Gwinnett Daily Post

Up until Wednesday, Greater Atlanta Christian running back Caleb King was still drawing interest from schools trying to lure the star running back.

"I was getting quite a few, mainly from the SEC," King said.

Even though King verbally committed to Georgia in November it didn't stop the calls.

"They called more actually," King said.

After signing his national letter of intent on Wednesday at GAC's student family center, the calls can stop as King was one of five Spartan seniors to sign football scholarships.

Joining King were T-Bob Hebert (LSU), Lee Chapple (Georgia Southern), Landon Bennett (Wofford) and Meko McCray (Princeton).

King nor his older brother Andre would comment about his academic status on getting into UGA. Only Andre would say: "The things about his grades that everyone is concerned about, he's good, he's real good."

And as for King's leg, which suffered a broken bone in the last part of the season, King says it's 100 percent and he's already back to doing squats and running.

"Now I feel like I have a new home, so I'm excited to be going to Georgia," King said.

The same sentiment was felt by Hebert, who committed to the Tigers in October.

"It's fun to finally really consider myself a part of LSU football," the offensive lineman said.

While King and Hebert made their college decisions months ago, it took Chapple until Tuesday before deciding to head to Statesboro.

"It came down to Richmond and Georgia Southern," the quarterback said. "Richmond, I felt like it was far, not that far, but still farther than Georgia Southern which played a big factor."

A coaching change also helped Chapple. Former Eagles coach Brian VanGorder had not offered Chapple a scholarship, but when former Valdosta State coach Chris Hatcher took over, the Eagles offered Chapple right away.

"To me Georgia Southern has got a better opportunity for me to go in and play faster," Chapple said. "So that was a big factor."

Mustangs turn out another big signing class

The Meadowcreek football team does not have a very strong winning tradition, but the Mustangs are beginning to build a tradition of putting players in college.

Over the last three years Meadowcreek has had 25 players sign football scholarships, including seven on Wednesday.

Wednesday marked the third consecutive year that the Mustangs have led the county in signings and their 25 signees are more than any other Gwinnett school during that time.

"It starts with the principal Mr. (Bob) Jackson, all the way to the athletic directors Mr. (Jason) Dopson and Mrs. (Darlene) Werhnyak then it comes down to coaches and the kids," said Cyhl Quarles, who signed with Wake Forest. "All the administrators, they care about us and want to help us."

Quarles, along with Jamell Clarke (Johnson C. Smith), Anthony Kitson (Fort Valley State), Justin Thomas (Georgetown), Lamarr Person (Fort Valley State), Jackie Monroe (Truman State University) and Lloyd Collins (West Virginia Tech) all signed letters of intent on Wednesday.

"It's a lot of work, trust me," Meadowcreek head coach Reggie Perry said. "After the season is over, I don't think I left the office until 8 o'clock, just calling coaches and getting film out."

Meadowcreek players made sure they dressed to impress on their big day. All seven players wore at least a shirt and tie, while some players like Quarles wore full suits. But no one stood out more than Quarles in his yellow suit and aqua tie that he also wore for homecoming.

"We just wanted to wear the flashiest outfit and look nice," Quarles said. "It's a big day."

State champion Lions ink five

An excellent season translated into a great signing class for Peachtree Ridge on Wednesday.

The state champion Lions had five players sign football scholarships, the most ever in the school's four-year history.

"It definitely shows our team should have been in the championship," said Ohio State signee Cameron Heyward.

Also signing for the Lions were Drew Butler (Georgia), Sidney Haynes (Central Florida), Phillip Davis (Tulane) and Aaron Blue (Virginia Military Institute).

"I'm just proud of the way we became a team and it stems from these guys and their leadership and our other kids looking up to them and believing in them. That's huge," said Peachtree Ridge head coach Blair Armstrong.

Blue benefited the most from the Lions' playoff run. The senior already had an offer from VMI in the fall, but after standout games in the semifinals and state championship game - both were televised - Blue's stock rose. But the defensive end still chose to stay with VMI.

"I felt like it helped out a lot," said Blue. "After the playoffs ended I actually got a lot of calls from smaller schools, but I felt like VMI was the place to go."

Said Armstrong: "They're going to get a real special gem. He's probably going to go on and be a lot better than some people thought. He really has the potential to get a lot better."

Butler was the last player offered a scholarship by the Bulldogs, but the punter was the first to officially sign with UGA on Wednesday.

"I signed this morning before we went over to the ESPN Zone," Butler said. "I did that so there wouldn't be any mess-ups and so we knew there would be no problems and everything would be taken care of.

"I met up with Coach Armstrong in the copy/fax room and it was 7 o'clock in the morning and we got it done."

All five Peachtree Ridge players went to the ESPN Zone in Buckhead where they met other top signees from around the state, took pictures, did media interviews and ate breakfast.

"You think about it a lot and can't wait for it to get here," said Heyward about the recruiting process. "But when it comes your happy."

Small schools lure Gwinnett talent

The real tough decisions aren't the ones made by players like Heyward and King, who could have signed with basically any college they wanted to. After all, thousands of players from across the country would love to be in their shoes.

No, the really tough choices are the ones made by players like Taylor Gayle.

The Collins Hill defender thought long and hard about even continuing his football career at all, despite numerous scholarship offers from Division II and Division III schools. A part of him wanted to go to Valdosta State, be a normal student, and maybe try to walk on to the football team.

But another part decided he wanted to continue to play the sport he loved, and on Wednesday he signed with Truman State, a Division II school in Missouri.

"I've been on and off about it pretty much the whole time on deciding whether or not to play or stay in-state," Gayle said. "I was really close to going to VSU and walking on and using the Hope Scholarship."

But in the end, he chose to continue his football career in Missouri.

"I went up there and just fell in love with it," said Gayle, who was joined by a number of other kids from around the county that chose to play football at schools they probably had never heard of until this season.

Schools like Brevard, Washington & Lee, Johnson C. Smith, Bethel College and West Virginia Tech.

"It really doesn't matter," said Meadowcreek defensive back Anthony Kitson, who signed with Fort Valley State. "As long as I get my degree, play football and you never know I might be the outlet that makes the school become bigger."

Central Gwinnett offensive lineman Colin Crawford had heard of Mars Hill before the recruiting process started, but it's not like it was a lifelong dream to play at the school.

But it was his lifelong dream to play college football. And Mars Hill gave him that chance.

"I've always wanted to play," he said. "The University of Kentucky wanted me to be a long-snapper, but I wanted to play. I've played football since I was in third grade."