If Daniel Boone football coach Jeremy Jenkins describes a player as the best of his 20-year coaching tenure, there’s probably something to it.
No wonder Henry Hamlin is going Division I. As part of Daniel Boone’s signing ceremony Friday morning at Bobby Snyder Gymnasium, Hamlin signed to continue his education and football career at Middle Tennessee State.
Almost immediately after former Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason took over the Blue Raiders football program, Hamlin got a call.
“That was kind of just all of a sudden, they called me one night,” Hamlin recalled. “They thought I could play a little defense, but they liked my long snapping.”
Having played on Boone’s first conference championship team in 2021 with older brother Will, Henry helped the Trailblazers do it again in 2022 with a historic 12-1 campaign. And even though he spent part of his senior year playing through pain, Hamlin still made 92 tackles.
Looking to study finance with a focus on real estate, Hamlin hopes to help Mason rebuild the MTSU football program.
“I think they’re building a good thing there,” he said. “It’s one thing to sign somewhere, but it’s another to go down there and actually succeed. I think that would just show what kind of people are built here (at Boone).”
ELLA BATTEL
Ella Battel is going from Boone to Boone, as in Appalachian State University next season. Battel signed to join the Mountaineers’ cross country team, and she’ll also compete in distance events during track season.
“If you asked me a few years ago if I would’ve been running in college, I would’ve called you crazy and laughed at you,” Battel said during her emotional speech.
But she’s done it, and she’s going D1.
Oddly enough, Battel had been visiting another school when it suddenly occurred to her where she wanted to run.
“On my way back home I was like ‘Mom, I want to go to App State,’” Battel said. “I’d kept in contact with the coach. Luckily they invited me on a visit … the girls team was so welcoming and friendly.”
In cross country, Battel is three-time All-Conference and two-time All-Region, having finished region runner-up her senior year. She finished fourth in the 800 meter run during her junior track season, while also helping Boone’s 4x800 relay team set the Northeast Tennessee record time.
She plans to study English with a minor in education, aiming to become a teacher and coach someday.
KASSIE ESTEP
By signing with East Tennessee State, Kassie Estep took a historic step — she’s the first soccer player from Daniel Boone to sign with a Division I program.
Given the close proximity, the Buccaneers were always on her list of college choices. But not until her latest season of travel ball did ETSU emerge as one of the frontrunners.
“My travel team, they’ve always been pushing us to find ways to reach out to coaches,” Estep said. “We went to showcases around the world, and the coach came to one of my games. At that point, in my heart ETSU was definitely the place I wanted to go.”
Estep plans to study either nursing or health science at ETSU, where she will play center mid.
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