Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Future uncertain for unsigned seniors
Shabazz Telfort sat out National Signing Day, waiting while teammates sent off commitment letters to play football at Alabama, Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, Central Florida, even tiny Lyon College in Batesville, Ark.
Boyd Anderson’s 6-foot-4 All-County quarterback had drawn interest from Marshall, Florida International and a handful of other college teams. He hadn’t taken the SAT until December.
Ultimately Telfort, a three-star prospect with both speed and pocket presence, received a qualifying score on his college boards, according to Boyd athletic director Brandon Wesley, but the delay likely hurt his recruiting.
“A lot of schools wanted that stuff done a month ago,” Wesley said.
By Feb. 1, the first day colleges accept letters of intent from high school football players, Telfort had still hoped to hear from FIU.
But Signing Day came and went. And when Thursday threatened to do the same, without a thumbs-up from FIU, Telfort signed that night with Garden City Community College.
“Garden City was the best bet for him,” Wesley said.
Wesley added that Telfort plans to play for the next two years at the southwestern Kansas junior college, home of the Broncbusters football team — the reigning National Junior College Athletic Association champion.
Telfort won’t be the only South Floridian among GCCC’s 2017 class. Other local signees who will join him in Garden City, Kan., will be American Heritage LB Brandon Mincey, Fort Lauderdale DE Allan Bratton, Miramar OL Deondre Chambers and Glades Central DE John Morris.
Signing Day in South Florida is a veritable holiday for high schools, which hold festive ceremonies — often covered by national as well as local media — where families, friends, teammates and coaches gather to celebrate the tangible achievement of young men signing what amounts to their first contracts to play football.
Amid the mylar balloons and colorful table bunting, the white oxford shirts and bowties, and the inevitable ball caps in every college color, having no letter of intent to sign can be devastating — especially for athletes like Telfort, who have become team leaders and national prospects.
But Telfort found a landing spot — one that may turn out to be a better place for a developing QB than where he’d hoped to play.
Many other talented local seniors remain unsigned — Flanagan’s two big linemen Marcus Etienne and Jamar Lambert, Boynton Beach’s speedster CB Endrickson Boucher, ball-hawking CB Steven Evans, who helped lead McArthur to its best season in ages, are just a few.
And the reasons their futures are on hold, at once typical and heartbreaking, are as individual as the players.
So are the stories about where they go from here.
For linebacker Cody Watson, ChaminadeMadonna’s all-time leading tackler and two-time AllCounty selection committed to Fresno State, academics were not a factor in his absence from Chaminade-Madonna’s signing ceremony. After a November coaching change, Fresno State’s recruiting focus turned to in-state — California — prospects, and Watson lost communication with the program.
A big-impact player given a two-star recruit ranking, Watson seemed to go unnoticed in the final months before Signing Day. He netted no late offers and was not reported as taking any official visits.
Watson says he has something “in the works.” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones is also confident it will be settled soon.
But many others, after playing their last high school game in the fall, are left wondering if they’ll get the chance to play at the next level.