Cleveland’s Tucker Tipton is headed for the Air Force Academy.

The Falcons had been recruiting the quarterback for more than a year, and he decided recently to accept an appointment there.

“It really came down to being the right place. It was the best combination of football and educational opportunities,” said Tipton, who will bypass the academy’s prep school and head straight for Colorado Springs, Colo., because of his superlative academic record.

Tipton ran Cleveland’s offense for three seasons and finished this year with more than 2,000 yards of offense, 850 rushing. He also played safety.

“Their offense is almost identical to what we run, so we look a lot like them and I feel I know the system pretty well. There’s a chance that I might get to play as a freshman,” the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder said. “I guess I’m small for a college quarterback, but they recruit kids like me to run the option and throw a little bit.

“Their head coach and quarterback coach played at Air Force. They’re about the same size as me and didn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

Tipton chose Air Force over several Ivy League schools, Princeton in particular, and he was also being recruited by Furman and VMI.

“After I graduate I’ll be a first lieutenant and serve five years, but I probably won’t be a pilot,” he said. “I want to go into mechanical engineering. I never thought about flying, but I may get out there and completely change my mind.”

Tipton didn’t get to play in the Blue Raiders’ playoff game at Maryville because of torn ligaments in the thumb on his passing hand. He sustained the injury in the team’s final regular-season game against Walker Valley.

“I played the whole game against Walker Valley and injured my thumb in the second-to-last series during regulation,” he said. “I finished the game. We just didn’t throw it, and I didn’t try to make any pitches with my right hand.”

Tipton said this past season had its disappointing moments, including one-point losses to Red Bank and Walker Valley.

“Losing two games by a point was frustrating, but I had a great time and a great experience overall. It was good for me,” he said. “I love Coach (Danny) Wilson and think the world of him. He made it fun, but we knew when it was time to be tough and to be serious.”

He had surgery on his thumb earlier this week to reconnect the ligament and will be in a splint for two weeks and then a hard cast for two to four weeks.

“The doctor said I should be healthy no later than Christmas and that I’d be ready for baseball season,” Tipton said.

Comments