Mainland athletes commit to play football in college

Five more Mainland High School football players signed national letters of intent.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 12:10 p.m. February 15, 2024
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Five more Mainland High School football players — Dennis Murray Jr., Collin Wilson, Elijah Walker, David Hall and Lawrence Campbell Jr.— signed letters of intent on National Signing Day, Feb. 7.

They joined six of their early-signing teammates.

“As always, we are so proud of our young men,” Mainland athletic director Terry Anthony said. “These guys are the epitome of student-athletes because not only are they able to go to the next level and continue utilizing their athletic abilities, but they have their academics right. They qualify on both levels. Now they get to go and enjoy the fruits of their labor at the next level.”

Murray signed with Georgia State University. The starting quarterback led the Buccaneers to the state championship this season. He was determined to continue playing quarterback in college.

At 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, he said he knew his size would be an issue, but he held out and trusted the process. After Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott made a campus visit, he offered Murray a scholarship and a chance to play quarterback.

“Recruiting started off a little slow, so I didn’t have too many options going into the end days,” Murray said. “Coach Elliott came to the school and he gave me the offer. I went on a visit and it felt like home. It felt like the right place to be. God ended up producing for me.”

Murray finished the season with 16 touchdown passes and 11 rushing touchdowns. He was second on the team in rushing yards per game and had a quarterback rating of 84.3.

Man, we are changing lives. At Mainland High School athletics, our motto is, success isn’t determined by the number of games won but by the number of lives changed in the process. We’re doing that in all of our sports and groups on our campus. That’s the best thing about Mainland High School. — TERRY ANTHONY, Mainland athletic director

Murray, who transferred to Mainland before the school year, said he is thankful for the Daytona Beach community for coming out to support the team during the season and especially at the state championship game. 

“To be on the biggest stage and have a crowd meant a lot,” he said. “Thank you to all the coaches and my teammates for believing in me and allowing me to take charge of the whole team as quarterback. They believed in me and put their faith in me to go out there and do what I do best and we ended up coming out state champions.”

Hall and Campbell Jr. transferred from Seabreeze to Mainland. Both players were instrumental in helping the Bucs make the drive to the state championship this season. Defensive back Hall wrapped up the season with three interceptions for 91 yards. He will be joining the Division II West Liberty University Hilltoppers. Campbell will be headed to East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, also a Division II team. He hopes to bring versatility to the Warriors. During his tenure as a Buc he played cornerback, strong safety and running back.

“Out of all the colleges that were talking to me, they (West Liberty) kept in touch,” Hall said. “I talked to a couple of players there. They told me it is a build-a-bear program and hopefully I’ll be a part of that.” 

Right tackle Wilson wore his dad Scott Wilson’s jersey No.  51 this season. Scott Wilson played for Mainland then became the head coach in 2010. He retired from the head coaching position after 11 years and 103 wins. Collin Wilson will continue his football career at Lenoir-Rhyne University, a Division II school in the South Atlantic Conference.

Offensive lineman Walker will be joining 2023 Mainland graduate Ajai Harrell at Alabama State University, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team. Alabama State plays in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Walker became familiar with ASU when his brother Lukas Walker played football with Bethune-Cookman University. B-CU joined the SWAC in 2021.

“Alabama State felt like another home outside of Daytona,” Walker said. “Montgomery (Alabama) felt amazing, which was heartwarming. It was pretty cool (being recruited), but another thing is I get to further my education, so that’s what I’m most happy about. I’m going up and we’re going to win a SWAC championship.”

Anthony said the perseverance shown by the players from last season's two-point loss in the championship game to this season's two-point win is a testament to the leadership that was shown by these seniors.

“Man, we are changing lives,” Anthony said. “At Mainland High School athletics, our motto is, success isn’t determined by the number of games won but by the number of lives changed in the process. We’re doing that in all of our sports and groups on our campus. That’s the best thing about Mainland High School.”

 

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