NC backer hauls in first offer

Offer No. 1 has come in for Fayetteville (N.C.) Douglas Byrd Sr. linebacker Kevin McCoy. The scholarship surprised the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder as he landed it from a Division I program.

"Navy came in about a week and a half ago now and offered him personally," Douglas Byrd head coach Tripp Stone said. "Honestly, he was caught off guard with the offer. He hadn't even thought about the military very much. Kevin is a real shy kid and he's not used to a lot of good things happening for him. His reaction was a bit confused."

While Navy pulled the trigger, more schools are watching.

"Other than that, he's got a bunch of interest," he said. "People want him to come to camp. I fully expect quite a few more offers to come in the next couple weeks. I wish more schools would offer, cause he's not a really well off kid, so it's tough to pay for all these camps. We'll go to NC State, East Carolina and Duke. A bunch of the I-AA's will be at Duke."

Stone thinks there is tremendous upside in McCoy.

"He did pretty well last year for us, he played defensive end," he said. "He's only been playing football since tenth grade and is only 16. He won't be 17 until July and whoever gets him will have a young 18-year old. Kids that age grow a lot.

"He had a great season for us with 10 or 11 sacks and a bunch of tackles for loss. He played well down the stretch in the last couple games of the season. His range and athleticism stand out. He's got the height and range people are after, and he is a real strong kid. He works hard in the weight room and has a 3.3 GPA and 21 ACT."

McCoy isn't the only prospect to land an offer at Douglas Byrd. His tailback, Garry Lewis pulled his first recently too.

"He's got an offer from Western Carolina," he said. "He's in the same boat with camps, he'll be attending North Carolina and South Carolina.

"He's got a 3.3 GPA and an 880 on the SAT. He's qualified. He's a four-year starter that punts, returns punts, kicks, and plays running back and wideout. He's a good overall player. He's got a chance of making the Shrine Bowl."