North Side’s Emerson offered by Michigan St.
Greg Emerson is in a position not many football players around rural West Tennessee get to be in.
He got his first NCAA Division I FBS scholarship offer this weekend, and he’s not finished with his sophomore year of high school.
The defensive end/tight end from North Side was offered by Michigan State.
“My coach Robert Gillard knows some people at Michigan State and got me an invite to spend the weekend there and watch their spring game [on Saturday],” Emerson said.
During the visit, Emerson was called into a meeting in the office of Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio.
“He asked me if I had any offers yet, and I told him no,” Emerson said. “He told me then that I had an offer from them.
“He told me there was no pressure or anything and to take time to think about it and make the right decision.”
Emerson stands at 6-feet-4 and weighs 270 pounds. His best 40-time is 4.7. He maxes out at 295 bench pressing, 355 on squats and 290 on the power clean. His grade-point average is 2.7.
“I saw a lot of stuff on campus there that I never thought about seeing because I’d never been on their campus before,” Emerson said. “It was a fun weekend, and I really liked hanging out on their sideline during the spring game. I’d never done anything like that before.”
Michigan State has emerged as one of the top programs in the Big Ten. They won the conference championship last year and made it to the four-team College Football Playoff last year.
“I haven’t watched much Michigan State football because I’m not home a lot to watch a lot of TV,” Emerson said. “I watched some of their film while I was there this weekend, and I’ll definitely make sure to try to catch some of their games this season.”
Emerson said he appreciated Gillard for helping him get noticed by Michigan State and taking him on the 10-hour drive one way to East Lansing.
“Also I want to thank my family and God because they’re the ones who made me and got me where I am today,” Emerson said. “I’m like a turtle on a fence. The turtle don’t get on top of a fence without some help, and now I want to help some others climb if I can.”
Emerson and the Indians are set to compete in Region 7-4A and will do so with a new head coach that was hired this week in Donnie Nickey, who played at another Big Ten school – Ohio State.
Emerson got his second offer before they returned home from East Lansing.
“Jackson State called Coach Gillard while we were driving through Indianapolis and gave me an offer, too,” Emerson said.
Alabama offers Bumphus
Hardin County tight end/defensive end LaTrell Bumphus received another offer this weekend when defending national champion Alabama let him know the Crimson Tide are interested in his services.
Bumphus’ recruitment took a sharp increase in the winter when Vanderbilt and Kentucky offered him a scholarship just after Christmas. Since then Memphis, Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Penn State, Southern Cal and Oregon are all among the 15 schools who’ve made him a scholarship offer.
Bumphus, who is listed on 247Sports.com as 6-feet-3.5 and 230 pounds, will be a senior this season and is a three-star prospect.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751