National Signing Day scene

Carrollwood Day School: 6:30 a.m.

It's still dark outside at this hour but there's a small crowd of family and friends gathered in the school's main lobby for senior quarterback Deuce Gruden. And that family includes his mother, Cindy, and a famous dad, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden. Also on hand were grandparents Jim and Kathy Gruden.

They were here to see something they all knew would happen one day, the signing of a college scholarship by Deuce.

Despite his 5-foot-6, 175-pound frame, the Patriots' quarterback, linebacker and any-other-position-needed Gruden is headed to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. And mom and dad couldn't be prouder.

"He's put in a lot of hard work and he's had a lot of help from his coaches and teammates along the way but this just puts an exclamation point on a great career here at CDS," Jon Gruden said. "I knew Deuce wanted to (play college football) when he was 5 or 6. He's had that ambition, that desire for a long time and that's why this is such a great day."

Gruden is expecting to play the slot receiver position at Lafayette, as well as special teams. During his two years as quarterback, he passed for more than 3,000 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Bill Ward

Jesuit: 7:30 a.m.

Bryce Walker and Isaac Edwards entered Jesuit nearly four years ago as bitter rivals, fueled by sports competitions while representing neighboring middle schools. Now the two are very close friends, and on Wednesday they happily shared the spotlight, along with teammates Rico Gonzalez and Kevin Ormsby, to participate in the Tigers' signing day festivities.

"We came up together, we conquered together and we accomplished this together," said Edwards, who signed with Florida Atlantic.

Walker, who signed with Harvard, said the relationship began almost immediately when they arrived on Jesuit's campus, when they were the only two freshmen to make the Tigers' varsity football squad. Their bond has continued to strengthen ever since.

"I had his back and I knew he had mine," Walker said. "Just four years of growing, and now he's my brother."

Gonzalez signed with Hamilton, while Ormsby signed with John Carroll.

Adam Adkins

Tampa Catholic: 8 a.m.

Three Tampa Catholic football players signed college scholarships -- Calvin Armatas (Stetson), Tyree Holder (Ball State) and Mikey Scheerhorn (Valpraiso). Of all the football athletes who signed in the area Wednesday, Scheerhorn has to be one of the most unlikely to have landed a scholarship.

After his eighth grade year, Scheerhorn learned he had a tumor on the C6 vertebrae in his neck. The tumor turned out to be benign, but he was forced to sit out his freshman year of football at TC. Instead playing the offensive line like he had hopes, Scheerhorn became the team manager for the Crusaders, carrying water bottles and doing whatever odd jobs coach Bob Henriquez needed.

He saw limited action his sophomore year and even in 2010, his junior year, Scheerhorn was still undersized for a lineman, with just 180 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame. But after that season, Scheerhorn said he "got married to the weight room" and worked out like never before. This season, he became a full-time starter and grew to 6-5, 270. His development was so fast, TC assistant coach David Lewis asked Scheerhorn is he was doing something like steroids or growth hormones. But Scheerhorn assured Lewis it was simple hard work, and a late growth spurt.

In October, Scheerhorn got a call from Valpraiso's coaching staff. After a visit to the school earlier this month, he chose the school over Stetson and Minot.

"If you had told me a year ago I would be here signing a scholarship today, I would've told you that you were crazy," Scheerhorn said. "But I really worked at it this last year. I'm proof you can achieve this if you just work at it and never give up."

Bill Ward

Alonso: 8:30 a.m.

There was quite a group of students on hand in Alonso's media center.

Football players Jordan Davis and Brandon Holloway, along with soccer player Victoria Leser, signed letters-of-intent.

Davis will continue his career at Florida International, Holloway at Mississippi State and Leser at University of Tampa.

Ravens football coach Brian Emanuel praised the players for surviving three different head coaches in their four years at Alonso.

Rick Harmon

River Ridge: 8:30 a.m.

irls goalkeeper Lisa Jadick capped her stellar high school soccer tenure by signing with Southeastern (Lakeland), in River Ridge High's conference room.

"'I've been waiting for this day for awhile," Jadick said. "It's something I've been dreaming about ever since I was a little kid playing soccer. I couldn't have done it without my support group of my family, friends and coaches. I'm just willing to work hard and prove myself next year."

