Special friend reveals choice
When Cooper Dawson finally decided which college he would sign with, the senior defensive lineman from South Carolina let his friend Kingsley
Feinman make the announcement after whispering his decision to him.
It was a moment to remember because Feinman was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.
“He's going to Syracuse,” Feinman said with a big smile Wednesday as the room erupted in applause. Both wore orange Syracuse hats to mark the occasion.
Dawson, from Hanahan High School in Charleston, chose Syracuse over Clemson, Central Florida and Vanderbilt, among others. He said he knew Feinman was going to be a part of the process as soon as recruiting began. A special bond between the two was born during Dawson's freshman year in high school and has become stronger since.
“I saw him wheeling through the hallways and he always had on a big smile, so I figured I'd go introduce myself,” Dawson told the Associated Press in a telephone interview after the announcement. “My junior year last year he always hung out with the football players and talked to us, but we ragged on him because he never came to a football game.
“We finally talked him into coming to one this year,” Dawson added. “Unfortunately, I tore my ACL (at a football camp in Clemson during the summer) and I wasn't able to play. I wheeled him around the football field and showed him the student section, and when all the football players ran out, I put him at the entrance so they could all give him high-fives as they ran past.”
As soon as Dawson could drive, he said he went over to Feinman’s house and hung out with him because “he just kind of inspired me.”
“My only disability was not being able to walk because of a torn ligament,” Dawson said. “If Kingsley can have cerebral palsy and go around and have a positive attitude with everything he does, then I should be able to do the same.”
Dawson said he decided to let Feinman make the announcement early in the recruiting process.
“Over the summer when I was hanging out with him, whenever a coach would call me I'd put him on the phone and let him talk just so he could feel like he was part of the process,” Dawson said.
Syracuse had recruited Dawson for quite some time and developed a strong relationship with him. That culminated with a family visit, which ultimately sealed the deal in his recruitment.
The announcement was a proud moment for coach Dino Babers.
“I wasn't very surprised. He's an outstanding young man,” Babers said of Dawson. “It just kind of represents the people that we're trying to look to come up here and join us in our community. I thought it was very gracious, very humbling.”
Tech keeps QB in fold
Texas Tech added 11 players, less than three weeks after Matt Wells became the new Red Raiders coach.
Among the signees were quarterback Maverick
McIvor and defensive back Alex Hogan, early commits to the Red Raiders who initially decommitted after Kliff Kingsbury was fired Nov. 25 before meeting with the new coaching staff. Wells was named Tech's coach on Nov. 29.
McIvor's senior season at San Angelo Central was cut short by injury, but as a junior threw for 3,415 yards with 43 touchdowns and ran for 870 yards. He had seven TD catches as a receiver as a sophomore. He is the son of former Texas quarterback Rick McIvor. Hogan played at Lamar High School.
Baylor goes for defense
Baylor got defensive on the first day of the early signing period with 11 defenders among the 19 players who signed.
The defenders included six linemen, four backs and a linebacker.
Niadre Zouzoua isa 6-4, 245-pound transfer from Monroe College in New York, where the defensive lineman had five sacks in nine games.
“We tried to get some playmakers. We tried to get some speed, but at the same time also get some strength,” coach Matt
Rhule said of his third Baylor signing class. “I'm pleased with the overall versatility of the group”
The Bears signed quarterbacks Jacob Zeno from San Antonio and Peyton
Powell from Odessa. There were also two running backs, two offensive linemen, a receiver and a tight end.
Georgia flips QB from Ohio St.
A late flip by a quarterback from Michigan affected Ohio State and Georgia and had some wondering if Justin Fields could have played a part.
Dwan Mathis from Belleville, Mich., flipped from the Buckeyes to the Bulldogs, a day after Fields' name appeared in the NCAA's transfer database. Fields was a five-star recruit in the 2018 class and it has already been speculated that he could end up at Ohio State.
The uncertainty around Fields had Georgia scrambling to add a quarterback to its 2019 class.