WINTERBORO, Ala. – If you drive too fast down Hwy. 21 between Sylacauga and Talladega, Winterboro High School probably goes unnoticed. It peacefully and quietly sits off to the side as cars buzz busily up and down the state road.
Wednesday morning that narrative changed as Winterboro High School was the center of attention on National Signing Day. For those not familiar with NSD, it is the day set aside for high student athletes to sign their letters of intent (LOI) for the college they want to attend.
It is not the norm for a Class 1A school to be the talk of the county on NSD, but Winterboro made it happen.
In a jam-packed gymnasium full of family and peers, three seniors, Clay Twymon, Khalil Keith, and Marcus McMeans, all signed LOIs to play football at college’s highest level, Division I.
McMeans, who played everywhere on the field for the Bulldogs, signed with FCS Tennessee Tech where he said he plans to play defensive back. Twymon accepted a preferred walk-on offer from the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks where he also plans to play in the secondary. McMeans and Twymon will not become strangers in the future. That is because the two will both compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Twymon’s Gamecocks have won the conference three years running, but McMeans said his Golden Eagles are prepared to take control of the league.
The biggest news of the day came from offensive lineman Khalil Keith. He previously committed to play ball at Baylor on Jan. 22, but a little late drama ensued in his decision after receiving an offer from the University of Mississippi. Keith did however stick with his commitment Wednesday morning, signing with the Baylor Bears.
Keith told SylacaugaNews.com the recruiting process was tough and it got even more difficult at the end when he had to make a decision. But Baylor was just in his heart. “I chose Baylor because it felt like home,” he said. “The coaches there are going to develop me and I just knew it was where I wanted to go.”
To some, Baylor may seem like a controversial landing spot to play college sports at this time. Reports of 52 sexual assaults and rapes by Baylor football players from 2011 thru 2014 surfaced just last week. Baylor now has a completely different coaching staff from 2014 and many of those players are gone. NCAA sanctions still possibly loom for the program, but Keith said none of that affected his decision to attend Baylor University.
Jeremy Law for SylacaugaNews.com | © 2017, SylacaugaNews.com/Marble City Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
