Shiloh High Footballers College Bound

Brian Montgomery's mission is making sure his players have a college to go to after completing their high school football careers.

In his first year at , 14 players became a testament to his goal and their own tenacious work on the field. A dozen signed letters of intent before their family and friends at a special ceremony at in Snellville on February 1. 

"It's definitely a great day for Shiloh," said Montgomery, who left North Atlanta High to be head coach at Shiloh High in 2011.

In total, the Shiloh High program is sending 12 to Concordia College in Selma, Ala., and two to Division I schools William & Mary and Vanderbilt University.

This signing day is more than the culmination of winning football games and going to the playoffs, Montgomery added.

"Of course, we would love to do that," he added. "But, I also personally like to have somewhere for my kids to go after they've done all that hard work, to have some type of reward that's larger than just a plaque or a trophy, and by getting a scholarship offer to go play at the next level, that's definitely a huge reward for them."

The Concordia bunch -- Rolanzo Bruce, Justin Callaway, Alex Gardner, Kyle Hill, De'Shawn Mino, Michael Oden, Marnez Ogletree, Davon Perrin, Martin Rhymer, Marquis Shelton, Clayton Smith and Phillip Trocheck --are ready to play together again.

"It's going to be great," Minor said. "It's going to be absolutely great."

Montgomery, a former Alabama defensive lineman, had already built a good relationship with the Concordia College program. Now in its sixth year with several NFL footballers under its belt, the college offers a good place for continued development for Shiloh Generals, he said.

"The competition will be great," Montgomery said.

For the two seniors -- Tyler Claytor and Stephen Weatherly-- who are headed to Division I schools William & Mary and Vanderbilt University respectively, Montgomery was especially proud of their leadership.

"They're terrific kids; they're both hard workers in the classroom and on the football field," the coach said, adding that the two were the type of kids you'd love to have as your own.

Both players came with Montgomery from North Atlanta High. Claytor was named MVP in the previous season and also played in the Georgia North-South All-Star game, while Weatherly played in the Georgia High School Senior All-Star Bowl in December.

"You just don't get the opportunity to go play Division I football, you know, off a fluke," Montgomery said.

Carla Weatherly was especially proud of her son, Stephen. 

"We are extremely happy, very excited," she said Wednesday. "Didn't sleep much last night because we wanted to get up and be one of the first ones to turn in his national letter of intent at 7 this morning."

Stephen, who wants to be a mechanical engineer, is happy to be at a school that will fuel both his sports and academic sides.

"It's going to set me up real nice for the rest of my life," the 17-year-old linebacker said.

Tyler Claytor believes the same thing about his choice William & Mary. Academics and sports will both be important.

"Not giving up one for the other is a real big thing for me," said the 6-foot-3, 270-pound lineman, who points to his family and high school coaches for helping him get to this point.

His mom, Lisa Claytor, and older brother, Nick, joined Tyler for the official commitment ceremony. 

"I'm just proud of my brother," said Nick Claytor, who signed with Georgia Tech in 2007 and went on to the Canadian Football League. "He's worked very hard. Overcome a lot of obstacles.

"I'm just excited to watch him play college football and dominate."

To learn more about Shiloh High School's football program and athletes, click here.