By John Loop
Sports Editor

Senior Carson Vickroy admits he felt a little out of place as the only cross country and track signee participating in Wednesday’s National Signing Day ceremonies.

“I did feel small compared to those guys, but I really wasn’t intimidated,” Vickroy said. “Overall, they are a group of guys who highly deserve this opportunity to compete at the next level. It was funny to compare me the 135-pound, 5-foot-8 long distance track and field recruit, to top rated defensive end Solomon Thomas.”

Vickroy, who signed and sent his letter of intent off to the University of Kansas Wednesday morning, joined nine other Coppell football players in cementing their college futures at Coppell High School.

Coppell tallied six NCAA Division I football signees, most notably Thomas, who chose Stanford University over UCLA and Arkansas in a live announcement on ESPNU.

Senior tight end Blake Mahon was the first of the Cowboy football players to make a decision. Mahon chose Baylor in May, after the Bears offered him a scholarship to the university. Mahon caught 18 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns during his Coppell career.

“The coaching staff is really why I am going to Baylor,” Mahon said. “I really love Coach [Art] Briles and what they have going on there.”

Though the main factor for most athletes is the product on the field, a top flight college education was a key decision maker in the cases of Thomas and fellow defensive end John Herubin. Herubin will be shipping up to New Haven, Conn. to attend Yale University.

“Obviously [the academics were a big draw], but a lot of the Ivy League schools were in my top choices,” Herubin said. “I was kind of choosing between Yale and Harvard.”

Herubin intends to major in electrical engineering at Yale, while Thomas plans to pursue a degree in business management in Palo Alto.

Take a look at the complete list of Coppell signees below:

Chris Adkins (football) – Southern Illinois University

Bryan Berens (football) – Grand View University

Adam Centers (football) – Wake Forest University

Kevin Gray (football) – Southeastern Oklahoma State University

John Herubin (football) – Yale University

Blake Mahon (football) – Baylor University

Collins Okotcha (football) – Sam Houston State University

Solomon Thomas (football) – Stanford University

Carson Vickroy (track and cross country) – University of Kansas

Bill Weber (football) – University of Toledo