BREMEN, Ala. – Just a few weeks after Lawson Burgess signed his letter of intent to play for Huntingdon, another Eagles standout has chosen where he will play his college career. Cold Springs’ Jordan Lacey will be headed to Maryville, Tenn. to play for Head Coach Shaun Hayes and the Fighting Scots.
Cold Springs Head Coach Justin Cornelius had high praise for the two-way star, crediting his football IQ and his physicality for getting him to the next level.
“To me the biggest thing that is going to help him is that his work ethic is through the roof. He spent a lot of time between his junior and senior year getting bigger, stronger and faster so that he could play at that level. He’s football-savvy, he’s got a good football IQ and he’s a very intelligent kid. He studies the game, he watches film and from playing on both sides of the ball, he’s able to anticipate things a little better,” Cornelius said. “He was our H-back, but he was also our backup quarterback, so he was pretty fluent with the offensive side as well as the defensive side. He’s a kid that’ll come up and hit you in the mouth. That’s why we utilized him the way we did. On defense, he was a lockdown guy for us. If we needed a big play, we knew he could handle the pressure.”
To go along with all that he brings on the football field and his athletic potential; Cornelius knows that Maryville is adding a high-character player off the field as well.
“He’s a great kid. His character is through the roof as well and his upside is very high,” Cornelius said. “I think when he gets to that next level and they start working him in the weight room and getting him faster, I think its limitless what he can do.”
Former Eagles Head Coach Rod Elliot saw Lacey make big strides in the months between his junior and senior seasons. It’s that work ethic that Elliott believes has earned Jordan this opportunity and will continue to carry him in his college career.
“He was a really hard worker and just a really good kid. He worked extremely hard on trying to get better. I’ve never seen a kid improve as much from one year to the next as he did,” Elliott said. “He played linebacker and H-back for us and defensively it seemed like he just made every tackle on every play and then offensively we ran the football behind him because he was such a physical blocker. He’s just a really good kid and a really solid player.”
Jordan enjoyed his visit to the campus in Tennessee and is already looking forward to building relationships with his new teammates and coaches when he moves in for good.
“It was really nice up there, its in a great location and it just felt like a family up there when I visited. I just can’t wait to up there be a part of it,” Lacey said. “I’m looking forward to trying to be a leader up there, make a name for myself and see what I can do with that.”
Jordan is going to miss playing at Cold Springs and all the friends and teammates he played with, but he’s excited about this new opportunity at Maryville.
“I’m going to miss my relationships I’ve made with my family, my friends and my teammates. I’ll never be able to run out to play on a Friday night at Cold Springs again and I’ll miss that but being able to be part of an atmosphere like that and be a leader has helped prepare me,” Lacey said. “It’s going to be hard to replace what I’ve got here but you never know until you try.”
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