LOS ANGELES, CA (WTKR)- Monday's national championship game will have some Hampton Roads flavor and plenty of eyes from back home cheering on some local products.
Georgia's Daylen Everette along with Keontae Jenkins and Altrique Barlow of TCU hail from the 757 and those who were part of their journey will watch them take one of the biggest stages in college football.
"I was on maternity leave, but I was hearing from people 'we've got this stud corner,'" said Norview head athletic trainer Megan Pathoomvanh about Edwards, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Pilots before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida. "I'm like 'OK, well I guest I've got to see him.'"
Everette impressed Pathoomvanh and plenty of other people who saw his dedication to his craft and skill level from an early age.
"He shut a lot of people down, so it was pretty easy to catch that when coming to games."
Chris Scott knows that feeling. The current Oscar Smith head coach has guided numerous big-time players. Two of them during his tenure as Catholic's head coach were Jenkins and Barlow.
"Keontae was a corner that could lock people down on the outside, very explosive and fast," he noted. "Big Al... he clears a path and it's not just a small hole. It's like the Grand Canyon."
These three players have gone from the 757 to the brightest lights at the next level. Monday finds them battling with their teams for a national championship.
"You see a kid who is as talented as he was and sometimes it gets to their head," Pathoomvanh said of Everette. "For him it didn't so it was nice to always have him around."
"At the end of the day if you stay true to the work ethic that, hopefully, we instilled and that others outside of the program instilled but you believed in, then you'll flourish when the time is right," Scott noted.
These area stars might be shining in college, but they have not forgotten their roots. You'll find all three back in their respective hometowns from time to time, doing their parts to share knowledge with those who hope to follow in their footsteps.
"When your story is seen or heard and you share it with them and they understand that what they're going through is some of the same things that you guys did... all those times paid off to get them to where they are," Scott pointed out.
"He landed down the road and stopped here first and I'm like 'hey, no way, thanks for coming!,'" said the Norview trainer. "It's neat and he shows face and kids are like 'that's Daylen Everette.'"
Monday will find Norview, Catholic and all of those who have helped them along the way will watch Everette, Jenkins and Barlow take the field for one final time this season in hopes of hoisting that crown.
"To be on the national championship game, that's next level," said Pathoomvanh. "You do have to kind of pinch yourself and be like 'I worked with this kid.'"
"When they get a chance to be in these situations, it's really that they're hoisting it up with everybody that has just a little bit of finger on that trophy as well," Scott pointed out. "I think that's the biggest thing that it means. It's big for our area and all the people who were part of their journey."
Everette is a freshman defensive back who has 13 total tackles and one pass break-up this season. Jenkins is a sophomore cornerback for the Horned Frogs who has seen time in three games this season, while Barlow has played in nine games for TCU this year on the offensive line.
