National Signing Day in Rock Hill: list of student-athletes that signed NLI's

Before noon on Wednesday a slew of Rock Hill high school student-athletes had autographed sheets of paper that promised college tuition, in some cases completely free. Here’s a roundup of the locals from Rock Hill High, Northwestern and South Pointe headed to college to continue their athletic and academic careers.

Northwestern

Davion Blake heads to Kansas to play junior college football at Highland Community College. Blake is an academic qualifier so he could transfer to a four-year school after just one season at Highland. The year will be important for Blake, who only transitioned to cornerback last season before excelling during the Trojans’ state championship run. Junior college football is a challenge, but it should set him up for bigger opportunities.

“It’s far but I talked it over with my family,” Blake said.

Trae’von Hinton was in the position of deciding between being the big fish in a little pond or vice versa. He went with the former, opting to sign with Division II powerhouse Valdosta State. The Shrine Bowl defensive end/linebacker had offers from Charlotte, Towson and others FBS schools, but chose Valdosta for a simple reason.

“They treated me with respect, class, and I felt like they were telling the truth about everything they were saying,” he said during a gathering at the school early Wednesday morning.

Jamah Mitchell the big senior defensive tackle may be the only d-lineman in Northwestern football history to start in two state title games (2013 and ‘15). He’ll get the chance to start many more games after signing an NLI for a partial scholarship with Campbell on Wednesday.

Alex Anderson wasn’t sure he’d get the chance to play college football after his senior campaign was abruptly ended by a torn PCL in his knee. But Anderson signed with Union College (Ky.) on Wednesday, and he was grateful for the opportunity.

“It meant a lot to me that they wanted to stay with me,” said Anderson, who will play linebacker at the school, which already has one former Trojan, Desmond Leak.

Haley Blythe after catching a glance from a friend, Blythe was fighting back tears. She said she easily gets emotional, but Wednesday was as worthy a day as any for a good cry. Blythe will play women’s soccer at Limestone after picking the school over Coker because it had her major, athletic training. Blythe gets A’s and B’s in school and should have a healthy-sized academic scholarship headed her way once her ACT score is processed.

Loughan Welborn will play soccer at USC Upstate. He’s the third Welborn to pass through the Northwestern soccer program, a bittersweet moment for Trojans coach Dom Wren, who jokingly asked Welborn’s father, Niel, if there were any surprises coming down the pipe. Welborn liked Upstate in part because it’s close to home - located in Spartanburg - and it was his best offer. He was happy to get the decision made before the spring high school soccer season.

Rock Hill

Civic Campbell another Rock Hill product headed to Highland Community College, Campbell had some interest/offers from Division II schools but wanted to go the junior college route to increase his chances at FBS/FCS football opportunities in the future. He may also compete in track and field - shot put and discus - at Highland. The giant offensive lineman was happy to get his future sorted out ahead of the spring track season.

“Now that I’m signing I feel like I can get my mind back on school and having fun,” he said.

Jessica Garnett was one of a handful of players from Cesar Robles’ travel girls’ soccer team, Discoveries ‘97 Gold, that signed with colleges on Wednesday. Garnett will play for Francis Marion, picking the school in part because of her connection with the coaching staff and the fine facilities. Garnett captained Rock Hill’s team last season and has a nearly full ride to FMU thanks to her grades.

South Pointe

Grayson Chappell will play college soccer at Coker. She’s on the club team with Rock Hill’s Garnett, but said that Coker appealed to her because of its female coach. Chappell - also recruited by Lees-McRae and Warren Wilson College and South Pointe’s career leader in assists - has never played for a female before.

“I’ll have more of a personal relationship, which with college, I think will be important,” Chappell said. She plans to major in graphic design.

Nick McCloud signed his NLI to play football at N.C. State last Saturday, but was at the South Pointe media center on Wednesday to support his teammates. Chris Smith - who enrolled early at South Carolina - was absent from South Pointe’s ceremony but was involved in a ceremony for mid-year enrollees that the Gamecocks held.

Josh Wilkes committed to Eastern Michigan in the summer last year, so Signing Day was a long time coming.

“It feels good,” he said. “I feel like I accomplished one of my goals.”

Wilkes broke into a grin when South Pointe football coach Strait Herron - speaking to a large crowd in the school’s media center - called Wilkes’ touchdown catch in the 2014 state championship win over Hartsville one of the best he’d ever seen. Wilkes said his family is fine with him moving far from home, “as long as I get out of Rock Hill and stay out of trouble.”

Lamon Bryant a partial scholarship offer from Limestone only came together on Tuesday, but Bryant was happy to accept. He had interest from a few other schools but nothing concrete materialized. Bryant, a late-blooming senior offensive lineman who only started this season, but was an offensive line cornerstone for the Stallions.

“I just had to be patient,” he said.

Nick Yearwood what’s a college recruiting experience without some kind of curveball? Yearwood was committed to Tusculum when coach Frankie DeBusk was let go late last year, leaving him with a decision to make. The new coaching staff maintained Yearwood’s offer but he opted for Newberry when the Wolves coaching staff offered more money, a full ride.

Yearwood - who will play outside linebacker for Newberry - said he felt bad about the Tusculum situation.

“I prayed,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be able to play college football because a lot of people don’t get to do that, especially for free.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "National Signing Day in Rock Hill: list of student-athletes that signed NLI's."