Watch Evans, Grovetown on Signing Day

College football's National Signing Day is one week from today, and several Columbia County players are deciding where they will play this fall.

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This past Sunday, I looked at how Lakeside High School's recruiting was shaping up. Today I will write about Grovetown and Evans. For Sunday, I will break down Greenbrier, Harlem and Augusta Christian.

Evans

The Knights have produced 10 signees and one notable walk-on during the past two seasons. Reuben Faloughi would have given the Knights 11 signees, but he chose to accept an offer to play at the University of Georgia as a preferred walk-on. This year might not be as big as 2008's Signing Day, when Evans had seven players sign deals, but there are still a few players to keep an eye on.

Jonathan Finch (tailback)

Finch has had a terrific career for the Knights. While his numbers were down slightly this year, he still rushed for more than 1,000 yards and was one of the more explosive players in the area. He had a monster junior year in which he rushed for more than 1,500 yards and was named the Columbia County Player of the Year. He has offers from Morgan State and Grambling. He will visit Savannah State this weekend. He likely will decide between those three schools.

Brandon Ketchup (defensive lineman)

Ketchup might not have received the attention some other top players in the county received during the past couple years, but he was a cog in Evans' recent success. During the past three years, the Knights have a 26-4 regular season mark, including 18-2 for the past two seasons. Ketchup helped spearhead those victories. He has committed to sign at Division II power Valdosta State.

Darnell Jackson (linebacker)

Like Ketchup, Jackson has been solid for the past couple of seasons. Evans has produced some great defensive linemen and linebackers, and Jackson certainly belongs in that group. Presbyterian coaches have visited Cox Road several times during the past few weeks. They could offer Jackson soon.

Grovetown

Anyone who saw Grovetown play this season knows they were not your average first-year program. Rodney Holder's team won six games and featured a number of impressive underclassmen who should help the Warriors be competitive against county opponents in 2010.

One of the big reasons for Grovetown's success during its inaugural season was the play of Harlem transfer Seth Hill. The talented tailback rambled for more than 1,500 yards as a junior for the Bulldogs and did not miss a beat this past season for the Warriors. He rushed for more than 1,400 yards and was among the area's touchdown leaders.

As expected, there are several schools interested in Hill. The Citadel appears the leader. The school has offered Hill a scholarship and he is expected to sign with the Bulldogs.

In addition to Hill, a couple other Grovetown players could be playing on Saturdays this fall. Marvon Danzie and Dominique Mingo are both being courted by a few small schools and could sign at the Division II or junior college level.