Brogdon, Hicks take off to North jucos

Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 7, 2002

[2/07/02]Josh Brogdon opened holes for teammate John Hicks at Warren Central.

Now, they’ll be rivals.

The two joined three other Vikings in signing national letters of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the signing period.

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At Vicksburg High, Andre Bennett signed with Grambling and Charles Wilson signed with Hinds Community College. Cornerback David Heard made good on his earlier verbal commitment and signed with Mississippi State, as did WC quarterback Brett Morgan.

Brogdon and Hicks took advantage of a new rule that allows junior colleges to recruit statewide.

Brogdon, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound offensive lineman, signed with Itawamba Community College and first-year head coach Jeff Terrill.

Terrill, a longtime defensive coordinator at Hinds, called Brogdon almost nightly in hopes of landing the Vicksburg Post All-County pick. Brogdon picked ICC over Hinds.

“At Hinds, I’d be just another log on the fire,” Brogdon said. “I’ll be one of the logs to start the fire at Itawamba.”

Hicks, a 5-10, 225-pound fullback, will join Bobby Hall’s Northeast Mississippi C.C. next season.

Hicks said he did not think he could fit in in Hinds’ wide-open offense.

“Northeast runs a triple-option, kind of like Nebraska,” Hicks said. “That was a better fit for me.”

Northeast, in Booneville, and Itawamba, in Fulton, are within an hour of one another and have been North Division rivals for years.

“It was a little different this time because junior colleges get to recruit,” WC coach Robert Morgan said. “My boys will be playing against each other and that’s the first time that’s happened.”

He said Brogdon and Hicks are the first two to come out of Warren Central to play juco away from Hinds.

The Eagles did land a pair of Vikings Carlton Bradford and Kacy Jones.

The pair of All-County players were supposed to be bookends at wide receiver before a knee injury sidelined Jones for most of the season.

Bradford led Warren County in receptions (32), receiving yards (574) and had six touchdowns.

Brett Morgan was the lone Division I-A signee from Warren Central. He verbally committed to Mississippi State before the season.

He will join Heard, as well as brothers Rob and Josh, in Starkville.

Brett Morgan said he still wants to play quarterback, but the Bulldogs inked three highly touted QBs in Shannon’s Ken Topps, Cleveland-East Side’s Aries Nelson and Justin Tyler of Jones County (Ga.) High.

“I want to go in as a quarterback,” Brett Morgan said. “Competition makes you better. Without competition, you don’t reach your best potential. SEC schools are going to have players, so you’ll have to beat some players out.”

Morgan threw for 1,156 yards and nine touchdowns.

He also had 38 tackles and an interception as a safety and had a 38.3-yard average as a punter.