Six 'Cats sign LOIs on National Signing Day

Shane Thomas, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·4 min read

Feb. 2—VALDOSTA — Six Valdosta Wildcat football players put pen to paper on National Signing Day Wednesday morning.

"I feel great," Valdosta head football coach Shelton Felton said. "It's always exciting to see a young man further his future playing football. All seven or eight of these guys had the opportunity to go forward. We had two guys sign early. I think we have a total of 10, maybe two more (that will sign).

"It's always a good thing when you do the right thing in the classroom and on the field to get this opportunity because only 2% get a scholarship to go play football, so any money is great money for football. We're very proud as a program, as a community. We're proud of each and every last one of these young men."

Ahmad Denson, RB

Denson signed with Coffeyville Community College. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back led the 'Cats in rushing last season with 74 carries for 540 yards and four touchdowns. Denson also factored into the passing game with 11 catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

Jalen Whitehead, WR

Whitehead signed with Division II Clark Atlanta University. The wide out's season ended tragically with a broken ankle in the team's first loss of the season at Camden — right in the midst of a breakout in his senior season.

Whitehead led the team in catches with 21 and his 440 receiving yards with five touchdowns were also the most on the team.

TJ Morrison, NG

Lauded as the leader of Valdosta's vaunted defense, Morrison is headed to NAIA Reinhardt University. The nose guard anchored the defensive line with 37 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and a sack as a senior.

Nehemiah Dennis, LB

Another member of the defense, Dennis signed with Thomas University as the Nighthawks prepare for their inaugural football season in the fall.

Dennis finished sixth on the team in total tackles with 44 along with one tackle for loss and 1.5 sacks as a senior.

Grayson Leavy, P/TE

Leavy is staying in Valdosta as he joins the Valdosta State Blazers as a preferred walk-on.

Leavy finishes his career with an impressive season as a punter with the 'Cats, recording 32 punts for 1,147 yards with 13 punts inside the 20.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound athlete played all over the field during his four years at Valdosta, shuttling from tight end to the defensive line before deciding to specialize in punting. He also caught three passes for 34 yards as a senior.

De'Andre Boykins, DB

Boykins signed with Division II Fort Valley State Wednesday.

Despite playing in just four games for the 'Cats as a senior, Boykins managed to snag a college scholarship. Boykins recorded five tackles with one pass breakup last season.

"There's only a couple more students signing this year (versus last year), but it shows that we're consistent," Felton said. "We're going to try to pump our kids up every year to get them signed and get them somewhere to play ball. They play ball, but what we teach here at Valdosta is being a student-athlete. If you do both, you've got an opportunity to play at the next level so it's a great opportunity. It's showing the young guys that if I do what I'm supposed to do, I'll have an opportunity."

In his second full season as 'Cats head coach, Felton led the team to an 8-3 record and its best start to a season since 2001. The 'Cats doubled their win total from Felton's first season and defeated rival Lowndes in the Winnersville Classic for the first time since 2016.

Felton talked about what this year's group of seniors means to him as he sees some of them head to the next level.

"This group right here is special," Felton said of this year's senior class. "They bought into everything I preached. They bought into everything I took them through in the summer. When everybody had us picked 3-7, 4-6, they didn't buy into it. They fought and they laid the foundation for these young guys on how you're supposed to work, how you're supposed to lead and I'm grateful for each and every last one of them.

"My first senior class was important, but this senior class wasn't a bunch of five-star superstars. This class was full of hardworking, blue-collar kids. They worked for everything they got and I'm proud of every last one of them. They just worked. It means a lot because they took what the guys before them laid down, they saw what we went through and we met about it before the summer and we talked about how we will not go through that again. They bought into it, so I'm very grateful for these guys."

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.