TUNNEL HILL, Ga. - For the first time in several years, Luke Shiflett is looking forward to a rather casual summer.
The Northwest Whitfield High School junior quarterback made sure of that Monday by accepting a scholarship offer from Middle Tennessee State University. So instead of attending camp after camp this year, the future Blue Raider will be working out with his Bruins teammates and enjoying life.
"It's really good to do this now," said Shiflett, who plans to sign during the new December early period. "It gives me more time to focus on my team, especially since we're breaking in several new receivers. It will be a nice relief."
Shiflett chose MTSU over offers from Columbia, Troy State, Georgia Southern, Mercer, Kennesaw State, Army, Jacksonville State, Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina and said he's "100 percent committed. I won't be one of those guys who goes back on his commitment."
According to Northwest coach Josh Robinson, Shiflett's dual-threat ability is what caught the eyes of MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin after a season in which he passed for 2,330 yards on a 64-percent completion rate, rushed for 741 and accounted for 33 touchdowns.
"Coach Franklin wants to incorporate more RPO (run-pass-option) stuff, which fits Luke's game," Robinson said. "Luke's throwing motion isn't perfect, and he knows that, but he's extremely accurate, which is what they want. They need a very high completion rate in that system."
The MTSU staff told Shiflett he will be the only quarterback taken in the 2018 class and he likely will redshirt as returning quarterback Brent Stockstill heads the team in his senior season.
"Tony Franklin is one of the main inventors of the spread, and he said they were looking for a mobile quarterback," Shiflett said. "The staff showed me some film, and nearly every run has a pass option on it. This is a great opportunity."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22