Six AHS Tigers to sign DI scholarships

John Wild-Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau Defensive tackle Rodney Thomas (left) and quarterback Calvin Jenkins will sign with South Alabama

The Auburn High School football team's senior class will be wrapping up their careers as Tigers as the most successful class in AHS history.

The 2009 season saw the team go undefeated through the regular season and easily win 6A Area 8 for the second consecutive year. Falling to Prattville in both the 2008 and 2009 playoffs, most recently the semifinals, the seniors hold a 25-2 record in those two seasons.

Quarterback Calvin Jenkins is expected to sign a scholarship with the University of South Alabama on Wednesday, also known as National Signing Day.

Jenkins has been the team's starter since his 10th-grade season and has been playing football for the Tigers since seventh grade. At the end of his senior year he completed 104 of 180 passes with seven interceptions and 18 touchdowns. With 1,601 total passing yards, he was just 141 yards away from tying Jim Hester's single-season record in 2006 (1,742). Jenkins is comfortably the school's No. 2 all-time passing leader, jumping ahead of Jason Harkins' 1,430 yards in 1985. Adding Jenkins' 900 net rushing yards and 14 scores gave him 2,501 yards of total offense for his senior year. He recently said he is interested in studying business management at South Alabama.

Also going to Mobile with Jenkins will be defensive tackle Rodney Thomas. The 6-foot, 270-pounder recorded 27 unassisted and 19 assisted tackles with two sacks and a fumble recovery as a senior.

Schools like Auburn, Southern Miss and UAB all showed interest in Thomas, but he chose the Jaguars over the summer because he wanted to get the decision out of the way early. He has said he may go into the medical field, perhaps pharmacy, when he begins college.

Dequavious "Pee Wee" Cobb, the Tiger's cornerback, was named to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star roster in the fall and recorded one tackle throughout the game. His efforts helped the Alabama squad win 21-13.

Throughout his senior year at Auburn High, Cobb recorded 27 unassisted and six assisted tackles with eight interceptions and three forced fumbles.

Cobb, who can run a 4.47 40-yard dash, was heavily recruited by Southeastern Conference schools like Florida and Auburn as well as UAB and Memphis. Academic issues will put those big schools on hold as he will attend Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.

It is not uncommon for high school students to spend two years at a junior college before moving on to a Bowl Championship Series school -- Auburn University has already signed three players from a community college and all are expected to contribute this coming season.

"He is a special young man," AHS head coach Tim Carter said of Cobb. "I know he'll do well there."

John Hix, the Tigers' center, is expected to sign with the University of Alabama at Birmingham next week. He has been verbally committed since Nov. 23. Six-foot-2, 270-pound Hix and the rest of the offensive line allowed just eight sacks all season. To put it in perspective, Auburn dished out 20.

Hix will help UAB rebuild its offensive line as the Blazers have lost four seniors from 2009. UAB head coach Neil Calloway was Auburn University's offensive line coach from 1981-1992 and coached Hix's father, Bob. Hix was also a member of the Alabama-Mississippi All Star Alabama team.

Six-foot-4, 280-pound offensive tackle Taylor Peterson will likely sign with Southern Mississippi on Feb. 3. Peterson and his family moved from Peachtree City, Ga., to Auburn before Taylor's senior year began in hopes of finding more opportunities for college than he would at his former high school.

The efforts paid off as he has been verbally committed to the Conference USA program since early December. Peterson's work on the offensive line allowed quarterback Jenkins to rack up his stellar stats and helped the Tigers reach 5,018 yards of total offense this season.

Finally, Dontavious Griffin, the Tigers' defensive back, is expected to be Southern Illinois-bound. Griffin had 33 unassisted and eight assisted tackles during his senior campaign, along with two interceptions and the team-high 12 pass breakups. Griffin could see early playing time with the Salukis as both safeties and both cornerbacks have been lost to graduation.

On the brink

Wide receiver Tony Holland, defensive end Julian Holloway and offensive lineman Will Dake may receive offers from programs in the next few days.

Holloway recorded 39 total tackles as a senior, 17 of which tallied a loss of 78 yards. He also had 3.5 sacks for a loss of 31 yards with three recovered fumbles, four pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.

Holland, also the AHS basketball team's center, stands at 6-foot-5 and scored four touchdowns off 11 receptions as a senior.

Will Dake was a returning starter on the 2009 offensive line and was another reason why the Tigers had so much success on that side of the ball. Auburn High averaged 358.4 yards per game and scored 71 total touchdowns this past season.

"I'm so proud of all our seniors," Carter said. "So many of them are natural born leaders. I think that's what impressed these colleges -- that they're not only great football players, but they're well-rounded young men. I believe what they've accomplished here has made the community proud."