Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Fred Holton’s dream of signing a letter-of-intent with an FBS school was realized on Wednesday.
The same can be said for his Thomasville teammate, Charles Hayes, and Thomas County Central’s Reshard Cliett.
The three area football players finalized their collegiate choices on National Signing Day.
Holton signed with Georgia Tech, and Hayes inked with Troy University. Cliett will join former Central star Dontavia Bogan at the University of South Florida.
“It’s a great feeling,” Holton said. “I worked hard and did my best to get to this point. I’m proud of Charles to do what he had to do to get to this point. Overall, it’s very exciting.”
Holton stayed committed to Tech throughout his senior season with the Bulldogs. He is excited about making an impact with the defending ACC champion.
“Like I said, it’s what I’ve worked hard for. The goals that I set, I want to reach them,” Holton added. “(Coach Paul Johnson) said I’ll play some rover and safety.”
Holton could be a possible replacement for Morgan Burnett, who has entered the NFL draft.
Hayes, a standout quarterback and safety for the Bulldogs, was recruited by Troy as an athlete. He could be used on offense, defense, at cornerback or at punt returner. Hayes is excited about playing in the Sun Belt Conference.
“It’s a lot of tradition just like at our high school,” Hayes said. “You’ve got to live up to the name of the school. It brings the best out of you, really.”
Thomasville football coach Richie Marsh added, “It’s just a blessing to have Fred for four years and Charles for three. It was just a blessing to know you weren’t going to have to worry about a couple of positions on the field. Plus, they were easy to deal with. They always conformed to what was asked of them.”
It’s not uncommon for the Bulldogs to send players to FBS schools. Defensive lineman Brandon Thompson signed with Clemson in 2008 and linebacker Tyrone Williams signed with South Alabama last year. What is uncommon is having two sign the same year, which Marsh is very grateful for.
“That’s very rare. It’s just a blessing from God,” Marsh added. “I’ve been in it 19 years and I’ve only had it happen one other time.”
While Holton and Hayes have known their future colleges for a while, Cliett was a late-addition to the South Florida recruiting trail.
“I think the same thing happened with Reshard that pretty much happened with Dontavia,” Central coach Bill Shaver said. “It was very late recruiting. South Florida came in on Dontavia late. The same thing happened with Reshard. Nobody had any junior film to watch on him, didn’t know he was going to play. Reshard just kept getting better and better and better as the (senior) season went along, as he got more into the flow of playing. They know his best football is in front of him.”
Cliett, a safety at Central, is projected to play the same position with the Bulls, though, if the situation presents itself, Cliett could move to linebacker. He was just excited to sign his name on the dotted line.
“It was a big rush, but I was getting nervous,” Cliett said. “I’m very happy.”
