Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
SIGNING DAY COVERAGE
21 St. Thomas recruits sign with colleges
Dreams come true for dozens of football players and other athletes from Broward and Palm Beach high schools who signed letters of intent with college programs on Wednesday.
To find out who signed where, see the recruiting classes by college and search by player, county, position and more, check out our recruiting tracker at SunSentinel.com/Megaboard
Mike Epstein may have said it best: National Signing Day allowed him to make “my littlekid dream come true.”
The St. Thomas Aquinas running back and Broward Player of the Year wasn’t the only one. Across South Florida and the nation, high school football players reached a career milestone by putting pen to paper and working their school fax machines, sending their signed letters of intent to accept scholarship offers to play college football.
At St. Thomas in Fort Lauderdale, the Raiders held what has become an annual ritual — a ceremony that puts on full display how they are able to send so many players to the NFL: because they send players to college.
While St. Thomas’ afternoon roundup of elite recruits never brings with it the drama and spectacle Signing Day has become famous for, there was plenty of excitement and
dramatics Wednesday across Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Gators score two
The University of Florida scored two major Signing Day prizes from Broward in American Heritage’s Tedarrell “T.J.” Slaton and Miramar’s Brian Edwards.
Slaton, a four-star offensive tackle who is looking to move to defensive tackle, kicked off the day early by announcing for the Gators over Georgia in an 8 a.m. ceremony.
At Miramar’s afternoon festivities, Edwards, a three-star defensive back, went with the Gators over Miami and Louisville.
Raiders salute 21
While many of St. Thomas’ football stars sign their college letters hours ahead of the school’s 3 p.m. ceremony, the afternoon gathering of so many top prospects is nonetheless impressive.
Receiver Mike Harley signed for Miami early on Wednesday, before announcing his pick at CBSSports.com’s Fort Lauderdale studio.
Harley, who recently decommitted from West Virginia, was the first of Aquinas’ 21 senior signees to make news — but not the only one. Five-star wideout Trevon Grimes, whose senior season was cut short by an ACL injury, made good on his pledge to Ohio State, where he’d committed in August.
Epstein and quarterback Jake Allen signed with Illinois and UF, respectively — commitments they made before their junior seasons.
Joining their Raider brethren in signing were RB Kyshaun Bryan, who’s headed to Iowa, WR Joshua Palmer (Tennessee) and OG Zack Sweeney (UCLA) on the offensive side. Signees from the defensive side included linemen Kivon Bennett (Tennessee), LaShawn Paulino (Michigan State) and Tyler Dunning (Mississippi State) along with linebacker Drew White (Notre Dame).
The 21 signees Wednesday numbered the most from a St. Thomas class since 2012, when 24 Raiders football players signed college letters. Coach Roger Harriott said he expects at least another two to sign within the next few days.
Elephant in the room
No raucous Signing Day for VanDarius Cowan. The four-star linebacker, who was kicked off the team at Palm Beach Gardens in October, signed his college letter at his home Wednesday.
He is headed to play at Alabama, where he will share the field with Boyd Anderson safety Daniel Wright and Deerfield Beach fivestar receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is already enrolled in classes in Tuscaloosa.
Cowan’s senior season didn’t go as planned. After careless play on the field and sideline shenanigans that reportedly included munching on hot dogs and clowning with fans during a crucial district game in late October got him tossed off the Gators’ roster, Cowan has faced months of criticism for being immature and me-first.
But he said Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban has offered guidance.
“He goes, ‘When you go to the NFL, they’re going to come back and check these things out,’” Cowan said. “My plan is to do good things for the next four years at Alabama to wipe those things out. So, clean slate.”
More signings
American Heritage set a school record with 14 football signees. Slaton will join teammates Marco Wilson and James Houston in Gainesville. Tackle Kai-Leon Herbert signed with Miami.
WR Laress Nelson grabbed a spot that opened in Michigan State’s class shortly after the Patriots’ morning ceremony.
Auburn signee Traivon Leonard and Wake Forest catch Tyler Williams highlighted a talented group submitting their letters of intent at Oxbridge Academy.
Glades Central senior James Blackman is officially a Seminole. The 6-foot-5 quarterback signed with FSU, and one of his favorite targets, Quantino Allen, inked with Oregon State.
South Broward showed its resurgence under coach DeVon Georgia is in effect with five seniors signing. Three came down to Signing Day decisions as offensive tackle Jordon Carty chose South Carolina over Mississippi State while safety Dorian Hall signed with FIU and cornerback Jeffrey Lubin inked with Akron.
Deerfield Beach and Dwyer also had massive classes. Each with three early enrollees already away, the Bucks added 10 signees to their class and the Panthers send eight more to the next level.
Cypress Bay had defensive end Jake Lichtenstein sign with USC.
On top of Harley and Herbert, UM added locals Jon Ford, a defensive tackle from Dillard, Corey Gaynor, an offensive lineman out of Douglas.
Kentucky brought in five Broward signees on Wednesday, including defensive linemen Jordan Wright of Dillard and Christopher Whittaker from Chaminade, to add to Flanagan’s Clevan Thomas and Dwyer’s Cedrick Dort.