3 Seniors Sign To Play College Football

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St. Luke's had its first senior class with seven seniors on the football team.  Today at the National Signing Day Ceremony, three of those seven signed commitments to play on a scholarship at the college level. 

With TV stations and newspaper personnel on hand George Payne highlighted the trio by signing his commitment to play for The University of Southern Mississippi.  Drew Favors signed with Presentation College in South Dakota to play quarterback and Kelan James signed with Belhaven University in Jackson, MS as a lineman.

AL.com reports on signing day below:

Five Signing Day storylines to watch in Coastal Alabama (vote here)

By Ben Thomas | bthomas@al.comal.com on February 05, 2013 at  2:16 PM, updated February 05, 2013 at  3:20 PM

MOBILE, Alabama -- Here are five things to watch in the Mobile area as we head into National Signing Day on Wednesday.

 

5.) A year that was originally slated to be a down year in Mobile-area recruiting will produce at least six Football Bowl Subdivision Signees. They are Spanish Fort's Johnny Cook (Alabama), Foley's Darius Paige (Alabama), McGill-Toolen's Jason Smith (Auburn), Fairhope's Nate Andrews (Florida State), Bayside Academy's Jonathan Walton (South Carolina or Auburn) and Blount's Wilson Bell (Florida State or Ole Miss).

 

 

4.) It will be an especially big day for three area schools that will celebrate having a major college football signee for the first time. St. Luke's running back George Payne will sign with Southern Mississippi at 11:10 a.m. Bayside's Walton will sign with either Auburn or South Carolina (see No. 3) at noon and Saraland's Wyndell Archie will sign with Alabama State at 10:30 a.m. Both Bayside and Saraland have sent student-athletes to smaller schools in recent years but not to schools formally known as Division 1 or 1-AA. St. Luke's, meanwhile, will celebrate its first senior class with Payne and at least two other signees (Drew Favors and Kelan James).

 

 

3.) Walton will make his college decision public at the school. Walton, who committed to Penn State in December, picked up a host of SEC offers in January and took official visits to Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn. Messages on his Twitter account indicate he has decided on the Gamecocks, but he has yet to make a public statement to solidify that choice. That happens at noon Wednesday.

 

 

2.) The biggest question remaining in the area seems to be where will Blount three-star lineman Wilson Bell wind up? Bell, who committed to Central Florida in the fall, picked up a lot of late interest in January and, at one time, held offers from Florida State, Ole Miss and Auburn. He visited all three since Christmas and is expected to choose between the Seminoles and Rebels at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the school. Could Auburn re-enter the mix late if the Tigers miss on other targets?

 

 

1.) Will there be any Signing Day surprises? Last year, the biggest shock came at Vigor High when longtime Alabama commitment Darius Philon was told at some point in the process that the Tide didn't have a place for him and wanted him to accept a grayshirt, which would have delayed his enrollment until January. The situation led to an emotional Signing Day scene from Philon, who eventually signed with Arkansas. Could something similar happen again as major colleges fill their 2013 classes? Or will there be any last-second flips on the final day as student-athletes make one of life's biggest choices? It will all be decided Wednesday.