BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School seniors Torin Brazell, Chalil Cummings, Devon McBride, Willie Pollard and Dae’Jon Shanks signed their letters of intent to play college football on National Signing Day (Feb. 7) in the school’s auditorium.
This marks the fourth straight year the school has hosted a signing ceremony for at least five players.
Shanks said he and his teammates were “conquering a dream.”
A long-time dream.
“We’ve been playing together since we were 6,” Brazell said.
Cummings said, “We’ve got to put Starke on the map. That’s the goal.”
3 Tornadoes earn Division I chances
Brazell, a 6-2, 250-pound defensive lineman, signed with East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
“It feels awesome. It feels good,” he said. “Knowing that you’ve done something to make your mama proud and the community happy just feels amazing.”
Brazell said he was also considering the University of North Alabama and Western Kentucky University, “but East Carolina came in at the end. They came in hard, too.”
He likes the school’s football field and stadium, which at 51,000 seats, has a much larger capacity than the stadiums at North Alabama and Western Kentucky.
“Just knowing I can play in front of that is a blessing,” Brazell said.
Brazell led the state in the 2S classification in sacks with 17, which also ranked him 20th in the state regardless of classification.
“Hit the quarterback. That’s the best thing I do,” Brazell said.
He had the fourth-most number of tackles on Bradford’s team with 62, which included 31 behind the line of scrimmage.
“When Torin wants to be unblockable, he’s unblockable,” BHS Head Coach Jamie Rodgers said, adding, “He’s just a special athlete for that size. When kids are that size and can move that good, they’re hard to block.”
Rodgers said Brazell is already strong, noting that he bench presses 360 pounds and squats more than 400 pounds. At Marshall, he’ll get even stronger.
“They’re going to get him to his maximum level,” Rodgers said. “He’s going to eat the right things now. He’s going to maximize his time in the weight room now.”
Brazell said, “They’re going to make me better and make me the best that I can be. I’m going to take that opportunity and run with it.”
When that opportunity leads to him taking to the field for the first time as an East Carolina Pirate, it’s sure to be a special moment.
“I hope it feels awesome,” Brazell said. “I can’t tell you how that’s going to feel until I experience it.”
He may not be sure how that moment will feel emotionally, but he can already tell you what getting that first collegiate sack is going to feel like.
“That’s going to feel amazing,” Brazell said.
Cummings, a 5-10, 187-pound defensive back and wide receiver, is taking his talents to the University of Memphis in Tennessee.
“I feel blessed,” Cummings said. “I can’t even realize how much of a blessing this is.”
He had opportunities to stay in Florida, saying he was also considering going to either FSU or Miami.
“That’s really where everybody thought I was going to go, but I was like, ‘I might as well get away from home.’ I’ve got to get out, see new things and meet new people,” Cummings said.
Cummings said he liked the culture at Memphis and the fact that Tigers coaches maintained contact with him.
This past season, Cummings was Bradford’s third-leading tackler with 83. He had three interceptions and one fumble recovery.
He was a standout receiver as well, leading the Tornadoes with 47 catches for 846 yards and 12 touchdowns. His receiving yardage was 10th best in Class 2S.
Rodgers said Cummings is as good a player as he’s ever coached in regard to his ball skills. The coach said what also stands out about Cummings is his physical play on both sides of the ball.
“He’s just an ultimate competitor,” Rodgers said. “I’ll never forget my first interaction with him. I just asked him, ‘What makes you tick, man? What gets you going?’ He said one thing. ‘Competition.’ That’s about as good as it gets.”
So, where will Cummings play at the next level? Memphis lists him as a defensive back, which Rodgers said seemed to be the position most schools were recruiting him at.
“I think once he gets there, he’ll have an opportunity to do a little bit of all of it,” Rodgers said. “The wide receivers coaches — they’re going to fight over him in the meetings and say, ‘We need him over here.’
“He’s going to find the field quickly.”