Jadick had a superb senior season for the region finalist Royal Knights, as the goalkeeper recorded 1,492 minutes, played in 23 games, made 89 saves in net and had nine shutouts. As a junior, Jadick had her breakthrough season and notched 140 saves and had 14 shutouts.

Andy Villamarzo

Steinbrenner: 9 a.m.

More than 100 family, friends and classmates watched in the school library as four Steinbrenner seniors signed letter of commitments.

Girls soccer standout Cici Gonzalez had a tremendous career and had already verbally committed to the University of Tampa after helping to lead the Warriors to a 4A state championship her junior season. Gonzalez had 91 career goals and 67 assists in three seasons with the Warriors and one at Sickles. The senior forward was a four-time district champion and quickly brought Steinbrenner into the focus of the area soccer community with an undefeated regular season in the school's inaugural season and a state title in its second.

"I think it has been amazing to help build a tradition of winning in the first three seasons of this school's soccer program," Gonzalez said. "It is humbling to have been recognized as a part of that."

Also signing was Gonzalez's teammate Taylor Valley, who committed to Armstrong-Atlantic State University in Savanna, Ga. and football players Zack Jones and Zack Boryla. Jones and Boryla, both members of the Steinbrenner defense that went 7-3 last season will be joining together at the next level committing to Stetson University, which will be re-launching its football program in 2013. Stetson last played football in 1956.

Jarrett Guthrie

Anclote: 9:30 a.m.

Anclote running back Alonzo Pettiford visited Fort Hays State (Hays, Kan.) last weekend and came away with an offer to play football at the next level. The senior signed with Fort Hays State in Anclote's gymnasium, surrounded by friends, family, coaches and teammates.

Pettiford this past season played all over the field offensively for the 4-6 Sharks, as the 5-foot-8 speedster rushed for 602 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had 14 receptions for 268 yards and two scores. As a returner, he had 221 yards on 12 punts and 14 kickoffs for 464 yards, including one for a long of 94.

Andy Villamarzo

King: 9:30 a.m.

It was a bittersweet event at King.

Though the student-body celebrated four football players moving on to college by signing national letters of intent, it had to say goodbye to four of its most influential athletes.

Two-way lineman Francisco Liriano (William Penn University), receiver Chris Murray (Ohio University), linebacker/safety Demetrius Dillard (William Penn University) and quarterback Greg Windham (Ohio University) were intricate pieces of a senior group responsible for turning the Lions into playoff contenders.

"It's a sad morning," King coach Alvin Davis said. "Those four guys put King back on the map. The younger guys really looked up to them."

Windham believes whole heartedly the Lions will continue to be successful.

"They have a great coaching staff," he said. "I think they'll be even better next year."

Nick Williams

Jefferson: 9:45 a.m.

One by one, the six members of Jefferson's signing class stood before the school's packed media center, thanking family, coaches, teammates and other supporters for putting them in position to sign a college scholarship. On most occasions, it took only a matter of moments for the eyes of each player to swell with tears, particularly in the case of Jawuan Coffee.

The senior receiver was overcome with emotion as he delved into his past, detailing a one-time stint with homelessness, the death of both his parents – first his father, Christopher Coffee, in the fifth grade, and then his mother, Tabitha Rice, just before the Dragons' run to a state championship in 2010 – and serious academic trouble. At the end of his freshman year, Coffee's GPA was just 1.2, and he recalled how countless people told him he wouldn't amount to anything.

But on Wednesday, Coffee stood proud to announce he was signing with Becker College in Massachusetts, becoming the first of his siblings, which includes five brothers and sisters, to go to a university.

"Luckily, my aunt (Ella Coffee) was there for me and she helped bring me up and wanted the best for me," Coffee said. "For me to be able to sign a letter of intent to go to college, it means a lot because I know I can make the best out of my situation. Instead of being down and always being down, I got back up on my feet."

Joining Coffee signing Wednesday were Lamar Woods (Becker College), David White (Florida A&M), Will Watson (Bowling Green), Adrian Jenkins (Florida International) and one of the nation's most heralded recruits, All-American Tyriq McCord (Miami).

It was the first signing class for first-year coach Jeremy Earle, who 15 years ago was in the same situation as his players as a standout at Hillsborough. All of his players thanked him for the guidance he offered, with Jenkins going so far as to refer to him "as a second father, even if he doesn't know it."

"These are the things about high school coaching that really make you feel good about what we're doing and knowing that what we're doing is so influential to these young men," Earle said.

