The number of football players from Richmond Hill High School who’ll be playing football at the college level increased to eight Friday after Caleb Branham, Hayden Gorsuch and Johnathan Hartley Seale signed letters of intent to play at the next level during a ceremony at the RHHS LINK media center.
Branham, a first-team All-Region 3-AAAAA offensive lineman, will head to Shorter University. The Region 3-AAAAA heavyweight wrestling champ and state runner-up said he’s always wanted to play college football and received the opportunity to attend Shorter after attending football camps over the summer.
Shorter stood out, he said, because it is a Baptist school.
“That’s what really drew me there,” said Brahnham, who wants to major in pre-physical therapy. He hopes to make an impact on the football field and said he might consider walking on as a wrestler, “but football’s my first priority.”
He thanked parents, teammates and coaches for their support and called Friday’s signing one of the biggest moments he’s ever experienced.
“I have been waiting for this my whole life,” Branham said.
Gorsuch is headed to Kentucky Christian University, an NAIA school in Grayson.
“They welcomed me more than anybody,” Gorsuch said. “They made me feel I was part of the family before I was a part of their family.”
He also thanked parents, coaches, family and friends. Gorsuch, who plans on majoring in sports management, said his goal is to help the Knights become a better football team.
Hartley Seale, a punter, signed with North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount. The school plays in Division III.
“It’s a great school,” he said. “I chose it not only for the opportunity to play football but also for its academics, and that was important to me.”
He’ll major in sports management, he said, and knows he’s lucky to get the opportunity to kick at the next level. Seale thanked parents, coaches, family and friends as well for their support over the years, while also singling out Patrick Means, the schools’ special teams’ coach, and his fellow kicker at RHHS, Trevor Dauphinee.
“I taught him, he taught me,” Hartley Seale said of Dauphinee.
As for the signing, Seale might have summed it up for all three players.
“It’s been my dream to play college football,” he said. “And it’s happening.”