Rodgers did say he believes Cummings will end up contributing on defense first. That’s fine with Cummings, but so, too, is starting on offense. He said he has no preference.
“Anywhere I can fit on the field, that’s where I’m going to play,” Cummings said, adding, “I can definitely see myself contributing on both sides of the field and even on special teams.”
Rodgers said high school players have to adapt to the fact that in college they really have no choices anymore when it comes to playing football. They have a schedule to adhere to and requirements their coaches expect them to meet.
Cummings said he’s aware of that and has his mind set on the fact that his effort has to be maximized at the next level.
“Just go harder, really,” he said when asked what improvements he needs to make to successfully transition to the next level. “I’ve been going hard, but I think it’s time to go harder.”
Signing with a college is only part of the goal. Now, Cummings looks to be an impactful player for his team. When asked what he’ll be thinking when he steps onto the field for the first time as a Memphis Tiger, he said, “It’s another opportunity. I have to make something out of it.”
Devon McBride, who plays linebacker, signed with Marshall University, where he’ll join early BHS graduate Chason Clark, who signed with the Thundering Herd on Dec. 20.
“It takes a lot of weight off knowing I have somebody up there I can talk to,” said McBride, who plays linebacker. “I have a friend there.”
Rodgers said, “I think it’s huge for both (Clark and McBride). Huntingdon, West Virginia, is a long way away. Now, they’ll have somebody to support and to lean on. They know each other really well. They had lockers beside each other for four years in high school. They love one another.”
McBride said he remembers watching college football games on TV as a child and asking himself if he could play at that level one day.
Now, he gets to find out.
“Words can’t explain it,” McBride said of the opportunity. “It’s a great feeling.”
One of the reasons McBride said he decided to go to Marshall was that the school offered him an academic scholarship.
“They’re the only school that saw that I was smart,” he said. “I felt like that would be a great spot.”
McBride was Bradford’s second-leading tackler this past season with 118, which ranked him as 12th best in the state in the Tornadoes’ classification (2S).
“He’s over 200 pounds now,” Rodgers said of McBride, who’s 5-10 and was listed at 180 pounds at the beginning of this past season. “Sideline to sideline, he can run. Those are the things you can’t teach. He’s got the speed to run running backs down, he can cover in the flats — all the things guys have to do now to play outside linebacker.”
Rodgers said on a defense with so many talented players, including Brazell, Clark and Cummings, McBride was often the spark.
“He set the tone. He laid the first big hit,” Rodgers said. “That’s what he wanted to do. He took pride in that.”
McBride admitted he did take pride in that, inspired by what his father always tells him: “Set the tone when you get on the field. The first hit better be you.”
Rodgers said McBride, like any player looking to make his mark in college ball, will have to get as fast and as strong as he can, but the coach doesn’t doubt that McBride will be an asset for the Thundering Herd.
“Marshall’s getting somebody who’s going to work extremely hard. They’re going to have a hard time keeping him away from the field.”
What will it feel like when he gets onto that field for the first time at Marshall?
“It’s going to feel amazing,” McBride said. “I’m going to try to go in with the same mindset I always have — hit the first thing that comes.”
Pollard gets chance at NAIA university
Running back Willie Pollard signed with Miami Gardens’ St. Thomas University, which is preparing for its sixth year of football. It competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“It’s an amazing chance,” Pollard said. “I’m glad I’ve got a shot to show my talent at the next level.”
Pollard said he was considering other schools such as Georgia Southern, but he liked the environment at St. Thomas.
“It kind of sunk in when I went there and saw the campus,” he said. “It was nice. I was like, ‘This is a pretty good place for me to be at and develop my game.’”
His game was limited this past season at Bradford due to a finger injury, but when he was in the lineup, Pollard averaged 6.1 yards per carry. He was second on the team in rushing with 704 yards and six touchdowns on 116 carries.
