By JED LOCKETT
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. — On Friday, a pair of Graham High School standouts secured their futures after graduation.
Southwest District Offensive Player of the Year David Marrs announced that he would walk on at the University of Virginia and All-SWD First-Team tight end Torren Byrd announced he would attend Carson-Newman College on scholarship.
Each had their own reasons for their decisions.
“I got a few offers, no full scholarships but definitely some schools offering some money for a quarterback,” Marrs said. “I really don’t know if quarterback is the path I wanted to take. I think I’d like to try other fields, but this is a tremendous opportunity.”
“They offered me a good amount of money to play and I really like the Christian private mission aspect about the college,” Byrd said. “I talked to the coaches up there and they really seemed to be into me and I really liked it up there.”
Needless to say, it was a day of celebration at Graham High School.
“Athletics has afforded them the opportunity to attend great academic institutions,” said Graham football coach Doug Marrs. “There’s no way you can measure what opportunities that opens up for them. It’s because of their commitment to athletics and their commitment to academics that’s made that possible.”
David’s journey to becoming a Cavalier began with a video sent to the University’s coaching staff.
“We sent them a film and they responded very positively and told me that they were very, very interested in me and that was very eye-opening,” he said.
“It’s a Division I program. They have great history, a great tradition up there and that was the opportunity and I quickly opened my eyes and realized that maybe this is the best route for me.”
David’s highlight reel got the reaction he was looking for.
“I talked to coach Wachenhiem at UVa. He said that they really liked how I played defense and maybe wanted to try me out at safety,” he said.
“This was my first year of playing defense and I really, really liked it. It’s nice to deliver a hit rather than receive it all the time.”
David is currently undecided on what he wants to study. He stated an interest in sports medicine and physical therapy, but he believes that the University of Virginia will steer him in the right direction.
“I think they’re obviously very smart people, very respected with academics,” he said. “They’re one of the top schools in the nation and I think they can help me out. They can help me to see which path is for me and I’m just very anxious to see which path that will be.”
“They don’t just take anybody,” Doug said. “You’ve got to have a solid GPA and you’ve got to have a solid SAT or ACT to get in, especially as a walk-on because the sliding scale doesn’t work as much with walk-ons as it does with other players.”
Whatever path David goes on, he will take memories of Bluefield with him.
“It’s bittersweet to leave this place that’s been so good to me with the teachers here and this community that I belong to,” he said. “It’s just truly a blessing to live in a community like this that you love and that loves you back.”
While Marrs took a walk-on opportunity, Byrd dismissed walk-on chances at Marshall and VMI. He wanted to play at tight end and he felt he would see the most playing time possible at Carson-Newman.
“I decided to go to Carson-Newman because I feel I have a better chance of playing there and it’s a real good (Division II) school,” Byrd said.
“Torren was just a steady receiver for us,” Doug said. “You could count on him to make a catch if the ball was close to him and sometimes get yardage.”
Byrd is considering studying pre-law in college, but that could change.
“I kind-of want to be a lawyer,” he said. “I really like math and science. There’s no math and science in law.”
Like David Marrs, Byrd will remember what got him to this point.
“Coach Marrs, all my friends, my teammates, everybody’s really helped me out with this growing as a football player and coach Marrs helped me grow as a person, too,” Byrd said.
— Contact Jed Lockett
at jlockett@bdtonline.com
