The University of North Alabama's new head football coach Bobby Wallace said that he's excited about the new direction UNA football is heading.
"We're looking forward to trying to go through a transition from bringing in older transfers to mixing our older players with the 37 freshmen that we'll have coming in the fall," said Wallace. "I'm excited about that. We'll have a lot of young players participating and contributing."
Wallace signed 37 high school seniors and 6 junior college transfers to start the growing stage of the program.
Florence High School senior Davian Eggleston, who signed with UNA said, "They really sold me, because the head coach came and talked to me personally, and he interviewed me. It just touched home and made me feel like I had a home to come to."
Wallace said that at least ten of the recruits were from the Shoals area and many of the other young players are coming from within a two hour radius.
"That's awesome," said Mitch Wade, an UNA football supporter. "You're not only going to have the local kids that's participating in the program, but they have a lot of friends that are still her and a lot of family. There should be a lot more excitement at the games and more loyalty to the school."
Community support is something Wallace said is key to the D1 transition.
"I think it creates a lot of interest," said Wallace. "It creates a lot of pride in our football team to have players that know people who are in the stand, and they take a lot of pride in the team. I think it means something to them. It means more to them."
He said that there's no question in his mind that the Shoals community has what it takes to make the move a huge success.
