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Sikeston's Driskill signs to play football at Avila University
SIKESTON -- When Sikeston senior Clayton Driskill started looking for a college he wanted the opportunity to play football at a university that offered his major: finance. He found that in Avila University.
Driskill, an offensive lineman, recently signed his letter of intent to play for the school located in Kansas City. He chose Avila over Truman State, William Jewel and Missouri State.
"It was in a big city and I like the big city," Driskill said "It's also a great academic school and they offered my major which is the most important part."
Driskill was a fixture on the offensive line for Sikeston the last two seasons, starting every game at center as a senior while earning all conference and all region honors.
"Clayton is one of those kids who has put in a lot of time the last four years," said Sikeston head coach Kent Gibbs. "He wasn't an instant star but he developed and played a lot last year at guard and center and this year was our starting center every game we played. He ended up having a good year and good high school career. He was rewarded to play football at Avila."
Avila is a Catholic University that plays in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Eagles are coached by Justin Berna, who will be in his second season as head coach in 2012. In his first season, Avila had their second best season in school history, finishing with their best record (4-6) since 2003 (5-5) and doubling their wins from 2010.
Driskill said the coaches are one of the main reasons he chose Avila.
"The coaches are young, they have a lot of energy and they act like they are going to be there for a while," Driskill said. "They have a brand new turf field and a great weight room and it was a great environment to be around."
"I think he fits in well with the school with what he was looking for and the academics part of it," Gibbs said. "The football stuff is always to be determined but Clayton will give it an awful good effort. I know he'll work hard and do everything they ask him to do and they will not have to worry about his grades so I think he has an excellent shot of making it and the next three or four years we will find out."
Driskill said his time with the Sikeston program will help him when he plays at the next level, in particular the practice aspect.
"From what I've heard from my coaches is (Sikeston) practices are structured like a college practice so I'll be pretty familiar with how practice is ran and how a great program should be ran," Driskill said.