Clearwater Central Catholic linebacker Caanan Brown had an uneventful Wednesday morning when he sent off his letter to play at Virginia.
“I was home at the kitchen table,” Brown said. “Nothing too exciting.”
Still, that didn’t prevent Brown from having nerves for a more pressure-packed moment later in the day when he sat at a table along with five other athletes to officially announce their college decisions in front of the entire student body at an after-school assembly in the auditorium.
“I tossed and turned a little bit (Tuesday night),” Brown said. “It was a big moment with the whole school there. I was a little anxious.”
Marauder defensive lineman Justus Reed, who signed with Florida, was more relaxed.
“I was fine,” Reed said. “It was never really nerve-racking for me. I had already made my decision for a while. I was just happy to be up there and have everything fall in place for me.”
The two defensive stalwarts were joined by linebackers Ethan Thompson (Black Hills State) and Conner Dorris (Navy) and running back Diquan Walker (Holy Cross). Another classmate, Caroline Booth, signed to play soccer at Auburn Montgomery.
The five football players helped CCC reach the Class 3A state championship game for the first time.
“It will be sad to leave everyone because of the relationships we built here,” Walker said. “I don’t know if it’s hit me yet that I’ll be playing in college. But it’ll be exciting to start something new.”