Local products Sam Jacobs, left, and Colton Coy, center, know that their playing careers will end today. Eddie Vallery, right, is holding out hope for a pro opportunity.
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Otterbein running back Colton Coy wept on the team bus en route to his final college football game last fall. The emotion poured out of him even more after a 37-14 victory over Wilmington.
"I walked off that field in tears," he said. "There was so much emotion. I had been doing this for 15 years, and it was over."
It was all but over.
Coy will play football one more time today in the Ohio Army National Guard Senior Bowl in Crew Stadium. He will play for the South in a game that features players from Ohio colleges in Divisions I, II and III.
"This will give me some closure," said Coy, who as a senior set an Otterbein season rushing record with 1,120 yards. He ran for 3,098 yards in his career.
"I'm not going to be putting pads on again, because football isn't a recreational sport like golf, tennis or basketball."
Coy plans to stay in the sport as an assistant coach at Paint Valley High School this fall. He is a substitute teacher at the school and expects to be elevated to full time.
The all-star game, which is being run by OhioCollegeFootball.com, will be the final game for most players and a proving ground of sorts for others.
Like Coy, Capital linebacker Sam Jacobs (Watterson) plans to get into high-school or college coaching.
But Ohio University running back Vince Davidson and Wittenberg defensive end Eddie Vallery (Madison Plains) hope to show professional teams that they can play for pay.
Davidson, a running back from Dayton, N.J., is ranked as the 83rd-best running back in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. He is looking more at getting an opportunity to play in the Canadian Football League.
"This game gives me another opportunity to show my talents, but I also wanted to put the pads on at least one more time," Davidson said. "You just keep working hard and hoping you get a chance from the pros. Not playing again is definitely in your head."
Davidson began thinking about the CFL when former Ohio teammate Chris Garrett played in three games last fall for the Winnipeg Jets.
"Chris said he enjoyed the league and that the football was really good," Davidson said. "The field is a lot wider and longer up there, so that might help my game."
Vallery, a small defensive end at 6 feet 1 and 243 pounds, participated in two pro days at Ohio State. He was voted the D3football.com Division III defensive player of the year in 2009.
What could hurt his chances of being signed as a free agent is a 4.79-second 40-yard dash time.
"But I think everything else went well during the pro days," Vallery said. "I hope this is not my last game. I'm going to play with a chip on one shoulder. I'm going to play with some emotion. I just want a chance to play for a pro team."
Scouts have told Vallery that he is being projected as an outside linebacker.
"Everyone has told me that I have a high motor. I know it will be tough going from a three-point stance (on the line) to playing in space, but I'm willing to give it a try," he said.
This will be Jacobs' last game as a player, but he hopes a career in coaching awaits. As a senior, he had 101 tackles and was voted the Gene Slaughter Award for being the best linebacker in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
"I'm ready to get on with another stage in my life," he said. "The best part of football is playing with that passion. You let things loose. That's what I plan on doing Saturday. It will be special.
"I'll be graduating in the summer or fall (with a degree in accounting). Then I'll want to fill the void of not playing football by becoming a coach. I've been thinking about doing that for a while. I think I can help a team."
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