Three Richmond Hill football players signed letters of intent Wednesday afternoon at the school to continue their playing days at the collegiate level.

Xavier Bryant-Long, quarterback, and Jhawan Horton, wide receiver, signed with University of the Cumberlands while Aaron Chick, defensive back, chose Berry College.

“I can’t wait to start,” Bryant-Long said. “This has been a goal of mine for a long time.”

Bryant-Long said he is especially excited about continuing to be on the same team as Horton.

“Friends and teammates since day one,” he said. Bryant-Long plans on studying engineering.

Horton said he like the coaches at University of the Cumberlands and that it “felt like home.” He plans to study criminal justice.

Chick said the Berry College coaches told him he has a chance to compete for the starting safety position and he likes the school’s dual-enrollment offering that will allow him to get an engineering degree from Georgia Tech.

Wildcat Coach Matt LeZotte said he was proud to see his first three players sign.

“They’ve been through a lot of changes in their careers and they’ve persevered through the transition,” he said, referring to the fact that they played for three different varsity coaches while at Richmond Hill. “This is a rite of passage and I look forward to seeing what they can do at the next level.

University of the Cumberlands, in Williamsburg, Kentucky, is an NAIA school competing in the Mid-South Conference. The Patriots were 7-3 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-South’s East Division. Starting in 2017, the Mid-South is merging with the Sun Conference to form a 20-team, three-division conference.

Berry College, an NCAA Division III school in Mt. Berry, Georgia, participates in the Southern Athletic Association. The Vikings went 7-3 overall and 6-2 in their conference.