By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

For LaGrange High’s Jadon Thornton, last week’s signing ceremony was the culmination of a long-time goal.

“I’ve been playing football my whole life, and I always wanted to play college football,” Thornton said.

Thornton is going to get that opportunity.

Thornton, who was a standout defensive lineman for the Grangers, has signed a letter of intent to play football at Middle Georgia State University in Macon.

Thornton celebrated that decision during a ceremony in the LaGrange media center last week, with his friends, teammates, family members and coaches there for him.

“It feels good to have people here supporting me,” Thornton said. “They see your hard work. They’ve helped you get here.”

One of the people that helped Thornton reach this point is Dialleo Burks, LaGrange’s head football coach for the past four seasons.

“Jadon is one who I’ve seen grow in a lot of aspects, as a young man, and as a football player,” Burks said. “We’ve had some battles, some good battles. He really understood where he needed to go, and I am glad, Jadon, that you’re at this point. You’re one of the ones that I always thought and knew could make it, but that light had to come from you. You had to turn on that switch, and you did.”

Burks added that “this is a new adventure” for Thornton.

“You can’t look at what happened here, because you’re getting ready to go to another level,” Burks said. “It’s a fresh start, and I just ask that you make the best of it, and I know you will. Continue to challenge yourself as a football player, as a young man, and as a student.”

Thornton’s senior season was a tough one, with the Grangers enduring a winless season, but he feels his time at LaGrange has helped get him ready for the upcoming challenges.

“I feel like I’m prepared mentally,” he said. “It showed me how to be a man. It taught me discipline.”

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