A handful of local athletes have recently announced scholarship offers.
* DaMarcus "Dee" Beckwith, a quarterback at Florence High, posted May 1 he had received scholarship offers from Kentucky and Florida Atlantic.
Beckwith, who will graduate next year, already received offers from Auburn, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, South Alabama, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Troy, UAB and West Virginia.
He made the 2018 TimesDaily all-area second team as an athlete.
It's unclear what position Beckwith will play in college, with different staffs envisioning different roles for him and many recruiting him as an "athlete" who could help at various spots.
* Mark Sears, a Muscle Shoals point guard who will be a senior next year, added an offer April 30 from UAB basketball. He already had an offer from South Alabama.
Sears was a first-team all-state player in 6A this past season and led the Trojans to the 6A state semifinals. He has been the TimesDaily's big-school boys basketball player of the year each of the last two seasons.
* Karly Weathers, a guard at Loretto High who will be a sophomore next year, has received her first college basketball scholarship offers. In the last two weeks she has received offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Middle Tennessee State, South Florida and Vanderbilt.
Weathers led the Mustangs to a runner-up finish in Tennessee's Class A state tournament and was named tournament MVP. She was the TimesDaily's small-school girls basketball player of the year.
* Mack McCluskey, an offensive lineman at Mars Hill who will be a senior next year, has recently received offers from South Alabama and Southern Miss.
A 6-4, 285-pound offensive and defensive tackle, McCluskey had a big role in Mars Hill's Wing-T offense and also excelled on defense as the Panthers won the Class 1A state championship. He was named to the TimesDaily's all-area first team as an offensive lineman.
Brewer gets chance with RamsFlorence High grad Chandler Brewer, who completed his college football career with Middle Tennessee State last fall, was selected as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams.
Brewer started all 14 games for the Blue Raiders this season, helping them to an 8-4 regular season record. MTSU then lost the Conference USA championship game to UAB and the New Orleans Bowl to Appalachian State.
Below is a sample of how some local track and tennis athletes are doing in college. If you know of other local track or tennis athletes who are competing in college and have had recent success, please email sports@timesdaily.com.
* Erin Jewell, UAH - A sophomore from Brooks, Jewell won the women's shot put (13.75 meters) and discus (46 meters) at the Gulf South Conference championships this past weekend.
* Halee Thomas, South Alabama - The sophomore from Brooks High competed at the Southern Miss Open April 26-27. She won the women's javelin throw with a distance of 146 feet, 7 inches.
The Sun Belt outdoor championships are May 10-12.
* Cade Finley, Mississippi State - Finley told the TimesDaily he is redshirting this season. The Wilson grad was a state champion in the discus and shot put, and he holds the 4A state discus record with a throw of 185 feet, 3 inches at last year's state meet.
* Morgan Bishop, Central Alabama C.C. - A 2017 graduate of Muscle Shoals, Bishop was part of a No. 1 doubles team at Central Alabama that won a conference championship and also finished runner-up at No. 1 singles.
She competed at the national junior college tournament over the weekend and recently signed with West Alabama of the Gulf South Conference.
* Lilly Holmes, Chattanooga - The Florence product and 2017-18 TimesDaily female athlete of the year went 5-3 as a singles player this past spring and 6-5 in doubles. The Mocs lost in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament to Furman in mid-April.
College sports opportunities* Dusty Quillen: The guard on the Brooks basketball team has signed to play at the NAIA level for Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn.
Quillen said he thought about college basketball more seriously after his junior season and had a conversation with head coach Brian Wright and assistant coach Rusty Murks about helping him get a chance to play.
Quillen said Wright encouraged him to put the necessary work in, and Murks helped him get quicker and become a better defensive player.
"He always told me 'If you want it, just go get it,'" Quillen said of Wright.
Quillen joins a Martin Methodist program that struggled last year, but its coach was in his first year and the Redhawks have a strong NAIA history.
"I was really excited. It was like a dream come true," Quillen said of playing college hoops.
Quillen was the leading scorer for a Brooks team that won 56 games over the last two years and reached the Northwest Regional finals this season before falling to eventual 4A state runner-up West Limestone.
Quillen, who likes math but is undecided about his major, said MMC liked his ability to shoot and drive and has him on a meal plan and workout plan for the offseason.
"Maybe next year we'll have a really good year," Quillen said.
* Kaleb Moore: A multi-sport standout at Hackleburg, Moore plans to walk on to the football team at Eastern Kentucky.
The Colonels compete at the Division I FCS level in the Ohio Valley Conference. EKU has appeared in the NCAA postseason 21 times.
"I love the OVC. They've got a lot of good talent up there," Moore said. "I was reading about their past. They've got a good history."
Moore switched from receiver to quarterback at Hackleburg starting midway through his sophomore year, and he largely carried the Panther offense this past fall with his running ability.
"It was a good leadership moment for me, and I'm glad everything happened the way it happened," he said.
His best college opportunity might be at tight end.
Moore is currently getting strength back after tearing his labrum and biceps when he slipped off the mound during baseball season. He said the initial pain was severe but he has nearly regained full range of motion and everything feels a lot better.
Moore plans to major in sports fitness and management.
* Waterloo trio: Three Waterloo students have committed this semester to play college football. They are Christian Irons, Kion Dixon and Zach Tidwell.
Irons and Dixon will play at Division III Huntingdon College, and Tidwell signed in February with NAIA Campbellsville (Ky.) University.
Tidwell is a 6-3, 285-pound left tackle who chose Campbellsville over opportunities at Missouri Baptist, Culver-Stockton (Mo.) and Greenville (Ill.).
"They liked my aggression and I just did not give up on a play," he said. "And I just stuck to my assignments and I had my guy every play."
Irons is a 5-11 wide receiver who caught 36 passes for 1,152 yards and 15 touchdowns and made the TimesDaily's 1A-3A all-area first team.
He chose Huntingdon because it seemed like the best mix of academics and athletics for him. He'd like to eventually go to med school and perhaps study orthopedic science or sports medicine.
"I like to help people. I like science," he said, noting that path would combine the two. "Ever since I can remember science has been my favorite subject, I guess because it's so investigative. Anything where you've got to take a closer look I'd probably be interested in."
Dixon is a 6-2, 225-pound linebacker who also played tight end at Waterloo after transferring from Central as a junior. He's worked a lot on speed and agility with his father, Toyce, who played safety at Hardin County (Tenn.) and at Tennessee State University.
"(Huntingdon) said they needed some all-around linebackers for their defense," Dixon said. "I'm physical. I can take on blocks well. I have height and I have size."
All three helped rebrand Waterloo football, taking a program that had not been to the playoffs since 1992 into the postseason each of the last two years. Waterloo won a playoff game for the first time this fall, beating Hubbertville 20-15.
Dixon predicted Waterloo might be even better in the near future.
"It means everything because when I first started playing football in the 9th grade, I think we got only one win," Tidwell said.
"It feels good to start kind of a new tradition (at Waterloo)," Irons said of the success. "This past year hopefully we started something that will stay a while."
