Three players with area ties put pen to paper for national signing day and will continue their football careers with four-year colleges.
Former Dalton High defensive lineman Jalen Fields, former Northwest Whitfield offensive tackle Josh Andrews and Dalton senior cornerback Danté Thomas all signed letters of intent as the annual college football signing period kicked off Wednesday.
Fields, who for the past two seasons has played at Georgia Military College, signed to play at Louisiana-LaFayette after finishing his eligibility at the Milledgeville junior college. Andrews, who played this past season for Atlanta Sports Academy, a prep school in Dawsonville, will have four years of eligibility remaining after signing with NCAA Division II member Albany State. Thomas, Dalton’s shutdown defensive back for the past two seasons, had given an early commitment to Furman, but he signed with Tennessee’s Carson-Newman.
Thomas had already been given an OK by the NCAA clearinghouse, but Furman, a Division I FCS school that competes in the Southern Conference, has stricter academic standards than most. That opened the door for other programs, and Thomas also considered signing with Jacksonville State and Samford.
“I feel great,” Thomas said. “Really, it was about three things for me. Carson-Newman is a private school and God-centered, and I try to put God in everything that I do. Their education is top of the line. And third, they play real hard-nosed, physical football.”
Carson-Newman competes in Division II’s South Atlantic Conference. The school, located about 2 1/2 hours away from Dalton outside of Knoxville, will also allow Thomas’ family an opportunity to see him play.
“It’s not too far and not too close,” he said.
Fields, a 2010 graduate of Dalton, signed with the University of Georgia after his senior year but failed to qualify academically and spent the past two seasons as a standout for the GMC Bulldogs. He had planned to re-sign with Georgia, but after not graduating in January from GMC, he had to go in another direction.
“I ended up not graduating when I planned, and that set me back,” Fields said. “I will graduate in March and then be ready to go to Louisiana.”
The Ragin’ Cajuns beat San Diego State University 32-30 in the New Orleans Bowl this past football season after winning the Sun Belt Conference title and finished with a 9-5 record.
“I am looking forward to going there and working hard,” Fields said. “I fell in love with that team and what their plans have been. I felt like I fell into the picture.”
After two years of playing junior college ball, Fields said that his maturity is the thing that has changed the most since he left Dalton.
“I realize that I don’t take anything for granted this time around,” he said. “I am human and put my pants on one leg at a time. Going to school at Georgia Military, you learn to be accountable and be acceptable for what you do.”
Andrews graduated from Northwest in 2011, but he also failed to qualify academically, and rather than go to a junior college, he chose to go to the relatively new Atlanta Sports Academy. A starter at offensive tackle for the Spartans this past fall, the 6-foot-4-inch, 320-pounder decided on Albany State after the promise of early playing time.
“They got my attention when they said that I would be starting as a freshman,” said Andrews, who also seriously considered offers from Fayetteville State, Virginia Union and West Georgia. “Since I was a little kid, I have heard of Albany State. It is a good program with a couple of rings. Living in Georgia, I am a Georgia boy and to have a chance to stay in state and play there is nice.”
Albany State, a historically black college, competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Andrews has bulked up since high school and has benefited from APS’s academic tutoring.
“The thing I take away from all of this is just stay in your books,” he said.
Andrews did not have a signing ceremony locally on Wednesday. Fields and Thomas will have their signing ceremonies next Wednesday in the Dalton High commons.
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