By MACY DYE
Feb. 1 was a life changing day for senior Marvin Bracy as he signed with Florida State University to play football and run track for the school with a full-ride scholarship.
“[I chose Florida State because of] my relationship with the coaches. They were also my
first offer so it meant a lot,” Bracy said.
FSU first contacted Bracy his junior year. Bracy described the
recruiting process as “hectic and stressful.”
“I think it’s great [that Bracy signed with FSU]. He had a great four years here at Boone. He was the epitome of what we ask of our athletes: giving of themselves for their teams,” head coach Phil Ziglar said. “Coaches don’t get scholarships for kids, that’s a misconception. Student’s talent get them scholarships.”
For him, the deciding factor between FSU and any other school was getting to play two sports instead of just track or just football. Bracy grew up a Miami fan but decided against the Hurricanes because he didn’t want to just run track there.
“[Choosing FSU wasn’t a hard decision] because I’m getting to do two sports. Schools
that didn’t have a good track program I didn’t even consider,” Bracy said.
Despite the excitement of signing a contract to play football and run track at FSU,Bracy has already started to feel pressure.
“It’s a big transition [between high school and college sports]. Everyone is the best from where they came from so it’ll be different to be with all of these great players,” Bracy said.
Recently Bracy broke another national record. He ran the world’s fastest time in Gainesville . Bracy ran the 55 meter dash in 6.08 seconds, beating the 6.15 second record. His senior year he was named All District, All Metro and All State. and received the Most Valuable Player Award by his coaches. At the end of Bracy’s senior football season he was invited to play in the Under Armour All American game. There he made a touchdown catch playing against the best of the class of 2012.
“[We chose Bracy as MVP] mainly for his contributions to the team. When he was on offense and defense he had to be covered by multiple players. He tryly contributed both athleticism and leadership to the team,” Ziglar said.
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Bracy’s mother Asa joined him, as well as Darryl and Angie Laxton, track coach Josh Shearouse, head football coach Phil Ziglar and principal Dr. Margaret McMillen.
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