Lane signs to play football at Maryville
Ringgold senior defensive back J.B. Lane added his name to the long and ever-growing list of Tiger football players who have signed to play collegitely when he recently gave his signature to Maryville (Tenn.) College.
“For anybody, going to the next level is awesome,” Lane said. “It’s just going to be a new experience and I’m ready for it.”
Lane played safety for the Blue-and-white and earned 6-AAA All-region honorable mention honors this past season. He said he expects to play a similar position with the Scots.
“I’m just going to be myself,” he added. “I’ll work hard and I’ll play hard.”
Ringgold head coach Robert Akins said he was excited for Lane to get this opportunity.
“J.B. has always been a great player for us,” the coach said. “He’s come a long way over the years. He’s gotten bigger and stronger, but he’s always had a great attitude. He’s one of those players that we could really count on and he epitomizes what our program is all about. I think Maryville is getting a great kid who I think can come in and play for them pretty quickly at strong safety or at an outside linebacker position.”
While he is looking forward to suiting up for the Scots, Lane explained that it was the academic side of the school itself that was a deciding factor.
“There’s not too many people in any classroom or anything, so I’m actually going to get a really good education,” said Lane, who plans to study pre-med. “It’s just going to be easier for me.
Then, of course, there’s the athletics too.”
“I’m excited that someone’s going to be paying for his education,” Akins added. “He’s going to do some great things, not only on the field, but on the academic side of it with him going in premed. He’ll stay diligent in that effort just like he stayed diligent with us in football.”
Maryville is an NCAA Division III school and a member of the USA South Conference. They are coming off a 2019 season that saw them go 3-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.