Lee County football players getting hard looks

LEESBURG — Before Lee County football coach Dean Fabrizio arrived in Leesburg in 2009, the Trojans had a combined record of 5-27 in the previous three years.

Since his arrival, the Trojans have gone 38-27 with four winning seasons and three straight state playoff appearances, including a region title in 2013.

It was about creating a culture of winning.

“In the previous couple of years, they (Lee County) hadn’t had a lot of success,” Fabrizio said. “They were 0-10 the year before I got here.”

Fabrizio said that his predecessor, David Johnson, built a solid foundation on which to build even though he struggled record-wise.

“It’s been a group effort. We’ve got kids who have bought in to the program,” Fabrizio said. “We’ve assembled a great coaching staff and we’ve gotten great support from the community.”

Lee County Board of Education member Lewis Hatcher remembers when some people in Lee County didn’t believe their athletes could be successful.

“We use to turn out athletes that thought they couldn’t win because they were told they couldn’t win,” Hatcher said. “Now the mindset is that we can win.”

Ultimately, talent wins and the Trojans have it. Several seniors are being recruited by Division I schools. One of them, offensive lineman Chris Barnes, has committed to Georgia.

Quarterback Garret Morrell, the reigning Albany Herald Player of the Year, is getting offers from Troy, Southern Miss, and Georgia State among others. Wide Receiver Trey Eafford is also being recruited by Troy, as well as Southern Miss and Georgia Southern.

Defensive back William Bryant and defensive end Collins Tensley are also being recruited by Division I programs. Bryant credits the Lee County coaching staff for helping him.

“When I came to Lee County, I wasn’t that good,” Bryant said. “It was a very competitive situation. You had to fight every day and compete for your position.”

Offensive lineman Jacob Baker, linebacker Ronald Wilson and wide receiver Devonte Seay have also caught the eyes of several programs but haven’t received any firm offers yet.

Several underclassmen, such as defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon, are being looked at by Division 1 programs. Solomon is one of the more highly-recruited juniors in the nation.

Florida, FSU, Georgia and other major schools are recruiting him.

Sophomore defensive back Otis Reese is already getting interest from Louisville, Central Michigan and Troy.

According to Fabrizio, there’s so much talent at Lee County that as many as 30 Division 1 college coaches showed up one day to watch a spring practice.

“You couldn’t walk a few steps without bumping into a college coach,” he said. “We had so many out there watching practice.”

Fabrizio credits the middle school and youth programs for developing many of these players.

The Trojans kick off the 2015 season on Aug. 21 against Westover at Hugh Mills Stadium.