Football friends to stay teammates in college - 11 athletes from AHS sign letters

National Signing Day is a day of joy for high school athletes committing to keep playing their respective sport at the college level.

It’s also a day when reality sets in that the time is soon coming to say goodbye to your high school friends and teammates as you prepare to make new ones — all the while maintaining the special bond you created by competing together at the prep level.

However, that is not always the case, as proven by former Aledo football players Owen Henderson and Kai Taylor. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, the two signed their college letters of intent to play for the Angelo State University Rams.

They are part of 11 Aledo athletes who signed to play college sports. They were joined by:

Football (Slideshow)

Brody Adams will play football at Kilgore College. He is shown with Rob and Amanda.

Blake Burdine will play football and baseball at West Texas A&M University. He is shown with Landry, Elizabeth, Belle, and Brooks.

Cody Cartwright will play football at West Texas A&M University. He is shown with Royce, Jill, Catie, and Cason.

Adrian Fuller will play football at Henderson State University. He is shown with Martin, Allison, and Aspen.

Roman Jeffries will play football at Independence College. He is shown with Stephen and Andrea.

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Brooks Burdine will play baseball at the Air Force Academy. He is shown with Landry, Elizabeth, Belle, and Blake.

Braden Montgomery will play baseball at Dallas Christian College. He is shown with Kelley, Lori, and Brycen.

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Maggie Kilburn will pole vault at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She is shown with Robin Kilburn.

Luke Schabel will run cross country and track at Dallas Baptist University. He is shown with Tim, Carmen, Maggie and Dianne.

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Of the track signees, Aledo girls coach Mike Pinkerton said, “They’re going to go far. They have tremendous work ethic. Every time we graduate seniors of their caliber, we’re scrambling to find points.”

Bearcats baseball coach Chad Barry echoed those sentiments toward his baseball players.

“Their work ethic, their attention to detail, the leadership they provide speaks volumes,” Barry said. “They’re typical Aledo kids. They work hard and overachieve.”

Remaining teammates

Henderson said he and Taylor discussed the possibility of attending the same college. They’ve been great friends and teammates since the eighth grade.

“When we went and toured — he went the day after me — we said ‘I think we can do this,’” Henderson said. “It’s so cool that it’s really happening. We don’t have to stop being teammates because we’re going to college.”

Taylor said after Henderson visited he noticed his friend posting about his time on campus and it got him excited about his trip to San Angelo. Next thing you know, they agreed to become Rams.

“I couldn’t wait to go, and after I visited I knew I wanted to play there also,” Taylor said. “We both said yes on the day we visited.”

“I’m extremely happy for those guys. That’s really special,” Bearcats football coach Robby Jones said, noting of all the signees, “That’s a great thing when you have that many kids continue their education. It speaks to the success of the program. We had 70 schools come through during this last recruiting cycle.”

What’s more, not only are Henderson and Taylor still going to be teammates, they will still have the opportunity to be on the field at the same time, just as in high school. Henderson is a linebacker and Taylor is a cornerback.

“Yeah, that’s going to be great,” Henderson said.

They each said they like having their good friend on campus as they will help each other get acclimated to college life.

“Anytime I need someone to talk to, he’ll be right there,” Henderson said.

What could make it even better? Being roommates, of course.

“We’re thinking about that. I hope we can make it happen,” Taylor said.