Signing day a celebration for athletes, parents

National signing day is enjoyable for sports writers because we get to see young athletes fulfill their dreams of continuing their careers in college.

I was at Fayetteville High School last Wednesday, where four football players, three cross country runners and a golfer signed with various schools. The best recruiting story I’ve heard in years came courtesy of Brooks Flannigan, who signed to play football at Albion College in Michigan.

I am familiar with Albion because its teams occasionally faced Grand Valley State College when my brother, Gary, played baseball for coach Phil Regan, who was given the name “The Vulture” by Sandy Koufax when the two were teammates with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So, how does a football player from Fayetteville High School end up signing with a college over 800 miles away in Michigan?

“It’s actually really funny,” Brooks Flannigan said. “My dad was fishing a few years back on the Au Sable River in Michigan, where Trouts Unlimited started from. My dad was fly fishing and he met some guy, who invited him to his cabin for a few beers. They were talking and my dad learned the guy was an alum from Albion, and they stayed in contact over the years. That’s how it all started.”

See? You never know what it can lead to by just talking to folks and building relationships.

The first Wednesday in February marks the traditional signing period for high school football players headed to college. The majority of the big-time prospects had already signed during the early signing period in December.

Still, young people and their parents were beaming at signings ceremonies last Wednesday whether the students are headed to Arkansas-Monticello, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., or Lyon College in Batesville.

Connor Flannigan signed with

Ouachita Baptist, which means he’ll be separated for an extended time from his twin brother, Brooks, for the first time in their young lives.

“Brooks has been my built-in roommate for 18 years, so it’s going to be weird,” Connor Flannigan said. “We’re super close so I know we’ll be calling each other every day. It’ll be different. But it’ll be cool that we’re creating our own little stories for ourselves.”

Connor Flannigan turned down offers to walk-on at Southern Methodist, Rice, or Arkansas State to accept a scholarship offer from Ouachita Baptist, which finished 11-1 and made the NCAA Division II playoffs last season. Ouachita Baptist is where Cliff Harris played before he became an all-pro defensive back while participating in five Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s. More recently, tight end Phillip Supernaw played in 56 games in the NFL after he left Ouachita Baptist as a four-year starter in 2012.

NFL dreams don’t end just because a high school player is overlooked by Division I teams that traditionally occupy the Top 25 poll. That was shown again after a closer look at the starting lineups of the

Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, the two teams that played Feb. 2 in the Super Bowl. Players who were rated two stars and three stars out of high school were just as plentiful in the lineups as the fivestar and four-star athletes college coaches covet.

The star system means nothing to NFL coaches, who’ll start a player from a directional school over an All-American from Alabama or Ohio State, for example, if he has the talent and work ethic to earn the position.

Last week’s signing ceremonies are another example high school days are nearing an end for the senior class of 2020. It’s been enjoyable for the members of our sports staff at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to write stories and cover games that involved the young athletes who will continue their athletic careers in college.

You’ve put in the work and you deserve an opportunity that only a small percentage of high school athletes receive. Congratulations and good luck on whatever path you’ve selected.