By Ashton Phillips
It is a humid, sunny day in July. The Delta football team is on the scorching hot turf getting ready for the upcoming season. Three of the hardest working players are seniors Palmer Samuels, Blake Jones and Dylan Manor.
The three seniors are not just hard workers but great leaders, too, according to their head coach.
“All three are very strong leaders on and off the field where they can connect to a lot of people,” Delta football head coach Chris Overholt said.
The three seniors all have committed to DePauw University to continue their football and academic careers with the Tigers. Dylan will also be on the track and field team at DePauw as well. All three plan to study something business related at DePauw. They do not have any specific goals after football other than to make lots of money.
They all had different reasons on why and when they committed to DePauw.
“The winning atmosphere and the coaches,” Samuels said about what stood out about Depauw. “After the visit in December, I committed in January.”
“The school itself is just one of a kind,” Manor said.
Senior Blake Jones knew it was a fit as soon as he stepped foot on DePauw’s campus. “Right when I went there, I loved the campus. I loved the coaches and the people there,” he said.
Dylan Manor committed a few months after the season ended. He was on the fence on where to go. He had multiple schools who wanted him. DePauw kept writing and contacting Dylan, which made him feel wanted there.
They all plan to continue lifting with the team and getting work on the football field to prepare for the bigger and faster players in college. The three plan to help the Tigers early in their collegiate careers.
“They are going to do the little things right and they will put themselves in position to help the team early,” Overholt said.
The three seniors have been lifting and getting ready for the collegiate level since they committed.
The Eagle football team lost big pieces this season due to these seniors graduating.
“The biggest thing is just their leadership. All these guys have played a lot of football for us. They’ve loved Delta Football,” Overholt said. “They have been great role models of the program. It will be the job of the next class to learn next year and implement it next year.”
