Helton set to join Reinhardt for football
One of the most consistent, dependable and hard-hitting defensive backs northwest Georgia has seen over the last few years is trading in the red and white of LFO for the blue and gold of Reinhardt University.
Senior Gabe Helton, a threetime All-region 6-AAA selection, will be taking his talents a little bit south to Waleska, Georgia to play for the burgeoning NAIA football powerhouse.
“(This day) means a lot,” Helton said. “It means that I’ve achieved something that I’ve wanted to achieve since I was little. It’s something that makes me and my family happy and it makes the coaches that helped me get here happy.”
The Eagles, who have been making plenty of inroads in recruiting extreme northwest Georgia in the past few seasons, are 44-1 in conference play since 2015 and have won 40-0 in a row in conference play since 2016.
“I like that it’s a little bit of a smaller school, so I’ll be one-on-one with the professors,” Helton explained.
“They’ll know my name and I won’t just be a number. The sports are also really good there. They may be NAIA, but they’ve got a really good football program and I like that.”
Helton first made his mark on the Warrior defense as
a sophomore, earning AllRegion honorable mention honors. Then, as a junior, he made the 6-AAA second team after 43 tackles, an interception and a defensive touchdown.
But this past season, Helton, a team captain, shined
in the secondary and showed a glimpse of what he could do on the offensive side of the ball and on special teams.
Helton posted 81 tackles and broke up one pass on defense. He added a pair of rushing touchdowns and
another TD through the air to go with seven catches for 100 yards. Then, in the return game, he had seven kick returns for 131 yards, while his lone punt return of the season went for a 79yard score.
Helton is expected to play defensive back at the next level, but said he hopes to be able to contribute early.
“I think that for the first year or two, I can definitely do well on their special teams,” he added. “Then as my junior and senior years roll around, I think I can get in there, start at safety and make a difference for their program.”
“I think they’re getting a tremendous player,” LFO head coach Mac Bryan said. “He’s a competitor and a very intelligent player. He understands the game and studies the game. He’s very physical and he’ll be a hard worker that will develop in their program. Gabe’s going to have a lot of success there.
“He’s also an outstanding person and really just first class. I wish we had 8-10 more of him.”
Helton plans to study business management.
Reinhardt made the NAIA national quarterfinals in 2020 after a berth in the semifinals in 2016. They also finished as the NAIA national runner-up in 2017.
In 2022, the Eagles went 8-2, but fell by a point to Lindsey Wilson College in the first round of the playoffs.