Adam Adkins

Chamberlain: 10:15 a.m.

Senior distance runner Max del Monte signed his National Letter of Intent with Florida State. Considering both of his parents are Florida graduates, that says a lot about the recruiting power of Seminoles track coach Bob Braman.

But besides being one of the country's best distance coaches and the guy who led the Seminoles to three national titles in track, Braman has a special connection to the del Montes and Tampa. Braman is a Chamberlain graduate and he was raised in the same neighborhood as del Monte's mother, Christine. Braman was also a longtime South Florida coach.

Max del Monte said he was glad to get this decision over with. Now he can focus on his senior track season, where he hopes to crack 4 minutes, 10 seconds for the mile and take a shot at the state championship in either the 1,600- or 3,200-meter run.

"This is a big weight off me," del Monte said of his decision to run for FSU. "I can just run now and not worry about where I will be going to school next fall."

Chamberlain is almost always a big producer of softball talent, too. And it was no different Wednesday when outfielders Madison Gonzalez and Jennie Cook signed with Hillsborough Community College and Daytona State College, respectively.

Bill Ward

Tampa Bay Tech: 10:30 a.m.

Tampa Bay Tech senior defensive lineman Andrew Green wanted to be a part of something special.

That's why he officially signed with Stetson University, which will restart its football program in 2013.

"Every move we make is going to be a new record," he said.

Stetson dropped its football program in 1956.

Joining Green at the signing ceremony at Tampa Bay Tech were teammates Kadesh Reaves (New Mexico Military Institute), and offensive lineman Kilu Fontaine (Tennessee State University).

"With USF down the street, I saw how a new program can grow. I want to do that," Green said.

Nick Williams

Hillsborough: 11 a.m.

Hillsborough running back/defensive back Anthony Brown and defensive tackle Earl Moore proved they were good to their word, signing national letters of intent to Purdue and Miami, respectively, the same schools they verbally committed to last August.

"There was never any reason to change anything," Brown said. "After I visited Purdue I knew that was it for me. I just knew."

Moore said Purdue offered him a scholarship as well, and he briefly considered it before narrowing his decision to two schools, South Carolina and Miami.

"But at Miami the brotherhood was there," Moore said. "It felt good there, and academically it also felt right."

Scott Purks

Armwood: Noon

It was an emotional 2011 for Armwood senior running back Matt Jones. During that year, he made a commitment to the University of Florida, was sidelined with a knee surgery, saw the birth of his first child, Aniyah, and then, with the help of a crucial touchdown pass he caught, helped the Hawks win the Class 6A state championship last December.

So it really wasn't all that surprising to see Jones break down for a few moments during the National Signing Day ceremony held at the school. As is the tradition for Armwood players on signing day, each got to speak about their experience as a player and student there. And that's when Jones was flooded with emotions.

"I called (Gators coach Will) Muschamp and asked him to send me another (Florida) hat for today," said a choked-up Jones, who was sporting a large orange and blue Gators bathrobe he bought just for this event. "The reason for it was I want to dedicate it to (head) coach Cal (Sean Callahan), all them coaches standing over there, to my daughter, my girlfriend -- all of y'all. I'm just so lucky to have all y'all in my life."

Jones was one of a record number of Hawks players to ink scholarships Wednesday. A total of 11 senior players from the state title team signed scholarships and all but one of them are Division I-A. It's the most players in Callahan's long tenure as coach -- which includes three state champion teams -- to move on to college from one graduating class.

The signing group included Jones, linebacker Eric Striker ( Oklahoma), offensive linemen Cody Waldrop (South Carolina), Cameron Dees (Marshall), Brandon Teeling (Samford) and Kevin McCoy (Vanderbilt), defensive lineman Sheldon Lewinson (Wake Forest) and Allen Covington (Toledo), running back Wade Edwards (Akron), linebacker Keionne Baines (Akron) and defensive back Jarvis McCall (South Florida).

The Armwood football program is still under investigation by the Florida High School Athletics Association over allegations that some players are living out of the school's assigned area. Even in the ceremony, some Hawks players mentioned "the investigation." For now, however, Armwood is still the 6A state champ. And no matter what happens, these players are moving on to college.

The lone non-football signee Wednesday at Armwood was distance runner Amber Duncan, who signed with the University of Tampa's women's cross country program.

Bill Ward

Berkeley Prep: 12:15 p.m.

