Darius Callies, a student from Edna high school signed a letter of intent to play football for Texas Southern University, Wednesday morning February 1, 2012.FRANK TILLEY/FTILLEY@VICAD.COM
SIGNING DAY 2012: Edna sends three to Division I schools
Originally published February 1, 2012 at 7:33 p.m., updated February 1, 2012 at 10:05 p.m.
Print
Share
Comment
FRANK TILLEY/
Devin Parks and Mac Long both signed to play with the University of Houston at Edna high school on the national day of signing, Wednesday morning February 1, 2012.FRANK TILLEY/FTILLEY@VICAD.COM
Cowboys prolific offense
Edna featured one of the most balanced offenses in the Crossroads last fall, averaging 258.8 rushing yards and another 140 through the air. Their three signees were largely responsible for that.
In 11 games, Parks ran for 1,837 yards and 25 touchdowns. He averaged 11.9 yards per carry, running behind Long. Edna coaches graded Long at 99 percent for the entire 2011 season.
Long was the left tackle and the one Parks said was responsible for "98 percent" of his touchdowns last year. Callies was a big play wide receiver that averaged more than 23 yards per reception and added eight touchdowns.
Long said one of his favorite memories from the season was a 48-35 victory over Industrial Oct. 14. Not only did the Cowboys beat their county rivals, but his best friend, Parks, had the first of two 300 yard rushing performances.
"I remember getting good blocks for him. I remember being down there on the 4 or 5 yard line. We ran zone left. I had my defensive end driven down and I saw Devin come right off my back inside pocket 'zoooooooom' for 90-something yards."
That play, Long recalled was a 94 yard touchdown run. It was part of a half where Parks ran for 292 yards on just 11 carries and left Pierce claiming Parks' play that night was "the best running back performance I have ever seen."
Houston head coach Tony Levine about 2012 recruiting class
Edna's Devin Parks and Mac Long noted one of the reasons they felt comfortable keeping their verbal commitments to Houston was their relationship with the Cougars former special teams coordinator and current head coach Tony Levine.
As an assistant Levine recruited "South Houston," which he defined as U.S. Highway 59 south to Victoria, Texas Highway 288 down to Angleton, and Interstate 45 to Galveston. Even with the promotion, Levine expects to mine his former recruiting grounds for football prospects in future years.
Wednesday, Levine shared his thoughts about the 2012 Cougars recruiting class, as well as Parks and Long.
"Recruiting classes can be deceiving. You really don't know how good a class is until two or three or four years down the road. In a perfect world you won't have to play freshmen very much, if at all. I think we have addressed some immediate needs, specifically at the wide receiver position. I think we have some young men in this class that are exactly what we are looking for in terms of great character, commitment to their academics and they are tremendous athletes."
Levin added the Cougars have signed a handful of running backs, but there will be a space for Parks on the field.
"Devin, we have used the phrase offensive athlete with him. We are going to start him out as a slot receiver and kick returning, and he knows this. We know he has the ability to play running back as well. The last two years, if you drove down Highway 59 from Fort Bend to Victoria everyone talked about Devin Parks. He's a young man we have been recruiting for a long time. The one thing we don't lack in our football program is speed. Among other things, that is the reason we are excited about Devin."
Levine has recruited Long longer than he has Parks. He added he is eager to see just how good the 17-year-old Long will be for the Cougars.
"He has a lot more growing to do. He's physical and he finishes. Off the field he has great character and is a great student. ... I have got to know Mac and his family for a long time. I am just so excited.
WILL BROWN, WBROWN@VICAD.COM
EDNA - When Edna's 2011 football team debates where to hold upcoming reunions, they might want to consider somewhere along Scott Street in south Houston.
Because it's probable that will be the street offensive lineman Mac Long and running back Devin Parks cross to visit teammate Darius Callies at Texas Southern University. Callies will undoubtedly do the same now that Long and Parks are the newest members of the University of Houston football program.
All three signed National Letters of Intent early Wednesday morning.
Callies will be a wide receiver for the Tigers, while his Edna teammates will be right across Scott Street playing for the Houston Cougars.
A coaching change at Houston didn't sway Long or Parks from their commitments. New head coach Tony Levine was the one who recruited the pair, and his appointment as head coach reinforced their decision to become Cougars.
Texas Southern was once a doormat in the realm of college football, but the Tigers won the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2010. This fall they will share BBVA Compass Stadium in downtown Houston with the local MLS franchise.
By the time the trio's family, friends, coaches and others gathered in the library at Edna High School at 9 a.m. their Letters of Intent had been signed and faxed to Houston. That didn't stop the celebration in the slightest.
"It was a big lift off my shoulders because after talking to all the coaches from the other colleges there was pressure talking to them," Parks said. Once I finalized it, things were less stressful. . It's hard to talk to them. Secondly, after getting close with them and talking to them and telling them that is not the place I want to be is pretty hard."
Callies was committed to North Texas, but Texas Southern is closer than the Denton-based school. Also, his cousin, Cliff Edwards, is on the staff in the School of Communications.
"Today has been awesome because I got to sign with a college I really wanted to attend," Callies said. "I have wanted to go there since I was little."
Callies and Parks plan to study kinesiology on their respective campus so they can become coaches upon graduation - if neither is sidetracked from coaching by a stint in the NFL. Long aspires to use a degree in physical therapy so he can work with special needs children.
"God has given me the height and given me all my blessings," Long said. "I am not going to make it go to waste. I am going to go to work."
Long has been working out and preparing for his collegiate future since his varsity career ended in mid-November. His parents, Donnie and D'Anna, said their oldest child has always been one that values and appreciates working, whether in the classroom or on the football field.
"Mac has always had the dream. Football has been a big part of our everyday life at the house," said D'Anna, one of at least a half-dozen family members who attended the ceremony and wore Houston red Wednesday.
"He's always had the goal. For me, that's what has kept him striving for it. He knew what he wanted to become. Through good decisions, hard work and determination and the grace of God, here he is."
Parks' mother, Deitra Preston, also deflected the attention toward her son. Like Long's mother, she could only smile when recalling the effort her boy has committed toward football, which has afforded him the opportunity for a free education.
Though Preston always believed in her son, not everyone did. Parks recalled Wednesday that during his freshman year at El Campo a coach told him he would never become a Division I athlete.
That comment was one of many motivators that helped the 18-year old running back climb one more rung on the ladder of his coaching dreams.
"I give it all to my son. He worked very hard, he stayed focused and didn't allow anything to get in his way," Preston said. "I taught him the right way and he stayed on the right path. The rest is in his hands. I started and he finished."
Comments