“Pound for pound, Willie Pollard is as good a running back as I’ve ever had,” Rodgers said of the 5-9, 172-pound back. “Rarely did one man take him down. He needed a very, very small crease to split between two linemen. You didn’t have to block for very long. He hits holes at full speed.”
Rodgers said Pollard works hard in the weight room and always wanted the ball in his hands, eager to prove something to those who doubted his abilities due to his size.
“He’s going to shock people in college because they’re going to look and say, ‘He’s short. He’s small.’ Then, all of a sudden, he’s going to have three or four touchdowns against them,” Rodgers said.
Pollard said the things that he needs to do to make an impact at the next level are to improve his agility and to get stronger in the weight room. Rodgers said what’ll also benefit Pollard is he’s going to a school that has placed an emphasis on bringing in players right out of high school as opposed to turning to the transfer portal.
This year’s St. Thomas recruiting class consists of players from high schools such as Union County, Chiefland, Columbia, Eastside, Fleming Island, Forest, Mandarin, Middleburg, Raines, Suwannee, Vanguard and Williston.
“They’re doing it a little bit different,” Rodgers said. “They’re getting a lot of high school kids in, bringing them up through their ranks. What that means is Willie’s going to have the opportunity to play early. He’s going to need that.”
In imagining what it’ll feel like the first time he’s on the field as a St. Thomas Bobcat, Pollard said, “It’s going to be nerve-wracking a little bit, but hey, I’m a dawg. I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do.”
Shanks’ starting point is Hutchinson
BHS quarterback Shanks signed with Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, saying, “I always wanted to go to college. For me to be able to do that now is just a blessing.”
Shanks’ athletic ability was, of course, a part of making that opportunity come about, but he also credited his parents and others who were part of his support system.
“They told me, ‘If you put your mind to it, God can get you to whatever you want to do.’ They told me since I was young I could do whatever I wanted to if I put my mind to it,” Shanks said.
The quarterback is coming off a season in which he completed 75 of 135 passes for 1,360 yards and 18 touchdowns. He had only two interceptions. He had the 18th-most passing yards in Class 2S.
Shanks also led Bradford in rushing with 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns on 151 carries. His rushing yardage was 14th best in Class 2S.
Rodgers said whether you call it “the wiggle” or “the dead leg,” Shanks has that ability to change direction and still be going full speed.
“The first man who was out in open space with him, I don’t know if they ever touched him much less tackle him,” Rodgers said. “He’s just got something special when he’s got that ball in his hands. He can move laterally as fast as he can move forward and backward. That’s very rare.”
Shanks said, “I just give it all to God. He gave me the ability to do all of that. I just praise Him and thank Him for everything He did for me. Without Him, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
At Hutchinson, Shanks will line up at slot receiver primarily. He said he’ll also have the opportunity to play outside receiver as well as return kicks.
Since 1998, Hutchinson has had an average of 12 players per year move on to four-year schools. Hutchinson has had 162 players go to Football Bowl Subdivision schools since 1993 and 154 go to Bowl Championship Subdivision and NAIA schools since 1998.
“He won’t be at Hutchinson long,” Rodgers said, adding, “Dae’Jon is a Division I player, for sure. It’s just the way things are now. Some people fall through the cracks. That’s the way it was with (Shanks).
“He had 32 touchdowns in a high school season. That would tell me all I need to know.”
Shanks said he wants to play at the Division I level, but added that he has no dream school he’d like to eventually end up at.
“I just want to go (somewhere) for a free education,” he said.
Shanks knows he has the athletic skills to play at the next level. He believes it’ll be his mental approach that equates to future success.
“As long as I keep my mind on the goal and stay focused, I feel like I’ll be good,” he said.
And how good will it be when he steps onto the field for the first time as a Hutchinson Blue Dragon?
“I know that’s going to be crazy,” Shanks said. “I’m going to be like, ‘Dang. I made it.’ I’ve been working so long to get to that point, but it’s a stepping stone to where I want to go.”
