Marty Kirkland: Local stars doing well in college

With the end of high school football season for the area already here — and the finish for all of Georgia coming by the second weekend of December — college recruiting will soon pick up, and there should be at least a few local players signing scholarships in February. Some have already made commitments, though their non-binding nature means things could certainly change, and some who haven’t been as high on radars in the past may get more attention with their senior seasons behind them.

But for now, we’ll take a look at area players who have already moved on to the next level and catch up with what they’ve been up to lately in college football. Here are a few news and notes on names you might recall hearing on past Friday nights:

• Heath Cockburn, who was featured in The Daily Citizen earlier this week, is prepping for his 34th consecutive and final start of his college career at Furman University. Both well-spoken and well spoken of by those who know him, Cockburn had a great perspective on what he’s gained from his experience.

The former Northwest Whitfield lineman may not have regularly played in front of the crowds like the blue chippers who sign with Southeastern Conference powers — though Furman’s football history is far from shabby and the Southern Conference is traditionally tip-top for the NCAA’s Division I Football Championship Subdivision — but he considers himself privileged.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a great education and a great life experience overall,” Cockburn said. “A lot of people don’t get to do that.”

• Cockburn has been able to play some of those big-time schools, though, including the SEC’s Auburn, which beat the Paladins 63-31 on Nov. 7. On Auburn’s roster as a redshirt freshman offensive lineman is Dalton product Andrew Parmer, a former Catamounts center. Invited to walk on a year ago, he’s had the chance to participate in two games this season for the Tigers, who are 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the SEC.

• And here’s one more link to Cockburn. Furman’s season finale is against Wofford, for whom former Dalton defensive back Drew Parks is a senior. He’s played in 35 games for the Terriers over the past four years and contributed on both defense and special teams. No doubt among the highlights for Parks was being part of the team that beat fellow Southern Conference member Appalachian State 42-31 in 2007 to end a 17-game winning streak for the Mountaineers — just three weeks after the FCS program had upset fifth-ranked Michigan at The Big House.

• Appalachian State is also where former Northwest linebacker Zac Baker is in his freshman season. The Mountaineers are 8-2 and 7-0 in the Southern Conference, having earned their fifth straight league title with a 27-10 win over Elon last weekend. They’re headed for yet another appearance in the Division I FCS playoffs that start on Nov. 28.

• But first they’ll close the season with the “Battle for the Old Mountain Jug” against Western Carolina, which has two former Bruins in starting slots — sophomore defensive end Trey Selby and offensive lineman Nathan Postelle, a redshirt freshman. Selby has played in nine games this year for the Catamounts, who are 2-8 overall and 1-6 in conference play, and has 17 tackles and half a sack to his credit. Postelle is a 6-foot-3-inch, 210-pound right tackle who has started in all 10 games this season.

• Another school double-dipping in former Northwest linemen is Tennessee-Chattanooga, where freshmen Adam Miller and Dustin Tate are both on the offensive side of operations at right tackle. Tate got two starts early this year and has played in nine games, while Miller moved into the starting role later and has eight starts for the Mocs, who are 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the Southern Conference in their first season under coach Russ Huesman. Their six wins are as many as they had combined the past three years.

• Dalton’s Jake McIntosh has proven himself more than capable of playing at the same high level he did for the Cats early in his career at Tennessee Tech. A sophomore who earned a starting linebacker position last season, he has 41 tackles this year, second-best for the Golden Eagles, who are 5-5 overall and 4-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play heading into Saturday’s season finale against Murray State. One of McIntosh’s teammates is another former Cat, Carter Crutchfield, who is playing wide receiver for the Golden Eagles but is redshirting this season.

• On Nov. 7, the Golden Eagles fell 38-0 at Georgia as the Bulldogs rebounded after losing three of four. One of the Bulldogs’ tight ends is Ben Harbin, himself a former Cat. Georgia is 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, fresh off a 31-24 win against Auburn and heading into its SEC finale against Kentucky on Saturday in Athens.

• Murray County alum Jacob Bejar is a freshman wide receiver at Tennessee’s Maryville College. The Scots, who compete in Division III’s USA South Athletic Conference, recently finished the season with a 4-6 overall and 3-4 league mark.

• I ran into Harrison Scott, the 2007 Daily Citizen All-Area Player of the Year, after Dalton’s first-round state playoff loss to Tucker last Friday. The former Cats quarterback, a three-year starter in high school, left Northwestern after a year as an invited walk-on, but has been taking classes at Dalton State and plans to transfer to Coastal Carolina and resume his football career at the school located near Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Nice weather upgrade!) The Chanticleers — English majors will likely get the reference, but I’m forcing the rest of you to look it up — are a Division I FCS program that competes in the Big South Conference.

