Early National Signing Day is always a big day for the athlete, families and the school to celebrate the accomplishment of signing to the next level.
On Wednesday, Lufkin High School honored a handful of student-athletes who signed to the next level.
Lufkin wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk made it official with the Red Raiders signing to Matt Wells' 2020 class. Polk finished this season with more than 1,000 yards receiving. The last wide receiver to head from Lufkin to Lubbock was Keke Coutee, who was drafted out of Texas Tech by the Houston Texans.
"I'm hoping to continue that legacy," Polk told KTRE's Caleb Beames on following in Coutee's footsteps.
Polk will be early enrolling at Texas Tech and is set to arrive in January.
.@jpolk_22 talks about signing with @TexasTechFB . He's graduating early and will be in Lubbock in January. @RedZoneETX @KLTVKTRESports @Lufkinfootball #NSD20 pic.twitter.com/qIZiqEeqAJ
— Caleb Beames (@CalebKTRE) December 18, 2019
Polk wasn't the only Lufkin Panther to put ink to paper on Wednesday.
Safety Jerrin Thompson officially became a future opponent of Polk's signing with the Texas Longhorns. Thompson is a 6-foot, four-star rated safety that in the future will most likely be covering Polk when Texas Tech and Texas collide in Big 12 Conference play.
Thompson was ranked No. 267 in the ESPN 300.
My boys graduate High school tomorrow! @jpolk_22 @bugg_24 pic.twitter.com/gsq6rDRN8E
— CAM DAVIS (@CoachcamDavis) December 18, 2019
Off the football field there were other Lufkin athletes to also sign the dotted line. Lufkin's Cy Murphy signed to play baseball at Angelina College and Halea Wells signed to play softball at Southern Arkansas University Tech.
A big congratulations to Halea Wells on signing with Southern Arkansas University Tech ! 🚀💙💛🤍💛💙🚀 pic.twitter.com/RM7DmWmyI9
— Lufkin_Softball (@LufkinSoftball) December 18, 2019