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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2009

With 19 National Signing Day ceremonies held at Hillsborough County high schools, Adam Adkins, Katherine Smith, Bill Ward and Nick Williams crisscrossed the area to recognize some of the top athletes in the area.

8:30 a.m., Middleton

It was something of a bittersweet moment for former coach Harry Hubbard, who was let go by the school after seven seasons on the job. He recently accepted the head coaching position at Middleton's longtime rival, Blake, but he still has strong feelings for the Tigers' program and the people he will be leaving behind for his next job.

"It's always hard when you develop friendships and loyalty to a school," Hubbard said. "I'm definitely going to miss this place, but I'm looking forward to what we can do at Blake."

During his tenure at Middleton, Hubbard helped 49 of his players earn scholarships to colleges of various levels. Wednesday, he watched defensive lineman Andrerel Coleman sign with Georgia Southern and offensive lineman Luis Polanco sign with Western Kentucky.

Hubbard was particularly pleased with Polanco earning a scholarship. Polanco moved to Tampa with his family from the Dominican Republic just three years ago. When he arrived, Polanco didn't speak English and had never played football. Wednesday, Polanco looked every bit the role of a college football player, and there was just a slight hint of an accent in his perfect English.

"Sometimes, I still can't believe all that's happened in the last three years," Polanco said. "I owe a lot of it to Coach Hubbard and my teammates."

Jesuit High, 9:15 a.m.

No National Signing Day ceremony is complete without a cake. So after Jesuit athletes signed their letters-of-intent to various colleges, one of the parents delivered a giant cookie cake.

That parent just happened to be former Major League Baseball player Fred McGriff.

"You baked?" someone asked, and McGriff just laughed.

His son Erick was one of five Jesuit athletes who signed letters.

Chamberlain, 9:45 a.m.

It came down to what opportunities were ahead.

Chamberlain senior quarterback Dontae Aycock, the 2008 Guy Toph Award recipient, realizes only two percent of college athletes make it to the NFL.

"And my dream is to go the NFL," he said. "I've been around NFL players all my life with my brother Detroit Lions safety Dwight Smith."

With that, Aycock signed with Auburn, picking the SEC school over Georgia Tech, a school he secretly committed to three weeks ago, only to de-commit once he visited Auburn this past weekend.

"What it came down to was, 'Do I really want to be a quarterback or a running back?'" Aycock said. "Nothing against Georgia Tech, but I just felt Auburn was the right place for me."

Auburn recruited him as a running back.

Freedom High, 11 a.m.

When he woke up Wednesday morning, Freedom boys soccer player Deion Jones didn't think he'd be making history.

As he signed his letter-of-intent to play soccer for Florida Gulf Coast, Jones became the program's first Division I player.

"I thought there were other Division I players before me," said Jones, who leads the Patriots in assists and is tied for second in goals. "Now I'm the first."

1:30 p.m., Spoto High

Ten years from today, Sergio Robinson might walk the halls, taking a trip down memory lane. As he approaches the main office, he'll find a picture of himself dated Feb. 4, 2009.

"I actually made a mark in history," Robinson said.

On Wednesday, Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 240 pound defensive lineman, signed his letter-of-intent to play football for Charleston Southern, becoming Spoto's first Division I athlete. The school opened in 2006.

"Its mind-boggling," said Robinson, the only athlete from Spoto to sign a scholarship on National Signing Day. "I really feel special."

2 p.m., Plant High

When all is said and done, about 15 members of the Class 4A state champion Plant Panthers will play at the next level. On Wednesday, four members of that team committed to various colleges. Included was safety Hunter Baldwin, not only a third-generation Plant football player, but also a third-generation captain. His grandfather, Walter, and father, John, played for the Panthers. And Walter Baldwin continued his support by attending every one of Hunter's practices and games.

Tallahassee might be too long of a trek to take in daily workouts, but his weekends will be booked.

"I don't think I can make it to every practice in college," Walter Baldwin said, "but I will be at every game."

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