The process began at 7 a.m. Wednesday and continued late into the night.
It’s part madness, part entertainment and part relief.
For college football fans and coaches, national signing day is akin to Christmas morning.
After months of camps, workouts, road trips, games, phone calls, emails and salesmanship, athletes finally reveal their choice of a college.
While the mountains of Southwest Virginia remain off the radar of major college coaches, there was drama at Richlands High School Wednesday morning.
As expected, Richlands running back Devon Johnson signed with Marshall.
For the past three years, Johnson has drawn comparison to former Graham dynamo Ahmad Bradshaw. It seems fitting that the Richlands star will follow the same collegiate path in Huntington, W.Va.
As Johnson was concluding his emotional ceremony in the school library, massive Richlands lineman Josh Hess continued to ponder his situation.
Hess recently decided to step away from his verbal commitment to play at Florida International University.
As of now, it appears that Hess would accept a full scholarship offer to play at Richmond. Hess said that coaches from Richmond called Richlands head coach Greg Mance numerous times Wednesday morning with inquiring minds.
One of the many ugly parts of recruiting is the endless badgering of 17-year-old kids by smooth-talking representatives of scouting services and overzealous fans.
While many kids simply want to enjoy the most memorable years of their lives, these well-paid sharpies call, text, tweet and generally harass. And then they call some more. Day after day. Hour after hour.
Hess said that the long process has gotten on his nerves.
“Some nights I can’t sleep,” Hess said. “There are phone calls and emails all the time.”
Johnson ended some of the pressure last year by making a verbal commitment to Marshall.
While the speculation continued to rage around him, Johnson embarked on a search-and-destroy mission on the field and prospered during a self-discovery mission in the classroom.
Sure, there are many folks around Southwest Virginia who remain envious and angry at how Johnson and other football transfers have prospered at Richlands.
But judging from how Johnson has blossomed from a shy sophomore into a humble star, it’s hard to argue with the results.
Perhaps the best part of the sterling Johnson resume is that he made three straight appearances on the Richlands honor roll.
“We all know what type of athlete Devon is. But we couldn’t be prouder with how hard Devon has worked in the classroom,” Mance said.
In some instances, national signing day becomes a circus as brash athletes juggle hats from various schools before announcing their decision under the national glare.
There was no boasting or trickery from Johnson. He simply signed the documents and praised his coaches, his teammates and late father.
“This is a great day for my family,” Johnson said. “My father inspired me to work for my goals. I’ve worked hard, and I just wish he could be here to share this feeling with me.”
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
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