Three ink football scholarships at Bob Jones

(L to R) Drew Davis, Jordan Shelton, and Brandon Ray signed football scholarships Record photo by Lindsay Vaught

The reasons for choosing the universities to play football were as varied as the hats on their head for three Bob Jones football players on Wednesday Feb. 6, also known at National Signing Day.

For the last three seasons Brandon Ray and Jordan Shelton anchored the right side of the Bob Jones offensive line. Shelton chose to stay close to home and signed with Alabama A&M.

Ray and linebacker Drew Davis will stay teammates as both signed to play for Western Kentucky. Former Bob Jones defensive lineman Marquez Pride is already at Western Kentucky which is located in Bowling Green.

“That sealed the deal, knowing I can play with teammates,” said Ray. “When I went to Western Kentucky I talked to all the coaches for a long time. Coach Petrino talked to my dad for like three hours. He talked real good to me, I’m happy,” Ray said of Bobby Petrino who is now head football coach at Western Kentucky.

Last season Western Kentucky went 7-4 and played in the Little Caesars Bowl.

They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference and are Division 1. Ray also likes the fact that SEC opponents Kentucky and Tennessee are on the Hilltoppers 2013 schedule.

“I wasn’t recruited by any SEC school, they said I was too short,” he said. Petrino wants to try Ray at center and he is excited about the opportunity to play center and play early.

Drew Davis, at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds will get a chance to keep playing linebacker at Western Kentucky.

“That was a big factor in deciding where to go,” Davis said. “I was overlooked by SEC schools so I want to play against them. Academics look great there too.

Davis had a huge senior season at Bob Jones and was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player by Bob Jones coaches. He was also named to the 6A 2012 All-State football team.

He led the team with 165 tackles with 16 for loss, seven sacks, four forced fumbles, two recoveries, and two interceptions.

Davis said he will pursue a degree in physical therapy and exercise science.

“Being at Bob Jones has prepared me to be a college student. Bob Jones runs much like a college. Teachers give you a certain amount of time to do your work or you get a bad grade. Football taught me how to be a student-athlete. The way we ran our practices, games, film study, was like college,”Davis said.

Davis remembered his father who he lost at age 10. He thanked his grandmother who was in attendance and taught him sportsmanship and “has been with me since I was little. She made me sit out a year of sports when I threw my Gatorade bottle after a loss.”

Davis, who often volunteers his time to work at the school in the summer, closed with a phrase “try hard and stay true.”

“I’ve never coached three better people than these players,” Bob Jones football coach Kevin Rose said. “When you do this for a living, it makes you proud when guys that deserve to go to the next level based on their character, honesty, and work ethic get rewarded. These guys are humble and will be a success in life.”