It was one of the more memorable days in the history of Berkeley Preparatory School.

Before the entire student body, the school's cheerleaders and mascot, along with a national television audience on ESPNU, Berkeley Prep mega-recruit Nelson Agholor announced he would play for the USC Trojans.

Agholor, who was primarily recruited to USC by former Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, said it was a difficult decision to select the Trojans over the Florida Gators. His other finalists were Florida State, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Agholor, primarily a running back at Berkeley, said he will play receiver at USC.

"I have all the respect in the world for (Gators coach) Will Muschamp,'' Agholor said. "I hope they continue to buy into his plan at Florida. But at the end of the day, I think it was always my dream to be a Trojan.''

Additionally, Berkeley Prep linebacker Schyler Miles signed with Kansas, whose head coach, Charlie Weis, was the Florida offensive coordinator last season. Miles said he thought he would commit to Florida, but Weis persuaded him to visit Kansas.

"I didn't see it coming a month or so ago, but things happened quickly,'' said Miles, who added his friends believed he would sign with Florida or West Virginia. "Obviously, we all benefitted from the recruitment of Nelson. We all got seen by a lot of people. This is a day we'll all remember for the rest of our lives.''

"There is great value in the exposure our school received today,'' Berkeley Prep headmaster Joe Selvold said. "Everyone was excited. But I think the true value is what all of these kids will produce going forward. That will be the legacy.''

Other Berkeley football players to sign were Reggie Barnes (Air Force Academy), Tyler Davis (Jacksonville) and Christian Hardegree (Colgate). Berkeley boys soccer players Lee Newhaller (American University) and Mark Biddinger (Louisville) also agreed to scholarships.

Joey Johnston

Sickles: 12:30 p.m.

Alexis Rodriguez and Sienna Brooks first crossed paths on the soccer field when they were fifth-graders, though it wasn't until reaching high school the two first teamed together on the same sideline.

The one-time club soccer rivals quickly became staples in the Gryphons lineup and, eventually, team leaders. The pair served as captains in each of their final two seasons, a role both relished and one they feel helped prepare them for the future.

"It definitely taught us how to lead everybody else on the field and be on top of your game," Brooks said.

Next fall they'll separate again; Rodriguez signed with Jacksonville State and Brooks with Palm Beach Atlantic.

"It's especially awesome to be able to sign here with Sienna because I know she's worked just as hard as I have," said Rodriguez. "I think we're ready to move on and play at the next level."

Adam Adkins

Gulf: 1 p.m.

It wasn't your normal National Signing Day over at the Bever-Hicks Center for Gulf defensive lineman Jeff Kruse.

The 6-foot-2 lineman walked around school earlier in the day sporting an Eastern Michigan sweatshirt, and at one point was seen wearing a Havard T-shirt. Kruse kept the suspense going heading into the signing gathering, which also featured volleyball player Lea Burbridge (Pasco-Hernando Community College), cross country runner Judith Young (Pasco-Hernando Community College) and softball players Amber Maxey (Santa Fe Community College) and Lauren Thompson (Loyola Marymount) also signing.

Kruse seemingly at first announced he would be selecting Princeton as his college of choice and continued to put on a hat and T-shirt representing the school. Right after Kruse made the announcement, however, three friends of the senior lineman shouted out 'No!' and rushed down with a briefcase and inside was the attire of the school he would be attending. Kruse eventually chose Cornell.

"Well we knew we had to do it pretty big here because it has been up in the air awhile," Kruse said. "When I was first thinking about Cornell I was thinking how lame it might be. It was far away, but I went up there and fell in love with the place."

Andy Villamarzo

Wesley Chapel: 1 p.m.

The largest group signing in Pasco County gathered as eight football players signed.

The most interesting was Xavier Leatherbury. In the span of a week, he changed his mind twice before finally settling on Stetson, which will resume playing football in 2013.

The other seven signing were Angel Ramos (Missouri Valley), Devin Piper (Citrus College), Luke Fisher (Missouri Valley), Keegan Tanner (Stetson), Angel Locicero (Erie, N.Y. CC), Damian Garvey (Ridgewater College) and Robert Gonzalez (Ridgewater College).

"We probably will have a few more – we're just waiting on paperwork," head coach Ben Alford said. "There are more than 900 colleges and university playing football. If a kid wants to play at the college level, we can find a place for him to play."

