Carver sees 12 football players sign on National Signing Day

Calvin Arnold’s first National Signing Day as Carver football coach had no shortage of Tigers taking their talents to the collegiate level.

Twelve players from Carver signed their National Letters of Intent in a ceremony inside the Carver cafeteria on Wednesday. Eleven are part of Carver’s Class of 2017, while one other player, Josh Curry, graduated from Carver in 2015.

Arnold saw the day’s festivities as a good sign for the program as he prepares for his first season as Tigers head coach.

“Anytime you get more than five guys signing, that’s a good sign that everybody’s doing the right thing,” Arnold said. “The kids are putting in the work, the coaches are putting in the work in trying to get the kids into school. Anytime you have 12 guys furthering their education, that’s a good thing.”

The 12 players squeezed in behind a cafeteria table to each sign their letter and take photos with family and friends. As the group broke off into different sections of the cafeteria, different players voiced their thoughts on becoming another student-athlete to reach college through Carver.

As the oldest player in the group, Curry stressed how much value there was in the Carver name.

“You want to keep the tradition going,” Curry said. “You don’t want to make a bad name for your school and for yourself.”

For the other 11, Wednesday’s ceremony is the beginning of the end of their time together. Although school is still in session for several months, the players now know where their futures will take them as far as college is concerned.

The eventual breakup of the teammates was something that came to mind for running back Cameron Jessie, who signed with Shorter University.

“It means a lot,” Jessie said of having so many teammates sign. “It’s sad at the same time since we’re separating and I’ll be attending school by myself.”

Despite the fact that many would go their separate ways, offensive lineman Chance Gladney looked at the promise the day held. After signing with Morehouse College, Gladney pointed out how rare it was for high-school athletes to keep playing their sport into college and how lucky they all were to have that chance.

“These guys have been fortunate to continue pursuing their dreams as they continue their football careers,” Gladney said. “Unfortunately, not many can go onto college. It’s just a blessing to see those guys sign and know they’re going somewhere.”

Arnold bragged about the players who would soon depart from Carver, saying they were special in the way they went about their business. They stayed on task and played together as a team, which left Arnold sad but proud to see them leave.

Carver has had a string of producing talented college football players, and Arnold sounded confident that it has carried over to the Class of 2017.

“Anytime you see people continue a tradition that’s been started a long time ago, it’s always great things to see,” Arnold said. “I expect big things to come in the future.”

The following players from Carver signed their National Letters of Intent:

U.S. Beasley, running back, Eastern Arizona College

Bryan Calhoun, offensive lineman, Albany State

RJ Cummings, linebacker, Waldorf

Josh Curry, defensive lineman, Arkansas State (from Arizona Western College)

Chance Gladney, offensive line, Morehouse College

Jacolbie Hatchett, defensive back, University of the Cumberlands

Cameron Jessie, running back, Shorter University

Lyndon Johnson, defensive lineman, Waldorf

Romello Kimbrough, quarterback/running back, Eastern Arizona College

AJ LaGrand, defensive back, Point University

Venson Maddox, defensive lineman, Albany State

Kwaden Tymes, defensive back, Eastern Arizona College

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Carver sees 12 football players sign on National Signing Day."