Central holds signing ceremony for Louisville-bound Traveon Samuel

It wasn’t the kind of Dec. 3 celebration senior Traveon Samuel envisioned when Central began the state playoffs a month ago, but it wasn’t a bad consolation.

While the Red Devils weren’t playing in Wednesday’s Class 7A state championship game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, they were able to hold a ceremony for Samuel to commemorate his signing with the University of Louisville, which he did officially on Nov. 21.

Samuel signed a non-binding financial aid agreement with Louisville. He can sign an official letter of intent when the football signing period opens again on Feb. 4.

Samuel will enroll at the school in January, enabling him to take part in the teams spring practices in hopes of earning significant playing time as a freshman.

“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Samuel said of enrolling early. “I always wanted to go to school early so I could go through spring practice with my team as a freshman and earn a chance to play in the fall.”

To do that, he knows he’ll have to hit the weight room, get bigger and adjust to the new speed of the college game.

Not that speed will be an issue for the shifty do-it-all athlete.

Samuel suffered a fractured fibula in Central’s first playoff game, but prior to that had put up monster numbers all season. He rushed 111 times for 861 yards and 11 touchdowns, caught 39 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns and added 350 return yards. His all-purpose total was 1,764 yards, a total that could have been much higher if not for the injury.

“My experience here is going to help me a lot,” he said. “Coming through this system, I’ve done a lot. It’s really going to help.”

Samuel said he chose Louisville for the coaching staff and the facilities. He’ll team up with the offensive-minded Bobby Petrino, author of a number of prolific units at both Louisville and Arkansas.

Samuel expects to be utilized in the pass game — he’s officially listed as a wide receiver — the run game and the return game.

At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, Samuel clocks 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash.

He selected Louisville over other offers from South Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State and Tennessee, among many others.

This story was originally published December 3, 2014 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Central holds signing ceremony for Louisville-bound Traveon Samuel."