QUITMAN –– The Brooks County Trojans saw a quartet of talented seniors sign letters of intent on Wednesday.

Kendrick Wade, Jonathan White, Rahjon Holden and Michael Edmonds announced the colleges and universities they’ll be suiting up for next season.

Wade, a standout middle and outside linebacker, signed with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.

The six-foot, 200-pound senior was most impressed by the Bears’ coaching staff making the 483-mile drive to visit him at home to make their pitch.

“It’s a great school,” Wade said. “They came to my house for an in-home visit so I felt that they really wanted me. It seemed like a great place to be and I want to go there and continue my education and play football.”

Wade plans to major in mass media in hopes of becoming a sports reporter. After helping to anchor a vaunted Trojans’ defense under coach Maurice Freeman, Wade credited Freeman for helping him grow on and off the field.

“Coach Freeman taught me, it’s more than just football,” Wade said. “He taught me how to be a man––to work when you don’t want to work and he just instilled that in all of us and I just really appreciate him.”

A big adjustment, Wade says, will be the transition from high school to college as his status as one of the top players at Brooks County will be stripped away the day he steps foot in Hickory with the Bears.

“I’ll miss being the big dog,” Wade said smiling. “You go to college, you’re gonna be a freshman so it’s like you’re starting high school all over again so I’m just working to be the big dog again.”

Wade wasn’t the only linebacker announcing his next move as outside linebacker Mike Edmonds signed with Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Ala., where he plans to major in mechanical engineering.

Edmonds was one of 17 players to sign with the Bulldogs on Wednesday to play for first-year coach Connell Maynor, who was introduced as head coach on Jan. 16.

According to Edmonds, the Bulldogs’ coaches presented a home-like atmosphere on his visit that ultimately led him to commit.

“The coaching staff made me feel like I was home,” Edmonds said. “And the environment they were in, I like the environment and the coaching staff.”

After putting pen to paper on moving to Alabama A&M, Edmonds says the biggest thing he can take away from his time at Brooks County is discipline.

“(My time here) showed me discipline is key,” Edmonds said. “Everything revolves around discipline––if you don’t have discipline, you don’t have nothing.”

Trojans middle linebacker and running back Rahjon Holden inked a commitment with Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.

Holden figures to be a welcomed addition to a Tigers team that went 7-2 this season and finished tied with Fort Valley State for first in the SIAC.

“What really influenced my decision was the dorms, their sports management majors and (the level) is really high up there,” Holden said. “I just took the offer, and it’s a full-ride (scholarship).”

On the offensive side of the ball, Jonathan “Bama” White established himself as one of the top running backs in the state as he helped the Trojans reach the semifinals of the state playoffs this past season.

White signed with Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan., who also signed Cook running back Darius Cleveland––giving Hutchinson two young running backs to bolster its backfield.

White chose Hutchinson, in large part, for a change of scenery and a chance to choose his own path to continue his athletic career.

“(I signed with Hutchinson) just to get out of Quitman, just go somewhere and make myself and everyone that looked up to me proud,” White said. “At the end of the day, it was my decision and I just want to make it somewhere and get an education.”

When asked what he’ll miss most about playing under the lights at Veterans Stadium, White kept things short and sweet.

“The family I’ve made, the support and the love the fans always gave every Friday night,” White said.