- November 23, 2024
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Eli Campbell stands with his family after announcing he will play football at Wofford College.
College signees James Lyons, Tayshawn Galery and Eli Campbell with their Seabreeze coaches.
Tayshawn Galery with his family. Galery will start his college football career at Gordon State College in Georgia.
Seabreeze long snapper James Lyons, with his parents, announces he will play football at Johnson C. Smith University.
Seabreeze head football coach Pat Brown wraps up signing day with a few funny stories about his players.
Judson Galery holds grandson Tayshawn Galery's commitment flyer at Seabreeze's signing day.
Three Seabreeze football players took the stage in the school’s auditorium on national signing day, Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Seniors James Lyons, Tayshawn Galery and Eli Campbell announced their college intentions to a crowd of students, teammates, family and friends.
Lyons, a long snapper, said he made his decision to attend Johnson C. Smith on the Saturday before signing day. Galery will play at Gordon State College, a junior college in Georgia.
Campbell will play for Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Campbell chose Wofford, a member of the Southern Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, over multiple offers, including local FCS school Bethune-Cookman.
He was Seabreeze’s most versatile defensive player, capable of playing linebacker, cornerback, safety and nickel slot. The Terriers recruited him to play safety.
My goal is to make all-conference as a true freshman. I want to go to the league, the NFL, as a safety, nickel, corner, whatever. — Eli Campbell
“My goal is to make all-conference as a true freshman,” Campbell said. “I want to go to the league, the NFL, as a safety, nickel, corner, whatever.”
Campbell played at Seabreeze for three years. As a junior, he had 96 tackles, three interceptions and two sacks. This past season he had 90 tackles and led the team with seven receiving touchdowns.
He was team MVP in the Elite 100 Prospects All-Star game and was named the Daytona Beach Quarterback Club’s Defensive Player of the Year.
“I am really going to miss those guys,” he said about his teammates. “We really have a brotherhood. I’m going to miss them.”
Lyons has played with Seabreeze for four years. He said coach Pat Brown was the reason he wanted to play for the Sandcrabs.
“Coach Brown is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had in my 10 or 11 years of playing,” Lyons said. “Coach Brown has done so much for us, and I know he will do a lot more in the next few years.”
Lyons said his decision to sign with Johnson C. Smith, a Division II historically black college in Charlotte, North Carolina, was based on the length of time the coaches there had known each other. Most of them are Johnson C. Smith alumni.
Galery has played wide receiver for Seabreeze receiver coach Mark Lewis for three years. In his senior season, Galery was asked to play cornerback opposite Campbell.
“Trying to keep up with Eli Campbell is not an easy thing to do,” Lewis said. “Eli Campbell probably is the best defender in all of Central Florida in any position. This young man decided to take that challenge and that commitment head on and become a shutdown corner in his own right. He achieved that goal through hard work and dedication.”
Galery became emotional before he announced his college choice. He comes from a large, supportive family which made Gordon State College’s environment and proximity to home a key factor.
“It’s more like a family up there,” he said. “There were a lot of good people. My goal is to become All-American and not let that school be my only destination. I didn’t come this far to go just that far. I want to go pro.”
When college coaches and recruiters ask about his players, Brown said he lets them know that his players are not only good on the field but off the field, as well.
“When they go on to the next level, these are kids you don’t have to worry about,” he said. “They understand how to do things the right way the first time around.”
