Signing day just formality for some

National Signing Day is less than two weeks away, and some area athletes already have decided where they will play next.

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Greenbrier High School defensive lineman Dylan Turner committed to Air Force during a visit Jan. 18.

Turner also had offers from Navy, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb and Troy. He even received interest from Georgia Tech.

Turner said he was attracted by the opportunity to play for a Football Bowl Subdivision school and to play against the likes of Mountain West Conference power Utah.

He said he also was impressed with the reputation of the school and the security that a degree from the academy would bring. And, the campus also won him over.

"Right when I got there I knew it was the place I wanted to go, so I committed," said Turner, who recorded 103 tackles as a senior, including seven sacks. "I decided it was where I wanted to be."

Turner's teammate, T.D. Davis, said last week that he had committed to Georgia Perimeter College to play baseball with the hopes of moving on to a Division I school.

Davis said Furman recently had expressed interest in him as a football player, but said that he would likely stick with his baseball commitment.

"It's always been my dream to play at a big D-I school," Davis said. "That's what I was shooting for since I was little."

Davis wasn't the only area athlete to snub Furman. Evans defensive end Reuben Faloughi turned down a scholarship offer from the Paladins on Monday, maintaining his commitment to enroll at University of Georgia as a preferred walk-on. Faloughi said he would receive a substantial amount of money for academics and won't have to worry about a football tryout.

"I see my future as a Bulldog," Faloughi said. "I'll have to start from the bottom of the totem pole and work my way up."

Knights defensive back Brandon McCladdie visited The Citadel the weekend of Jan. 18 and committed to the Bulldogs.

He said that he was attracted to the structure and organization of the military school.

"Everybody looks at the military side and thinks 'Don't go there,' " McCladdie said. "But I like how things are run."

McCladdie chose The Citadel over Bethune-Cookman and Alabama A&M.