Valdosta’s McCoy signs with USF

Published 12:18 am Thursday, February 8, 2007

VALDOSTA — Lawrence McCoy loves the thought of playing Division I football.

He will get to do that in the fall.

McCoy, Valdosta High’s left tackle, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play football for South Florida. He has received a full scholarship to the Tampa-based school.

McCoy will get a chance to play for an up-and-coming program at South Florida, and the Bulls will be getting the best offensive line prospect to come out of Valdosta High in the last few years.

“I’m very excited,” McCoy said. “I’m looking forward to going down there and playing.”

South Florida, a Big East program that has been on the rise the last few years, is developing a Valdosta High pipeline. Three years ago, All-State free safety Carlton Williams signed with the Bulls and talked teammate Cedric Hill, an All-State tight end, into joining him at USF. Now Williams and Hill will be joined by another Wildcat.

“I talk to Cedric and Carlton all the time,” McCoy said. “They hosted me when I made my visit. It’s good to already know a couple of the players.”

“Coach (Jim) Leavitt said that one school in Georgia he wanted to recruit was Valdosta,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said. “We’ve already got Cedric Hill and Carlton Williams there, and now they’re getting a good lineman in Lawrence.”

McCoy has the one thing that every school looks for in a lineman: size. At 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, and with good mobility for a lineman, McCoy was attractive to South Florida. The Bulls plan to keep him at left tackle.

“Coach Leavitt told me several times that Lawrence was their No. 1 recruit on the offensive line. He was the lineman they wanted the most,” Tomberlin said.

“I got a lot of letters from schools, but I could tell South Florida wanted me the most,” McCoy said. “They called and sent me mail all the time. I felt the most comfortable there. When I went down to visit, the players welcomed me and treated me like I was already a member of the team. I feel like I will fit in real well there.”

During the signing Wednesday morning at Valdosta High, both Leavitt and offensive line coach Mike Simmonds phoned in to welcome McCoy to the Bulls’ family.

McCoy said he is also looking forward to playing his home games at Raymond James Stadium, which USF shares with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I played in a great high school stadium here (Cleveland Field at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium), and now I get to play in one of the best college stadiums,” McCoy said. “That is a great place to play.”

McCoy will be the first member of his family to go college. He plans to become a dentist.

“Lawrence is a super young man, and we’re real happy for him to get this opportunity,” Tomberlin said. “Everyone who knows Lawrence likes him. I’m real excited for Lawrence. He’s going to a great football program, and I think he’ll really do well down there.”

McCoy started two years on Valdosta’s offensive line. He received All-Region honors last season.

“I loved playing here. I already miss it,” McCoy said. “It was hard work, but I enjoyed it. I liked the coaches, and my teammates.”

McCoy is the first Valdosta offensive lineman to get a Division I scholarship since Ashley Henderson signed with Georgia Tech in 1998. Henderson, who also played left tackle, is now McCoy’s position coach at Valdosta. Tomberlin was also a Division I lineman, playing at Florida State.

McCoy was the only Valdosta High player to sign a letter of intent on Wednesday. Tomberlin says a few more players could wind up signing later.

“This is the first day that players can sign with colleges, but they can sign at any time now,” Tomberlin said. “We expect to have some more guys sign later.”