There were no last-minute offers for Walker Valley's Jared Duke on signing day. No coaching issues nor coaching changes. Duke simply smiled, signed his letter of intent to play football for the University of Mississippi, and faded off to the background.
Not that it was easy for him to remain unnoticed. The 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive lineman stands out in most rooms, but Duke was intent watching his family entertain the crowd of nearly 100 that gathered in the Walker Valley library to witness the school's first-ever Football Bowl Subdivision signee.
The newest Ole Miss signee, after mulling over offers from Columbia and Louisville, and interest from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, committed Aug. 6 and held firm to that decision. He graduates on May 13, will move to Oxford on May 27, is happy living a step out of the spotlight. He even has his roommate situation settled, as he will room with center Chase Hughes, who graduated from Springville, Ala. in December and is already enrolled in school.
"Things have really slowed down since my commitment," he said. "I'm not out there for the media - I'm here to play football. Most schools knew I had a strong verbal commitment to Ole Miss and knew I wasn't going to change that."
Duke, who has a 3.6 GPA and scored a 24 on the ACT, is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals. He graded out at 87 percent in 2009, with 40 knockdown blocks and no sacks allowed, earning him Class 5A All-State honors.
He was the No. 13 prospect in the state and committed to the Rebels before the season.
"The sky's the limit," Duke said. "We'll see what I can accomplish when I get there. I'll set goals and everything, but we'll see when I get there."
Duke joins a team that finished 9-4 in 2009 and 4-4 in the SEC West.
"The goal is to win an SEC Championship," Duke said with a smile. "We've talked about it every visit I've made down there, and we plan on it.
"This is all big, but I owe everything to God. He's made it all possible and I would be nothing without that."