NSD 2023: Catholic sends plethora of talent to college level
Six Catholic Knights were part of the special signing ceremony at Montgomery Catholic on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Catholic tailback Jeremiah Cobb signed his letter of intent to play football at Auburn University in December, but he couldn’t wait for Wednesday’s signing ceremony so he could celebrate with his high school teammates one last time.
Receivers Luke Harkless and Josh Palmer, linebacker Jaden Jones, defensive back LJ Green and punter Gabe Russo held a special signing ceremony on Wednesday and Cobb withheld announcement of his December signing so he could participate with the other Knights.
“It’s really cool,” he said. “I like seeing all the guys I played with, them pushing me on the field. It’s really cool to see them go to the next level, also, and play football.
“I actually already signed. I was just waiting to sign (at a ceremony) with my teammates.”
The Catholic tailback finished his storied career with the Alabama High School Athletic Association state record for most rushing yards per carry in a career (10.2) and accumulated more than 8,000 all-purpose yards and 90 touchdowns, primarily over the last three seasons.
Cobb had 639 carries for 6,567 yards and 75 touchdowns, 46 receptions for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns and six kickoff returns for 300 yards and a touchdown in his career.
Despite the accolades, the recruiting process was at times difficult for the 2021 Capital City Conference Player of the Year who committed to Bryan Harsin before he was fired as Auburn’s coach and replaced by Hugh Freeze.
“All the fans worry about their fan base and not the young man,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said. “He made a decision that he wanted to sign with all his friends and I loved it. Hats off to him not getting caught up in all that hoopla.
“It (recruiting) fluctuates daily because you’re a 17-year-old kid and they’re dogging the school you’re getting ready to choose. What spoke volumes to me, and it spoke volumes to him, is Huge Freeze gets the job on a Wednesday night, does a press conference on a Thursday and he’s here with the three staff members he had hired -- him, his D-line coach, Zac Etheridge and ‘Cadillac’ (Williams).”
Cobb never wavered in his recruitment, but it made an impression on him that Freeze’s first day on the job was spent at Catholic. Despite the coaching transition, Cobb didn’t offer any complaints about the recruiting process.
“It’s been real good,” he said. “I’ve talked to Hugh Freeze a lot. I talk to Coach ‘Cadillac’ (Williams) all the time. It was real good meeting all those guys, even the new offensive linemen. They’re all good guys. It seems like we can really turn the program around.”
Jones has change of heart and heads to ASU
Catholic senior Jaden Jones was planning to sign with Faulkner on Wednesday, but a last-minute change of plans sent the linebacker to Alabama State instead.
“Faulkner was doing a really good job of recruiting him,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson explained, “but (ASU assistant coach) Billy Gresham wasn’t going to take no. It was a great (financial) package and (Jones) took it. He wanted to go there from the get-go. Hats off to Billy Gresham, who wants to see more Montgomery kids at State.”
Jones was the leading tackler on a team that dominated Class 4A for most of the season, finishing with 139 tackles, including 10 for loss and three sacks, two fumbles caused and two fumble recoveries. He had narrowed his choices to Alabama State and Faulkner, getting a new financial offer from Alabama State on Sunday that helped sway him to the Southwestern Athletic Conference team.
“It was last-minute and I went on an official visit and loved it there,” Jones said. “I decided to take my talent there and get better.”
He hopes to contribute early to the Hornets, noting that if he will “go in and work hard,” he’ll have a chance to contribute as a freshman. One official recruiting visit to the ASU campus was all it took to get the Catholic defender to sign with the Hornets.
“I love the campus,” he said. “I feel like I’m right at home, right around my family, great environment and an HBCU, something I’ve always wanted to go to since I was a kid.”
Harkless, Green become Trojans
Both Catholic wide receiver Luke Harkless and defensive back LJ Green offered a similar assessment of Troy University after signing with the Trojans on Wednesday.
Harkless, an aspiring country music singer, said the coaches wanted to talk about his music when he arrived for a recruiting visit.
“It’s family,” he said. “The first day I went up there, they asked, ‘Where’s the music at?’ They didn’t ask me about football, they asked me about music. I went up there continuously and they made me feel at home.”
Harkless was a Troy commitment during the season, but Green’s path to Pike County was a little more difficult after committing to Georgia Tech, then backing out after a coaching change.
He said he made his decision to sign with the Trojans after a promise of “getting to go there and play early. It felt like home.”
Ironically, two players who had brief connections with the Knights’ football connection may be playing together on the same side of the ball at Troy.
Harkless transferred from Jeff Davis three years ago and emerged as the leading receiver on the team this fall with 60 receptions for 1,193 yards and 25 touchdowns, nine rushes for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns and two punt returns for 150 yards.
Recruited as an athlete, he was given the option of playing receiver or in the Trojan secondary.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Harkless said. “They want me to play both, they told me offense and defense. I honestly don’t know yet. I told Coach (Jon) Sumrall that I don’t really care where I play and he said the same thing. He said it doesn’t matter what position you play, offense or defense, we want you up here. Hopefully, by the time I leave (for college), I will have made a decision.”
Green was a basketball player who was talking into playing football three seasons ago and has contributed 78 tackles and seven interceptions in those three years.
