Armwood signs 11, earns over $1 million in scholarships
Wed. February 1, 2012 | Laura Keeley | Email
SEFFNER—For the past few years, Matt Jones has been, in head coach Sean Callahan’s words, the face of Armwood football.
And at the Hawks’ signing day ceremony, Jones made it clear that he’s ready to be the model for his new team, the University of Florida. Outfitted in a Florida tie, hat and Gators Snuggie that he purchased at Walmart, Jones made his year-old commitment official.
“Don’t be scared,” Callahan told his four-star running back as he pointed to the red tabs on his letter of intent that indicated where Jones and his mother, Barbara Singleton, needed to sign. Once the ink had dried, Jones flipped around his nametag. Instead of “Matt Jones, Armwood High School,” it read “Matt Jones, University of Florida.”
Jones, though, still had a spare Florida hat. And when he took his turn at the podium for his 1-minute speech, he explained why.
“I called coach Muschamp and asked him to send me another hat. I just wanted to dedicate it to the coaches, coach Cal, all the coaches, to my daughter, my girlfriend, my grandparents, to all y’all,” he said as he wiped away tears.
Jones was one of 11 Hawks to sign letters of intent, and 10 of them are going to Division-I programs (Amber Duncan, who is running at Tampa, was the lone non-football signee). For the second year in a row, the Armwood seniors amassed more than $1 million in scholarship awards.
The list of colleges would be the envy of any high school program in the country. Akron (LB Keionne Baines, RB Wade Edwards). Florida (Jones). Marshall (C Cameron Dees). Oklahoma (LB Eric Striker). Samford ( LT Brandon Teeling). South Carolina (LG Cody Waldrop). Toledo (DL Allen Covington). South Florida (DB Jarvis McCall). Vanderbilt (RT Kevin McCoy). And Wake Forest (Shelldon Lewinson).
“They weren’t won, they were definitely earned,” Dees said of the scholarships that he and his teammates received. ”We worked hard, we grinded.”
The toughest work came at the end of the season, as the Hawks learned of an impending FHSAA eligibility investigation the week prior to the start of the playoffs. Despite several close games, Armwood earned the Class 6A state title.
“With the investigation and everything, it put a lot of pressure on us,” Teeling said. “There was a loft of pressure on us this year. But to end the season the way we did, 15-0, No. 2 in the country, state champs, it was basically the perfect ending.”
And for one Hawk in particular, it was an end he never could have imagined three years ago.
“I definitely want to thank Coach Cal because I wasn’t even playing football my ninth grade year, I was just doing my thing,” said McCall, who is staying local at South Florida. “But you saved my life, man. Thank you, coach.”
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