A banner day at Berkeley

From a football -- and futbol -- perspective, Wednesday might go down as the most prospersous National Signing Day in Berkeley Prep history.

Buccaneers five-star prospect Nelson Agholor's announcement of Southern Cal as his college of choice capped a noon ceremony that featured seven signees in a gymnasium teeming with coaches, cameras, relatives and the Berkeley high school student body.

First, athletic director Bobby Reinhart announced soccer standouts Lee Newhaller and Mark Biddinger had chosen American University and Louisville, respectively. The pair have Berkeley (16-7-2) in the Class 2A region semifinals.

Then, in reverse alphabetical order, Reinhart recognized the football signees:

* MLB Schyler Miles, a first-team Class 3A all-state pick, revealed he had chosen Kansas over Florida and West Virginia. Miles said he built a strong relationship with new Jayhawks coach Charlie Weis while Weis was still offensive coordinator at UF.

"We built a strong connection," Miles said, "and when he brought in Coach (Dave) Camp0 (former Dallas Cowboys head coach) as the d-coordinator, that really brought me in."

* WR/DB Christian Hardegree, one of the area's most underrated skill players, signed with Division I-AA Colgate of the Patriot League. Hardegree, who had a team-best 20 catches (for 596 yards) and four interceptions as a senior, said he'll be a defensive back in college.

* DE/TE Tyler Davis formalized his commitment to Jacksonville, becoming the only one of the Buccaneers' seven signees to stay in-state. A four-year letter winner, Davis registered eight sacks as a senior.

* DE/TE Reggie Barnes signed with Air Force, following in the footsteps of his dad, a retired colonel in that branch of the military. Russ Barnes said he in no way tried to influence his son, who aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon when his playing career ends.

Reggie, whose older brother Archie plays at Vanderbilt, collected 12 receptions while registering 43 tackles and 3.5 sacks on defense last fall.

Bottom row (left to right): Reggie Barnes, Christian Hardegree, Mark Biddinger
Top row (left to right): Nelson Agholor, Schyler Miles, Tyler Davis, Lee Newhaller

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