Three more Heritage players make football decisions
After defensive back Sam Randolph and offensive lineman Kobe Mcalister signed during the early signing period back in December, three more Heritage football players have now made college decisions.
Senior offensive lineman Derek Gibson will be continuing his college career at nearby Shorter University in Rome.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Gibson said after signing his letter of intent. “Recruitment has been going on for a little while and I finally made the decision this past weekend. I just feel at home at Shorter and I just feel like it’s the right place for me.
“This whole thing is really a dream come true. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t dream about playing college football one day, so having this all right now is just an awesome feeling. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Gibson has been a rock in the trenches during his time with the Generals. After earning second team AllRegion honors as a sophomore, he was named to the first team in each of the past two seasons. He says the Hawks are looking at him as a center at the college level.
“Hopefully I can bring a lot of physicality,” he added. “I think I’ve got a good football IQ and I’m able to read a lot of things (that the defense does) and call things out. I think I can also bring a lot of leadership to the table, along with a lot of nastiness and grit and, hopefully, finish the block on every play.”
“Derek has been a main hold in our program,” head coach E.K. Slaughter said. “He’s been one of our center cogs, who has really been a pillar for us. He’s been a leader and a four-year starter, a leadership captain, Allregion...he’s got all the accolades, but ultimately he’s just been a consistently good, tough leader and football player for us. It’s going to be hard to replace all of that in one package.”
Gibson said he plans to major in sports management.
Also headed to Shorter with Gibson is senior Luke Teague, who played in 10 games for the Generals at linebacker last fall. Teague said he would be playing at outside linebacker with the Hawks.
“This day is very important and special to me and my family,” said Teague, who will be a preferred walk-on at Shorter. “I’m looking forward to joining the Shorter family and get things going. Like (Hawks head) Coach (Zach) Morrison and always says, ‘brick by brick’. They’re in a rebuilding stage and I’m going to be happy to be a part of it.”
Teague said he like the culture of the Shorter program.
“I like a lot of things that they are doing,” he continued. “All of the coaches are super supportive and eager for me to get in there and get to work. It’s just a great atmosphere. I hope bring maximum effort and the four core values. I just want to try and do anything I can to help out.”
“Luke is a good kid and a hard-working kid,” Slaughter said. “He’s one of our effort kids. He always just plays hard and always has a motor that doesn’t stop. I’m so happy for him and his opportunity. I know he’ll give it a good run.”
Teague said he plans to major in general business management and minor in accounting.
Meanwhile, senior defensive lineman Lane Phillips will be heading to Chattanooga
to join to Mocs as a preferred walk-on. Phillips, a second team All-region offensive lineman as a junior, was another solid blocker up front for the Generals, but made a name for himself at defensive tackle this past fall as he was named by the 6-AAAA coaches as the region’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Phillips said he planned to be “the most competitive player they’ve ever seen.”
“I like the offensive line coach. He’s a great guy and I like the defensive line coach too,” he explained. “They are both godly people and both are really Christian and I like to talk to them about it. I also like that college weight room. It’s Division I and they go against other D-I competition and I want to go up against the best I can go against.”
“Lane totally broke out and had an amazing year,” Slaughter added. “He just wreaked havoc up front and did a great job. Because of that, he’s going to have an opportunity to play at a good university. He’s got a really high ceiling and with his abilities, I think he can really break through and do some amazing things there. He’s just a talented, tough football player.”
Phillips said he plans to major in mechanical engineering.