For nearly every college football program across the country, Feb. 4 was the most important day of the off-season as high school seniors signed their NCAA National Letters of Intent.
Tyrone Clark of Mehlville Senior High School, Mike Heumann of Lindbergh High School and Nick Shore of Oakville Senior High School announced their intentions to play at the collegiate level, ending months of speculation from not only the colleges, but also the student-athletes.
Clark — 5 feet, 10 inches, 195 pounds — starred at quarterback, running back and linebacker for the Panthers over the past couple of seasons.
The Northern Illinois University-bound senior carried the ball 151 times for a team-leading 789 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He also threw the ball 19 times for 303 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. On defense, he racked up 62 tackles on defense as well as three fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception.
“The great thing about Tyrone is that he works so hard,” Mehlville head coach Eric Meyer said. “There’s no limitations on his potential because he’ll get stronger and faster at Northern Illinois.”
Heumann — 6 feet, 181 pounds — is slated to attend the University of Nebraska-Omaha after hauling in 44 catches for 614 yards receiving and seven touchdowns at the wide receiver position this past season.
At linebacker, Heumann recorded 29 tackles as well as two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one sack.
“Mike’s got tremendous speed and I don’t think they’re entirely sure he’ll be at wide receiver,” Lindbergh head coach Tom Beauchamp said. “If they don’t have him on offense, then he’ll probably play at safety on defense.”
Shore — 6 feet, 4 inches, 260 pounds — saw time on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Tigers this past season and has chosen to play football next season at Lindenwood. Tigers head coach Arlee Conners believes that Shore has a lot of potential at the collegiate level.
“Nick’s a guy that has a lot of potential,” Conners said. “He hasn’t played his best football just yet and I think that he’s going to grow into that big body of his.”
