Signing day comes, goes quietly for most

Wed. February 01, 2012 at 4:08 p.m. | By Powell Latimer | StarNews Staff Writer

New Hanover's DaQuan Barnes had 1,037 receiving yards and caught nine touchdown passes in his senior campaign. (Photo by StarNews file photo)

Wednesday's National Signing Day was not the main event for most local high school football players who are trying to play in college.
Despite the hoopla surrounding big recruits, like North Brunswick's Keilin Rayner, the vast majority will commit later in the year, with little fanfare. While Wednesday was the first day of the football signing period, recruits have until April 1 to sign a national letter of intent.
Some are weighing options about which school to attend. Others are trying to bring their academics up to par. More are simply waiting around for signing day's fallout.
New Hanover, despite its second-place finish in the Mideastern Conference and prolific offensive attack, only had one player sign on Wednesday: linebacker David Carter with Davidson.
Carter's teammate, Daquan Barnes, is playing the waiting game.
Barnes, who had 1,037 receiving yards and caught nine touchdown passes in his senior campaign, dug an academic hole and didn't have many scholarship offers.
So Barnes is hitting the books for the next few months.
"I'm not mad," Barnes said. "But I wish I would have done what I had to do in the classroom so I could sign today. I'm going to still work hard and possibly get into ECU."
Barnes wants to become a preferred walk-on, possibly earning a scholarship down the road. He said the prospect of playing at the next level continues to motivate him.
"I know I just need to buckle down," Barnes said. "College is a big step from high school. It's way different and I know it'll be a different challenge."
Barnes' story is common for student-athletes seeking a place to play in college.
"Most of the guys have an idea of maybe where they would like to go," Laney football coach Greg Ditz said. "But they just don't get the offers that they wanted. Some guys are trying to figure out whether or not schools are going to offer them. Sometimes schools don't get the commitments they thought they were going to get."
South Brunswick is following that strategy as well. Running back Gary Williams was the only player from the school's successful football team to sign on Wednesday – he will play at Catawba. Quarterback Nejuann Watts and lineman Justin Hill have attractive offers, but neither have signed yet.
"They both want to wait and see what happens today and see who drops off the boards," head coach Roman Kelley said. "We're going to wait the next week or so and just see."
Kelley's team finished 8-4 last season and has several other players looking to play in college. Kelley said those players, like so many others, are "on the bubble."
"It's kind of frustrating because they have had success," Kelley said. "It is frustrating for them, but they're smart kids and they understand the process."

Powell Latimer: 343-2261
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