ogle signs with carson-newman

One of the best all-around football players to play at Seymour High School since the turn of the century signed Thursday morning to play his college football at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City.

Todd Ogle, a human-highlight reel and All-Region performer during the past two seasons while starring on both sides of the ball for head coach Gary Householder’s Seymour Eagles, will not have to move far from home and won’t even have to change team nicknames when he lines up this fall for his freshman season with the Carson-Newman Eagles.

Carson-Newman is coached by legendary head coach Ken Sparks and is a member of the South Atlantic Conference in NCAA Division II.

Ogle said Carson-Newman coaches first made contact with him during his junior season and kept in touch over the final two years of his prep career. He said he’s thrilled to finally have the decision over with and is excited to see how his vast gridiron skills will translate to the next level this fall.

“I visited Carson-Newman in January and I really liked it,” said Ogle while waiting to officially sign the scholarship papers Thursday morning at the Seymour High School library. “Coach Sparks is one of the best coaches in the nation and it’s a great school.”

Ogle added that he’s also been impressed with what Carson-Newman has to offer academically. U.S. News and World Report consistently rank Carson-Newman as one of the top colleges or universities in the south.

“It’s just a great opportunity for me,” Ogle commented. “I mean, if you get a degree from Carson-Newman you’re probably going to get a good job.”

As proud as he is to see his former star pupil sign to play at the next level, Householder said he’s also kind of sad to see him go. The longtime SHS head coach suggested that players of Ogle’s ilk are few and far between at the high school level.

“Todd’s one of the most coach-able kids we’ve ever had,” said Householder, who’s going into his 34^th year as the Eagles’ head coach. “He helped us so much on both sides of the ball it was hard to take him off the field.”

Ogle said Carson-Newman coaches have told him he’ll get a look at playing either defensive back or wide receiver this fall. The former two-time SHS All-Region performer said he’d prefer to line up on the offensive side of the ball but admitted he’d be eager to play any position that can get him on the field first.

Ogle earned All-Region honors last season as a defensive back and was selected All-Region as an ‘athlete’ after the 2006 season.

His natural playmaking abilities forced Seymour coaches to play him at quarterback at times as a junior and exclusively as a senior because of the threat he imposed to the opposition when he had the ball in his hands.

“I’m sure he’d like to play on the offensive side of the ball (at Carson-Newman),” said Householder. “Todd is just so dangerous when he has the ball in his hands. He has that extra-something that makes him special. It’s either an extra burst of speed or an extra move to get by a defender. He’s definitely a special football player and a special kid.

“We’re going to miss him,” Householder added. “He’ll be tough to replace on both sides of the ball.”

Ogle finished his prep career with nine interceptions and 78 tackles. He accumulated 913 yards rushing on 166 carries and passed for 1,027 yards. He split time as a wide receiver and quarterback as a junior and served as the Eagles’ starting quarterback during his 12^th grade year.