Mar. 3—AIKEN — Two Silver Bluff High football players committed to pursue their sport at the post-secondary level during a Feb. 27 ceremony in which they signed letters of intent to their future colleges.
These students are Gage Kirkbride, who is going to Newberry College in South Carolina, and Jessie Shelley, who will attend Union Commonwealth University in Kentucky.
Head football coach Matt Hayes said he looks forward to seeing what the future holds for the pair as they carry their talents with them beyond graduation.
“This is just a small ceremony for big things to come,” Hayes said.
He shared that he began working in the head coach role two years ago and immediately was able to see something special in Kirkbride and Shelley.
“These two young men kind of jumped out at me,” he said. “Their work ethic, their mindset.”
“I’ve had them in class, I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with them on the practice field, in the weight room, in summer workouts. I think a lot of these two young men and I’m so excited for them to continue their athletic and their student career,” he said.
Assistant football coach Jordan Clark said that Kirkbride has been dedicated to the game and to strength training throughout his time in high school.
“He’s one of the strongest kids we have. He works out incredibly hard. You never have to worry about him taking a day off in the weight room,” said Clark. “And that’s what shows on the field.”
He also spoke about Shelley: “I knew what kind of athlete Shelley was when he came to us. I knew what kind of athlete I had. So I immediately put him as a receiver. I didn’t know quite the impact he would have, but he had a major year for us.”
Kirkbride said that he felt motivated by upperclassmen when he played football during his freshman and sophomore years.
“Looking up at the seniors as I was a freshman, sophomore, they were just helping me out and pushing me to be better,” he said.
“I think what I’m going to miss is the memories,” he added about leaving the Silver Bluff Bulldogs behind. “Just being there, after we win a game, the bus rides home, I mean, that’s something you can only get once in life, and I’m going to definitely miss that.”
During the signing, Shelley — who also participates in track and field — was presented with his track and field long jump state championship ring by head track and field coach William Griswould.
The ring wasn’t expected to arrive until early March, but Griswould decided to present it to Shelley during the signing as a surprise.
“It felt great,” Shelley said about receiving it. “I’ve been waiting for it.”
Shelley said that he feels his teammates have helped prepare him to play football for college.
“My teammates, they really help push, we push each other everyday. We challenge each other every day. We want to make each other the best we can,” he said.