“That whole coaching change (at Georgia Tech) put a damper on things because he had been committed so long,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said. “He never wanted to go too far from home. That Troy staff did a really good job recruiting him. (Cornerbacks coach) Travis Pearson, Coach Sumrall and several on the staff did a great job and at the end of the day, LJ felt at home. There were plenty of schools (recruiting him), but something kept drawing him back to Troy.”
According to Harkless, he was a factor in Green’s recruitment as well.
“He’s not going to tell you that, but I convinced him to come on over there,” Harkless said. “Just having him on my team for another two to three years will be good for both of us.”
Green was selected as an all-star in both basketball and football and, after decommitting from Georgia Tech in the middle of the season, considered South Carolina, Florida State and UAB before signing with Troy. He’s glad he will have his high school teammate by his side next fall.
“Luke’s a fool, but he can play ball,” Green said.
Harkless considered Austin Peay and Liberty before committing to Troy and said he feels like the two Catholic stars can see early playing time at Troy.
“We’ve got a good chance to play early, if we get in there and work and do our thing,” he said.
Palmer signs with Vanderbilt
Once Catholic senior Josh Palmer became comfortable with the Knights, it was easy for recruiters to see his ability.
Palmer, who went from Dallas County to Autauga Academy and finally to Catholic this past summer, signed with Vanderbilt University on Wednesday to become the fifth Knight in the last two years to receive a scholarship to a Power Five program.
“I’m very, very proud of Palmer,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said. “He spent his first, we’ll say, five games trying to prove everybody wrong. When he settled down, he thrived. I think he was probably going to go to UAB, but Vandy hung around, talking to him. Hats off to him for being patient and letting the recruiting process work itself out.
“There were some selling points on him early that they needed to truly evaluate. Palmer is 100 percent a Southeastern Conference kid. It’s hard to find a kid of his size, ability and stature to do what he does. It just took the right school to invest in him.”
Vanderbilt added two signees on Wednesday to the 21 signed in December, Nashville linebacker Bryan Longwell and Palmer, who is projected by the Commodores as a tight end.
“I think the character of this group, the starting point for this class, the foundation of this class was in that toughness,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “They came in contact with the people in this building, men and women that they believe in, and they believe in the vision of what we’re building and were excited to be a part of it.”
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Palmer had 34 receptions for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season in leading the Knights to the semifinals of the 4A state playoffs.
“They knew about me but they had a room full of tight ends,” Palmer said. “One of their tight ends decommitted and signed with LSU and I was next up in line.”
Still, going to his third school in the past five years, it’s easy to see where Palmer could have fallen through the recruiting cracks and been overlooked.
“It is kind of unbelievable that I am going to play ball with my story and my background,” Palmer said. “I talked with Coach ‘J’ and he gave me the confidence that I could finish the season out strong. I trusted him, believed in him, believed in the coaching staff and they got me an SEC offer. Now I’m signing on signing day. It’s a blessing.”
He had narrowed his choices prior to signing day, believing that he would be signing with UAB on Wednesday.
“All the love to UAB, I hope they have a successful season this year,” Palmer said. “It was a late decision, but I just chose the school that was best for me.”
Vanderbilt believes he can develop and grow into a tight end, using his speed and athleticism to create mismatches. Palmer is just grateful for the faith shown to him by the Commodore coaching staff.
“It means a lot,” Palmer said. “It’s always been my dream to play in the SEC. My dream as a little kid was to play for Nick Saban, but I just wanted to play ball. This has been my dream since I was a little kid and I just give it all to God for giving me the ability to make it at the next level.”
Russo headed to Auburn
After earning high school All-American status as a punter and kicker over the summer, Catholic’s Gabe Russo had his choice of attending most any college.
Originally, his recruiting plans were to attend a school with the best athletic scholarship offer, but with NIL deals and other incentives available to new college recruits, he could attend a school on an academic offer as a preferred walk-on with virtually the same perks.
“His stuff has been all over the place,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said. “With new additions to the rules, Gabe can go to school for free. His academics cover full everything.”
Russo credited his mother with helping him sort out all the collegiate offers.
“My mom really helped with that a lot,” Russo said. “She made an Excel sheet with the pros and cons. Really, it comes down to who you feel comfortable with and who you can trust. If you’re committing somewhere, you’re giving four years of your life to a coach. You’ve got to know that’s a coach you want to give four years to and I’m confident that my choice was the right one.”
His choice was to attend Auburn and handle a dual role with kickoff duties and as the Tigers’ punter.
“The coaching staff and the atmosphere, it felt at home,” Russo said. “They’re really big on family at Auburn and that was something I loved. And I really like the special teams coordinator, Coach (Tanner) Burns, at Auburn.”
Johnson said the addition of Burns to Freeze’s staff made a huge impact on Russo.
“They have an official kicking coach, someone who is with him all the time,” Johnson said, “instead of a linebacker coach that is a special teams coordinator.”
Another factor that helped is Auburn’s reputation for having some of the nation’s top specialists.
“The tradition at Auburn, especially for specialists, is great,” Russo said, “and I definitely want to continue that. I’m hoping, and they’re hoping, that my freshman year I will learn under their punter, Oscar Chapman, who’s fabulous. I’m hoping to just take a redshirt and learn a lot under him.”