Principal Carin Nettles said she thought the number of players signing was probably a record for the school.

Rick Harmon

Land O' Lakes: 1:30 p.m.

Five male athletes signed letters of intent at the school. There were no surprises, except for Gators FS Darin Patmon signing with Ivy League school Columbia after flirting with smaller colleges in Florida.

"It was a long process going through all the tests and keeping up my grades and just making sure everything was in place," said Paton, who had 55 tackles for the 7-3 Gators. "But it was worthwhile, because it's an honor to represent my family and Land O' Lakes as, finally, a Lion."

The four addtional signings were TE Kent Taylor, who, as the top-recruited player at that postion in the nation, signed with Florida; boys soccer players Jake Frahm and Andy Garcia, who signed with North Florida and Palm Beach Atlantic, respectively; and baseball pitcher Brad Hencke, who signed with the University of Tampa.

Garcia's decision had been up in the air after Florida Gulf Coast pulled a scholarship offer.

"It was a rough week, but it all worked out and now I'm headed to Palm Beach," Garcia said. "Everything happens for a reason."

In addition, boys soccer coach Mark Pearson added Josh Davis and Nathan Dalton will, more than likely sign with Saint Leo and Florida Gulf Coast, respectively.

Mike Camunas

Gaither: 1:30 p.m.

For every ounce of effort Gaither's Mikhail Reece gave out on the gridiron, he gave equal to his work in the classroom. The payoff was huge.

Reece finalized his commitment to one of the nation's most prestigious academic institutions, Yale, where he'll also get a chance to continue his football career. For Reece, who is on pace to graduate with a GPA greater than 6.0, it was finding and maintaining a proper balance between academics and athletics that put him on the path not only to college football, but an Ivy League education.

"It was all about time management, spending your time wisely. A lot of people goof off, but I just spent my time on what I had to do. That was the main thing," said Reece, joined at the signing ceremony in the school's media center by football teammate Tyler McCollum, who signed with Colgate, and girls soccer player Kaycee McGuire, who signed with Thomas University. "This (earning a scholarship) helps you live by the mantra hard work pays off and finish what you've got to do."

Adam Adkins

Mitchell: 2 p.m.

Mitchell had two student-athletes sign in the school's cafeteria, as pitcher/outfielder Garrett Kriston signed with Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) and quarterback Spencer Whittaker signed with Stetson.

"Its great," Whittaker said of his signing. "Its an opportunity to go into the first year and lift weights and just get big. From there I know the community is going to get real involved with the team. Being apart of an inaugural program is something not everyone gets to do. I can't wait."

Whittaker will play cornerback at Stetson, but this past season for the 5-5 Mustangs completed 32-of-65 passes for 450 yards and had four touchdowns. The senior also rushed for 102 yards and had four touchdowns on the ground.

Andy Villamarzo

Zephyrhills: 2:10 p.m.

Bulldogs athlete Jamal Roberts was the first of a few Zephyrhills players that will sign, according to head coach Reggie Roberts.

And it didn't take long for Kent State to fall in love with Jamal, and vice versa.

"I had lunch with Kent State coach Darrell Hazell and I brought Jamal in to meet him," Reggie Roberts said. "Immediately following lunch, they arranged for a flight to Kent for Jamal. Once they got him on campus, they knew he was the type of person they wanted on their team."

Kent State plans to play Jamal as a defensive back or wide receiver. As a junior, he had 605 yards and 6 touchdowns. As a senior, he rushed for 1,030 yards and passed for 542 yards as Zephyrhills's quarterback. He was a first team all-Pasco Tribune selection this past season.

Rick Harmon

Newsome: 2:15 p.m.

The Newsome girls soccer team has stacked up accolades over the past four seasons, including four straight region appearances, a 5A state runner-up finish in 2011 and a No. 2 national ranking from ESPN High School (in 2011). Wednesday, family, friends and teammates gathered in the school's media center to watch as four players signed national letters of intent and a fifth signed a walk-on commitment.

The anchor of the Wolves defense the past three seasons, Jackie Simpson, signed with the University of South Florida. The Newsome midfield was well-represented as Caroline Evers signed with Florida Southern and Maria Cate signed a walk-on commitment to the University of Tampa. Liz Haumschild signed with Nova Southeastern, while Shea Rhoney, who missed the 2011-12 season with a leg injury, signed with Florida Gulf Coast.

