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South Central pipeline keeps flowing
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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When Andy Tew watches Kendall Futrell
play football, he's reminded of another talented athlete who now plays
just a few miles down the road from South Central High School in
Winterville.
“As far as flying around and seeing
the same number get up off the pile constantly from making tackles, he
does mimic the athleticism and the things that made Montese Overton,''
said Tew, the first-year head coach who was an assistant at South
Central in 2010 when Overton was named the area's defensive player of
the year by the Greenville Reflector newspaper.
Overton, of course, is now a senior
at East Carolina and an all-star candidate this season at outside
linebacker for the Pirates.
Futrell was in middle school when
Overton patrolled the field at South Central, but he's inherited
Overton's role as the big-play linebacker for the Falcons. The 6-foot-3,
210-pounder has also decided to follow in Overton's footsteps at East
Carolina after making a verbal commitment to the Pirates on September
3rd.
ECU was the only major program to
offer Futrell a scholarship, but Tew said others like Georgia Southern,
N.C. State, Wake Forest and even Michigan had been showing interest,
according to Tew.
“He had a short list of schools that
were interested in him,'' Tew said. “He went to Junior Day at East
Carolina last spring and met most of the coaching staff. So coming out
the summer he felt like ECU would be a good fit for him.''
Futrell began turning heads at South
Central as a freshman defensive end on the junior varsity. He'd move to
a starting position on the varsity the next year.
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“It didn't automatically stick in
your head that he was a Division I athlete,'' Tew said. “But he did show
signs of being a very good football player very early in his career.''
Futrell enjoyed an impressive varsity
debut, producing 83 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and an
interception for a South Central squad that finished 4-7 overall.
Led by Futrell and current ECU
freshman running back Shawn Furlow, the Falcons went 7-5 in 2014.
Futrell contributed 103 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 12 sacks to the
cause.
After playing primarily at defensive
end his first two seasons, Futrell has been moved to outside linebacker
this year.
“We put him in the linebacker corps
so he could flow around and help us cover a little more grass,'' Tew
said. “Defensive end is a more natural position for him and what he
feels more comfortable doing because he's played more there. We moved
him to linebacker this summer and now he's played three games there.
“There's been a learning curve
because he's not just firing into somebody, and he's having to get back
in pass coverage or react to what the lineman in front of him is doing.
But he's still making a lot of plays for us.''
Futrell, who has been timed at 4.6
seconds in the 40-yard dash, is always around the ball, according to Tew.
“He's always making plays down the
field from where he lines up,'' Tew said. “He has a nose for the
football. Every time we watch film he's always in every pile when the
whistle blows.''
The Pirates haven't specified a
position for Futrell at the next level. He could add weight and play
down on the line, or continue his development and become and outside
linebacker like Overton.
“I can't speak to what they
specifically want to do, but from talking to the coach who recruited our
area they are very interested in his foot speed,'' Tew said. “His size
may be a question mark for him playing defensive end. But his linear
foot speed and ability to change direction fit well at linebacker.''
Overton will complete his eligibility
at ECU before Futrell arrives on campus in the fall of 2016. But
there'll still be plenty of South Central graduates on hand. Beside
Furlow, former Falcon Trevian Hicks (sophomore defensive back) is also a
current member of the Pirates roster.
Futrell is the 12th player to join
ECU's recruiting Class of 2016. He's the fifth potential defensive
player in the class and the first linebacker.
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11/18/2015 03:20 PM |
