VALDOSTA – Valdosta High senior cornerback Tim Roberson and IMG Academy’s Gabe Harris signed with universities Wednesday as part of early signing day.

Roberson, a 6-foot, 180-pound corner, had his pick of schools but ultimately chose to sign with Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

“Today means a lot, really,” Roberson said. “All the hard work and dedication to the game finally paid off. … It just felt like home. You can’t fake family. It just felt family-oriented.”

Roberson’s journey to a Division I scholarship was a winding one. Opening the signing day festivities, Valdosta head football coach Shelton Felton told a quick story about his first time meeting his star cornerback and the work he’s put in to become a college football player.

“I met Tim my first year here,” Felton recalled. “When I say he couldn’t play dead in a cowboy movie, he couldn’t play dead in a cowboy movie. But he worked his way to what he is now. A great young man, his mama and daddy did a great job with him. He worked his butt off on and off the field to have this day to decide where he’s going.”

As a senior this past season, Roberson started the year with one of the most impressive streaks in school history as he recorded all seven of his interceptions in the first six games of the season – coming one takeaway shy of tying the single season record.

In addition to his interceptions, Roberson had 10 passes defensed, 22 total tackles, 1.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in nine games.

“Summer workouts [is where it all started] – we really busted our tails with Coach Felton, Coach (Josh) Norwood and those guys,” Roberson said. “They really were on us about getting better. We believed and it paid off.”

Roberson plans to major in kinesiology and hopes to become a physical therapist someday.

When asked what he’ll take with him from VHS to Troy, Roberson said he’ll take the lessons in love and pride for the game he learned from Felton and the coaching staff to the next level.

“[I’ll take] probably the pride in the game, the love for the game,” Roberson said. “Coach Felton’s got a high love for the game, so I’ll probably take that with me to Troy.”

STILL FAMILY, STILL LOVE

Though he never got a chance to play for the Wildcats in his senior year, Gabe Harris decided to come back to VHS for his signing day.

“Gabriel Harris came to me in January to play football at Valdosta, but circumstances didn’t allow him to play at Valdosta,” Felton said. “But when I say this young man changed his way of thinking and life in six months with us, almost seven months, it’s unbelievable the big changes he’s made and deciding to dedicate himself to the game of football.

“He’ll always be a Wildcat, even though he didn’t play for the Wildcats. He’s one of my guys, day in and day out. His mama knows when she calls me, I’ll be there for him. He’s a great young man. I could say a lot of things about him, but I have much respect for him.”

Harris, a four-star edge rusher, has already enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he plans to major in sports management.

Decked out in red and black with an eye-catching pair of red shoes, Harris opened up about choosing Athens as his college destination.

“[Signing with Georgia] means a lot. That’s the No. 1 school and for them to come look at me and say I’m good enough to play with those guys, that’s a blessing to have the No. 1 school scoop me up. That’s where I wanted to be.

“It feels really worth it. I just want to start off by saying thank God for everything. He’s blessed me to be in the position I am now. I’m really thankful for it. Without my mama pushing me, Coach Felton and the rest of the staff…I’m just blessed to be here. Even when I was gone, they were still pushing me, sending me texts, checking on me. I just want to say thank you for all of that. … It means a lot to me [to come back here to sign] because the Valdosta Wildcats are family. They’ve been family since my first day here. It’s always been a family and we’ve just always kept that connection ever since I had to leave.”

Harris moved to VHS after his junior year at Thomas County Central. Despite practicing with the team all offseason, Harris was ruled ineligible by the GHSA after determining that Harris had not made a bona fide move to Valdosta.

Harris went on to play his senior year at IMG Academy, where he helped lead the Ascenders to an 8-1 record.

“It hurt me when I found out I couldn’t play, but you know, there was still an opportunity for me to go and get the job done and go somewhere else and finish,” Harris said. “I’d like to thank Coach Felton for helping me with that and it just meant a lot to come back here and sign and know that everything is still the same – it’s still family, still love.”

Already enrolled, Harris has already begun practicing with the defending national champions.

While the transition to SEC football is undoubtedly steep, Harris vows to be ready sooner rather than later.

“Practice has been amazing,” Harris said. “It’s a lot faster than high school ball, but I’m going to adjust to it and I’ll be playing soon.”