Jarrett Guthrie

Durant: 2:15 p.m.

When the Hillsborough county East-West All Star game ended Dec. 10, Durant quarterback Nick Fabrizio stood on the sideline holding the game's most valuable player trophy and said he didn't have any serious college scholarship offers.

A few weeks later, Fabrizio, who compiled more than 1,800 all-purpose yards running Durant's offense as a senior, was getting seriously courted by coaches from Wofford, The Citadel, Georgetown and Navy. What followed was a whirlwind of visits and talks, and an official scholarship signing with Navy.

"I know it's going to be a challenge at Navy, but I'm the kind of a guy who likes a challenge," Fabrizio said. "When I visited Navy I loved the environment. I'm excited."

Scott Purks

Bloomingdale: 3:15 p.m.

When Rebecca Oser signed her letter of intent to Stetson in the Bloomingdale office, it marked an end to a 12-year tradition for the Bulls girls soccer team. Since 2001, there has been an Oser sister in uniform for the team, a streak that had Bloomingdale coach Sue Peet admitting she "could barely remember a team without an Oser."

Oser's mother and father, Angela and Brad, along with one of her sisters, Lauren (a 2004 Bloomingdale graduate), watched as the youngest daughter, who started out as a ball girl for the team nearly a decade ago, committed to the Hatters.

"I have been around Bloomingdale soccer for so long," Oser said. "I knew I had a lot to live up to continuing the Oser tradition."

Jarrett Guthrie

Tampa Prep: 3:25 p.m.

Colby Maffei had been counting down the days since the New Year began. The Tampa Prep soccer star's commitment to LSU had long been solid – she ended the recruiting process in October, 2010 – but she finally got the chance to put pen to paper and make it official.

Sitting at a table at the center of the gymnasium, surrounded by family, coaches, teammates and other supporters, Maffei signed her national letter of intent, becoming a new member of the LSU women's program and fulfilling a lifelong dream.

"It's probably one of the best feelings I've ever had to deal with, but it's really just an honor to know all my hard work and dedication has paid off," Maffei said. "That's what the big feeling is – that I worked toward something and I got it."

Maffei's stellar career at Tampa Prep included a school-record 169 goals, 52 coming in her final season, which ended with Tuesday's regional final loss. But it was more than just her penchant for finding the back of the net that made her special, coach Cindy Schofield said, particularly in her final season on a very young team.

"Her leadership this year was phenomenal," Schofield said. "She stepped up and put the team on her shoulders."

Adam Adkins

Plant: 4:30 p.m.

Earlier this month, Plant High teammates James Few and Mike Tate made separate trips to Cornell University and even managed to have a day together on the campus of the Ivy League school in Ithaca, N.Y.

But until mid-morning Wednesday, neither knew the other had made a verbal commitment to Cornell. Now, the Panthers stars can be teammates for another four years – maybe even roommates.

"I knew that he liked the campus and the football facilities, but I also knew he had other offers and could go somewhere else," said Few, the Panthers' starter at quarterback who threw for 2,513 yards and 29 touchdowns during the 2011 state championship season. "We were both trying pretty hard to keep it a secret from everyone so we literally didn't know we were both going there until today."

Tate agreed.

"He (Few) decided what was best for him and I decided what was best for me and we only heard about it through the grapevine," said Tate, who finished the 2011 season with a state-leading 210 tackles. "It's pretty cool it worked out this way."

Few, who carries a weighted grade point average over 6.0, and Tate, a standout honors student, made their decisions official at the Panthers' ceremony held in the school's media center.

A total of nine Plant football players signed National Letters of Intent, which coach Robert Weiner said was the school's largest single-day signing class. Joining Few and Tate were Austin Aikens (Western Kentucky), Antonio Crawford (Miami), Drew Madhu (Stanford), Keenan Stalls (Kent State), Nathan Shienle and, in two more late decisions, Patrick Wright (Washington & Lee) and Tate Rogers (Vanderbilt).

Weiner expects to have nine more players placed in a college somewhere within the next several weeks, which would make the Panthers' final total the largest in Weiner's eight seasons.

Also signing for Plant were cross country runners Travis Christenberry (Clemson) and Danielle Kissel (Tampa), who were all-state performers last fall, and soccer players Sophie Sanchez (West Florida) and Kaitlyn Steckel (Central Florida).

Bill Ward