Locals shine in college football

Don’t look now, but like it or not, summer is about over.

This is the time of year when local college football players who have spent the summer eating some home cooking and working a summer job for spending money start heading back to school.

Football players will soon be leaving Crestview and Baker to head out to destinations as close as Troy and Montgomery, Ala., and as far away as Independence, Kan.

The 2010 season will feature six local products making the transition from high school to college football.

And whether it’s taking the step from Baker or Crestview to a Division III school like Huntingdon, or joining the Division I ranks at Troy, there is a step up for everyone in competition.

Some athletes seem to make the move from high school to college ball with an uncanny ease. More often than not though there is a learning curve as players become accustomed to the college game and the speed at which it is played.

Former Crestview quarterback Joe Thigpen has started since his freshman season at Birmingham-Southern.

Thigpen was fortunate enough to arrive on campus at the same time the school was reintroducing football as a varsity sport. Thigpen, along with former Baker star David Langston, has helped lay the foundation for the future with the Birmingham-Southern program.

Matt Sanders will be a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman at Clemson this season. Sanders has two years on campus under his belt and should contend for a starting spot for the Tigers.

Going from high school offensive lineman to college offensive lineman might be the most difficult transition of any position.

The lineman that dominated high school opponents with their sheer size and strength find themselves facing other players who are just as big and just a strong.

Baker’s Mason Doggette will no doubt be learning some of that having come Sanders’ way. Doggette is embarking on his career at Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.

Crestview’s Chase Boals will be moving from the offensive line to the defensive line as starts his career at Webber International.

A couple of Boals’ Bulldog teammates will also be out to see what kind of mark they can make on the college football world.

Chris Pickett will go from ball carrier extraordinaire to defensive back for Troy. Fortunately for Pickett, he saw plenty of action in the secondary for the Bulldogs.

Justyn Lewis-Washington has traded his Baker colors for those of Carson-Newman College. Lewis-Washington is projected as a defensive back for the Eagles.

Dakota Hooper has been a do-it-all player for the Gators, and now he’ll get to concentrate on one side of the football as he starts he career at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala.

Former Bulldog defensive lineman Levi Hendrix will be the furthest from home as he starts his career at Independence Community College in Kansas.

I know I haven’t mentioned all of our local football players. Tyler Reeves and Cameron Domangue are two that come to mind.

So here is where I need your help. If you know of any former Baker or Crestview football players that will be playing college football this season, please drop me a quick e-mail and let me know who they are and where they play.

I hope to include a list of our college players in our upcoming football tab and do a weekly report on their progress just I did last season.

It’s that time of year where it is never too early to start planning, so if you can get me that information by Aug. 15, I sure would appreciate it.