The measure of a Dawg's heart

By foxsports
Published

By STEVE EUBANKS
FOXSportsSouth.com
Feb. 22, 2011


Last week, the winningest high school football team in the nation held a special moment for one of its players.

James Eunice finished his senior season playing wide receiver and special teams for the Wildcats of Valdosta High School in deep South Georgia, just a few miles from the Florida line. Valdosta has been named "Titletown," in no small part because of the high school's six national championships, 23 state championships and 40 regional championships. The school has produced 11 NFL stars and hundreds of college players. Eunice was never expected to be one of those, but that didn't stop players and parents from giving him a standing ovation at their annual football banquet.

Eunice didn't lead the Wildcats in receptions or tackles, but, as his coach, Rance Gillespie, put it: "He was the kind of kid that you wouldn't notice on day one or two, but if you were with this team for a month and saw his leadership and enthusiasm and the character he exhibited, you would realize how vital he was to the program."

So, it came as no surprise that Eunice had aspirations of playing at the college level. He was never going to be a Heisman candidate, but what he lacked in skill he more than made up for in heart.

An honor student who had been accepted at the University of Georgia, Eunice contacted Bulldogs coach Mark Richt and declared his intentions to walk on as a freshman. Richt encouraged the young man. After all, Valdosta teammates Jay Rome and Malcolm Mitchell would be Bulldogs in the fall. Eunice was a winner, a leader and a solid, outspoken Christian