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Wesley Chapel Players Finalize College Plans

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By EDDIE DANIELS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - The level of relief and excitement in the conference room at Wesley Chapel High's main office didn't have to be formulated into words or sentences.

Trevor DeGroot and Charles VanZandt sat behind the long table Monday, eager to sign the letters of intent in front of them. At times, it was difficult to discern the parents from the football coaches, as each wore a bright smile.

DeGroot will play at Webber International University in Babson Park, while VanZandt will play at Division II University of Minnesota, Crookston.

"It's really an unbelievable experience," DeGroot said. "It's just an honor to go out there, play through high school and having your named being mentioned; in the weight room we have all the guys who have played college football up on the wall. It's just an honor to be mentioned with those guys. ... Being able to play the sport you love is just mind-blowing."

A third player who couldn't be at the event, former Wildcats quarterback Greg Jenkins, is two weeks deep into fighting for a starting spot under center as well as a full-ride scholarship. Jenkins, who as a Wesley Chapel senior passed for 927 yards and eight touchdowns, and rushed for 382 yards and six scores, is at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as a preferred walk-on.

His mother, Sharon Jenkins, attended the signing in his place.

"It feels good," Sharon Jenkins said of Greg's choice to go to school in Mississippi instead of in California. "I can get to him. I'm not a long-distance driver, but I think I can make that drive and I'm not the flying type."

She said she and her family will make frequent trips to the school's Perkinston campus to watch Jenkins play, as Mississippi Gulf Coast attempts to defend its 2007 NJCAA national co-championship.

For VanZandt, a lineman, he'll have to endure a new state with unfamiliar surroundings as well as the northwestern Minnesota snow.

He shook that off, saying he has been snowboarding, so no big deal.

What will be difficult is being away from his family.

"It bothers me right now," he said of the thought of leaving. "My brother, my sister-in-law, my little niece; my grandparents live just down the street. My mom."

He said he believes he'll eventually come to grips with that as he buries himself into football and school.

"I'm a team-oriented guy," he said, "but when it comes to school work and making a name for myself, that's what I look forward to."

Wesley Chapel coach John Castelamare said this has been the toughest time he has had getting his players into a college. Circumstances kept his players from signing with schools earlier in the year.

"This was the hardest I've ever had in all the years, getting these kids in school," Castelamare said. "Something was happening and then it fell through or they were No. 2 on the list and they wouldn't want them."

Now, each of those smiling faces in the conference room can enjoy a sense of relief - until the football season begins.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214 or edaniels@tampatrib.com.

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