PADUCAH, KY — As thousands of high school athletes across the country celebrated on National Signing Day, Paducah Tilghman was celebrating three of their own signing division-one scholarships.
Martels Carter, Vanzale Hinton, and Jack James all signed their national letters of intent on Wednesday afternoon in front of their closest friends, families, and teammates.
“It has been a long time since Tilghman has seen or had the opportunity to have that many guys go play that level of football,” head coach Sean Thompson said. “We are doing it day one because their schools wanted to make sure their names got on paper to make sure they got there. For those type of guys to play for you at the high school level is special.”
Carter signed with the Kentucky Wildcats.
Originally committing to the Wildcats earlier this year, Carter has made a huge impact for the Blue Tornado in all three phases of the game. For him, getting to Lexington is something he is ready for, and ready to help turn the program around.
“Just they are family oriented, and they put people in the league,” Carter said. “That is what I wanted to do and at the end of the day I want to go to the league and play ball. I said when I committed that my job was to get it back booming. I really take that and I am a man of my word. When I step on that field it is going to be a show. My job is to get it back booming like I said.”
Hinton signed with the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Like Carter, Hinton has impacted Paducah Tilghman this season in all three phases scoring a total of 15 touchdowns this season. He also has pulled down three interceptions.
For Hinton, signing with Vandy is a dream come true as its something he has wanted for over a decade.
“It is an amazing feeling,” Hinton said. “Growing up I always wanted to go to Vandy. It has been a dream school since six years old. I always wanted to do this. It is an exciting day that I am signing and ready to make it official. It is definitely a weight off of my shoulders. The recruiting process is hard, but I always knew it was Vandy. Now that I am here, it is time to go win state on Friday, so it is another weight off of my shoulders.”
James signed his letter of intent with the Troy Trojans.
James has been a fixture for the Blue Tornado at quarterback over the last five years. He has been able to set the state touchdown passing record this season and is close to breaking several others.
He believes going to Troy gives him a chance to get on the field sooner rather than later.
“Whenever it all came down, it was whoever shows the most love towards you and makes it feel like home,” James said. “Troy did that for my and I am very thankful for it. I think I can compete for a starting job. There quarterback room is down because they have had some injuries. I think I can go in there and compete to help them out with depth.”
All three Blue Tornado now turn their attention to help Paducah Tilghman win a state championship this Friday night when they face Franklin County.
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