by Jared Jensen
The Paducah Sun
December 5, 2024
Used with permission.
In any given year, the average high school football program will see one or two athletes sign division one offers to play college football, but Wednesday the Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado saw three of their own sign letters of intent to play DI football at prestigious schools.
Jack James, Martels Carter Jr. and Vanzale Hinton all signed on the dotted line to extend their playing days at Troy, Kentucky and Vanderbilt after graduation in May.
For head coach Sean Thompson it was a special sight to see some of his key guys commit their immediate futures to furthering their craft.
“It’s a really special moment when you talk about tradition, pride and excellence,” Thompson said. “It’s been a long time since Tilghman has seen or had the opportunity to have this many go play at that level of football. And we did it on day one because those schools wanted to make sure they got those names on paper.”
Jack James has been the nucleus of the Tilghman football program and taken nearly every important snap since the 2020 season. Martels Carter has been the explosive two-way player in just his second year as a Blue Tornado, that some nights put up the most offensive stats and others creates the most mayhem on defense. Vanzale Hinton is a dual threat in his own way, able to take the ball on the ground and make the play and has the hands to catch whatever comes his way, while also posing as a threat at DB.
“Van and Martels are a touchdown waiting to happen in any phase of the game, special teams, defense or offense,” Thompson said. “Jack James has been our quarterback and has taken every meaningful snap for us for the last four years, it’s tough to replace a guy like that, he’s essentially become an extension of our coaching staff.”
While these three had all made their individual verbal commitments in recent months, making it official Wednesday afternoon made it that much more real for the PT athletes.
“I’m very thankful that my teammates, coaches and mom and dad have believed in me this far and I’m very thankful for the opportunity that the coaches at Troy have given me to join their team,” James said. “I think that I can compete for a starting job next year. Their quarterback room is down with injuries, and I think I can go in there and compete and add depth.”
The Troy Trojans closed out their 2024 season last week with a 4-8 record in the Sun Belt Conference where four different QBs tried their hand under center at different points throughout the season.
For Carter, the goal has always been playing in the NFL, and he felt the best way to do that was through UK.
“They put people in the league and that’s what I want to do,” Carter said. “At the end of the day, I want to go to the league and play ball. They (UK Coaches) expect leadership. I come with a lot of energy, so I’m going to bring it and just be me.”
While UK had a less-than-ideal 2024 season, Carter said he’s always been committed to Kentucky.
While they’re teammates now, Vanzale Hinton and Martels Carter will be on opposing sides of the field next year when Martels and the Wildcats travel to Nashville to take on Vanzale and the Commodores.
“This is an amazing feeling, man. Growing up I’ve always wanted to go to Vandy, it’s been a dream school since I was 6 years old,” Hinton said. “I’m an athlete, so I feel like I can go to special teams and make plays on special teams and defense and if they need me on offense I can be there too.”
As for what’s next for these signees, they have important business to take care of this weekend as the Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado play in the 4A state championship game Friday night at Kroger Field against Franklin County.
Photo caption:
Vanzale Hinton, Jack James and Martels Carter Jr. all signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday afternoon as they look to further their academic and athletic careers at Vanderbilt, Troy and Kentucky upon graduation in May.