National Signing Day 2019 takes place on Feb. 7 during seventh period. It will highlight athletes continuing their athletic careers by showing their intent to progress into college.

“I would tell kids going to college to stay humble,” campus athletic director Adrian Mitchell said. “Don’t think you’re going to go in there and reinvent the wheel. Go in there humble, but yet still extremely hungry and eager to learn from upperclassmen and coaches. Just take your game to another level.”

After high school, for many, the choice of what college to go to can be difficult and athletics can make it even harder to decide where to go. Senior Olivia Dollar decided to go to University of North Texas for the community.

“When I visited [North Texas],  I really like the community and the school,” Dollar said. “The coach is real great and the team was really nice. I knew I would like diving there based on the atmosphere.”

Mitchell wanted to able to recognize athletes, specifically football players this year, for finding different routes into college and into their careers.

“This year, we want to be able to recognize the kids, mostly football kids, that are going for full academic rides that aren’t necessarily signing for athletics,” Mitchell said. “We also want to include kids who are going into the military.”

Senior Wyatt Evers played football all four years in high school, but has received an appointment from the United States Military Academy, often referred to as Westpoint, where he will try out for the track team.

“At Westpoint, everyone has to be an athlete,” Evers said, “Everybody has to play a sport, so I’m going to try-out for a bunch of teams to see where I end up. I will hopefully walk onto the track team.”

The valedictorian of the class of 2019, senior Scott Brighton, is also going to be featured at the event for his dedicated efforts to both academics and the football team.

“ I think that the other activities being represented is important,” Brighton said. “It shows that there are different pathways to college; it shows that all the paths aren’t through just sports.”

Ultimately, for the most part, when colleges are looking for athletes, they are not only looking for athletic ability, but qualities off of the court.

“ There’s no one quality you can pinpoint that colleges will pick you for,” Mitchell said. “It’s the intangibles. The really good teams, Clemson, Alabama, look for the intangibles. Things that you can’t really measure, their will and desire to win.”