National Signing Day: Southwest Ohio Conference

It’s National Signing Day as many of the area’s top senior players make their college decisions official by signing a National Letter of Intent.

The newly formed Southwestern Ohio Conference not only provided some thrilling action on the high school gridiron last fall, but it appears that the conference will be sending several of its players to the next level.

Northwest was loaded with big time talent on both sides of the ball and head coach Chad Murphy has several players moving on. Linebackers Rasheen Jones (6-3/215) and Nolan Miller (6-1/230) both made commitments. Jones is staying home to play at Cincinnati. Miller is heading north to Urbana. Teammate DeQuan Render (6-1/175) opted for Central Community College.

Five seniors from Edgewood were able to parlay the Cougars’ storybook season into college opportunities. The line up front was the strength of the team so it comes as little surprise that three linemen are moving on. Chad Heineman (6-4/300) and Austin Rice (6-4/280) are heading to Georgetown College. Meanwhile, OL/DL Corey Manning (6-2/255) chose Thomas More. Wide receiver Eric Pelfery (5-10/155) opted for Urbana and Notre Dame College landed the services of kicker Zach Griffin (5-10/185).

Ross linebacker Gus Madden (6-3/215) will suit up for Dayton while TE/DT Frank Heimkreiter (6-3/230) picked Saginaw Valley State.

Wide receiver Antonio Grey (6-2/205) of Mount Healthy is heading to Urbana. Fellow Owls RB/LB Eric Pringle (5-11/185) and DB Herb Winston (5-11/175) will stay teammates at Notre Dame College.

There are plenty more players that have made decisions or weighing their options. Stay tuned to 9 On Your Side for all the latest news and follow our high school football partner Tri-State Football on Twitter @TSFootball for year-round updates.

For a full list of commitments made around the Tri-State, go to http://www.wcpo.com/generic/sports/local_sports/high_school/High-School-Football-Commitment-Tracker .