• Scott regularly led the Cats to the end zone with his feet or his arm, but for his first two years as a starter, he had a great Plan B in kicker Adrian Mora. Well, Mora has been similarly effective for Georgia Southern with his career in Statesboro not yet at its midpoint. A redshirt sophomore, Mora is perfect on 18 PATs this year and 14-for-19 on field goals, including a 50-yarder against Wofford on Oct. 3. The Eagles (4-6, 3-4 in Southern Conference) close their season on Saturday against The Citadel.

• Shorter College has mined Northwest Georgia high schools extensively while building its program, which started earlier this decade, and there are a whole heap of former local standouts on the Hawks roster. From Dalton, freshman offensive lineman Alex Burse, freshman wide receiver Kareem Hawkins and junior defensive lineman David Hall; from Northwest, freshman safety Spencer Bragg and freshman linebacker Justin White; and from Southeast, sophomore offensive lineman Cody Dobbs and junior fullback Blake “Sugar Bear” Thomas. Bragg had 41 tackles in eight games this season, fifth-best for the Eagles, who compete in the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference and finished 6-5 overall and 3-3 in league play with a 21-14 loss to Bethel University last weekend in Rome.

• Drew Carter, a former Northwest quarterback, just completed his third season as the starter at LaGrange College. The Panthers, a Division III program, went 5-5 this year as Carter — who helped lead them to the playoffs as a sophomore in a record-setting 2008 campaign — connected on 158 of 293 passes for 1,847 yards and 17 touchdowns with 19 interceptions.

• Former Murray County lineman and captain Cory Pritchett is a freshman invited walk-on long snapper at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will go for back-to-back wins against in-state rival Georgia on Nov. 28, then play for the Atlantic Coast Conference title the following Saturday.

• Former Southeast linebacker Allen Jackson is playing the same position at Carson-Newman, where he’s a 6-1, 215-pound senior who has been on the field for 10 games and tallied 25 tackles for the Eagles, who went 9-2 overall and 7-0 in NCAA Division II’s South Atlantic Conference during the regular season to win that league for the 21st time. After enjoying a bye last week in the first round of the playoffs, they’ll host West Alabama on Saturday.

• The Daily Citizen’s 2005 All-Area Football Player of the Year, Stephaun Raines, is waiting on an even bigger opportunity at Tennessee, but is already contributing on special teams and has six tackles while playing in all 10 games for the Volunteers, who are 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the SEC in Lane Kiffin’s first year as coach.

• Also working his way up in the college football world is yet another player of the year, Dean Haynes, who was last season’s selection as a two-way starter at quarterback and defensive back for Northwest. A freshman who’s listed at cornerback on the N.C. State roster, he’s redshirting this year for the Wolfpack, who are 4-5 overall and 1-6 in ACC play going into Saturday’s game at Virginia Tech.

• Dalton’s Preston Keck, who in high school shared a spot in the linebacker corps with McIntosh, has shifted to defensive end in his college career at Austin Peay State University in Cumberland, Tenn. He has 11 tackles in nine games this season for the Governors, who are 4-6 overall and 3-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play heading into Saturday’s season finale at Tennessee-Martin.

• The Governors lost 28-10 to Jacksonville State on Oct. 31. On the roster for the Gamecocks is redshirt freshman D.J. Lashus, whom the school’s official Web site said going into this season was one of the team’s most improved offensive linemen after an “excellent” spring practice period. He got into action during last week’s 55-28 win against Tennessee Tech.

• Northwest’s big-play threat from 2008, Drew Smith, is a freshman wide receiver who has seen action in five games this year for Union College in Barbourville, Ky. He’s obviously offering some of the same skills to the NAIA’s Bulldogs — they just finished the year at 4-6 overall and 3-3 in Mid-South Conference play — because he made a 33-yard touchdown catch in a 57-7 win against UVa-Wise on Sept. 5.

Our notes were gathered using information from area coaches and official college Web sites. If we’ve missed anyone, made any mistakes or you know of other interesting notes — and that goes for other college sports in which area alums are making an impact — feel free to let us know at any time.

Marty Kirkland is a sports writer for The Daily Citizen. You can write to him at martykirkland@daltonciti-zen.com.

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Site Map

Contact Us