Chants to get local infusion

Summerville offensive lineman Devin Taylor has a long list of reasons why he's signing a national letter of intent with Coastal Carolina today.

"It offers great academics," the 6-3, 275-pound center said. "Its facilities are state of the art, and it is a program on the rise. We play West Virginia and Georgia the next couple of years. You get noticed when you play teams like that. And then you have an extra bonus: Myrtle Beach. You can get together with your buddies, head to the beach and have a good time. But that won't be a priority my first year. I have to worry about football and schoolwork."

Football is on Taylor's mind. That's another reason he's signing with the Chanticleers. He knows the school has produced four NFL players despite having a football program for only a decade. He wants to be like Jerome Simpson, Quinton Teal, Tyler Thigpen or Mike Tolbert, players who erased all doubts about their size, speed and weight with outstanding careers in Conway.

"Anywhere you go, any (NFL) game you watch, you see players from schools like Wayne State and Murray State," Taylor said. "If you're good, they will find you."

Coastal will sign many good players today on National Signing Day, including three local players who were talented enough to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. The all-star game pits 44 of the top seniors in the state against the best North Carolina has to offer. The other local Shrine Bowl players signing with Coastal are James Island lineman Chad Hamilton and Timberland quarterback Cody Craig. Craig will also play baseball.

Hamilton, a 6-3, 290-pounder, is one of the fastest linemen in the state. But major college schools such as South Carolina and Clemson shied away.

James Island coach John Patterson said major powers offer players after junior years if the pass the look and camp tests. But Hamilton had a flaw his junior year that he corrected his senior season.

"As a junior, Chad didn't finish his block," Patterson said. "He would hold his block for three seconds and then turned around to watch the play. That turned off recruiters. But he corrected it his senior season. They didn't see it, though."

Hamilton was impressed with Coastal enough to pass up scholarship offers from FBS schools Eastern Michigan and Ohio University.

Hamilton has just about every attribute a major college coach could want. He has a 3.3 GPA. He squats 500 pounds and cleans 330, which is the reason he's so explosive off the ball. But college coaches want their offensive linemen a littler taller than his listed height of 6-3.

Cody Craig's father, Art, is the football coach at Timberland. He said that Coastal will be even more appealing with more big games against national teams, and new and refurbished training facilities.

"That's what really sold Cody, the facilities," Craig said. "It's a good opportunity. They will find you if you are good enough. And, Coastal has a lot of good players."