly said. “I’m glad his family put his trust in us as a football program to go in the right direction. He’s going to do big things at Mississippi College. … For our program to be seen at the next level, it means a whole lot.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
