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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

One of Maplesville High School’s longest tenured players Dee Elliott ended his Red Devils’ career by signing a scholarship to play college football at Huntingdon College on April 17.

The prolific linebacker has been a part of the Maplesville program since his pee wee days when he was just a few years old. Now, he stands as one of the many high school football players that have come through Maplesville and moved on to the next level.

“It feels so good to actually be here,” Elliott said. “I did not expect it, but I am so happy it happened.”

Elliott said the Maplesville program taught him about football, but also about life, like not taking things for granted and what kind of drive it takes on a daily basis in life. The senior was described as a locker room guy by Maplesville head coach Brad Abbott with numerous teammates hanging out around his locker and a player who oozed confidence that younger players gravitated towards to learn more. He always carried himself well in the hallways, and he was a model athlete that Abbott wanted his younger players in the program to be like.

“It is very exciting, especially Dee who has been with us since pee wee ball, and he has been involved with the Maplesville program since he could walk,” Abbott said. “When you have someone like that who comes up with a family like that, he already knew about the Maplesville tradition and all of that stuff. To see someone who is going to carry the core values of our program down to Huntingdon … This is always going to be the roots of what he knows got him to that point. Anything he learns at Huntingdon will just add to the already top character person he is.”

Elliott will play linebacker at Huntingdon, and when he visited the school the coaching staff made him feel like he stood out to them. They catered to his needs, met with him individually to hear what he was looking for in a program and made him feel wanted at the school.

Elliott will be joining a number of former Chilton County football players, including Isabella High School’s Garrett Price, who signed with Huntingdon earlier in April.

“Me and Garrett were just talking about how we wanted to be on the same team, and now we both signed (with Huntingdon),” Elliott said.

As the transition from high school football to college football comes for Elliott, he hopes to become more of an agile linebacker at Huntingdon. At Maplesville, he was known for his hard-hitting ability, but he wants to become multi-dimensional by being able to make interceptions, break on balls better and be more like a hybrid safety for the defense.