On Wednesday morning, Dalton High School’s Jeffson Locke made it official.
Locke is going to be a Gov.
As the early signing period for college football opened Wednesday, Austin Peay State University announced that Catamount two-way standout Locke had signed.
Locke, who played both tight end and defensive end for the Catamounts, is listed as an athlete by the Governors.
Austin Peay is a Division I Football Championship Subdivision program in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Locke is a one-time commit to Army. Locke announced in July that he’d be attending college at West Point, but then announced in November that he’d be reopening his recruitment.
Austin Peay, who had originally offered Locke, reaffirmed that offer late last month amid a head coaching change, and Locke signed with the Governors Wednesday morning. Austin Peay’s head coach for the last three seasons, Scotty Walden, left to take the head coaching job at Texas-El Paso after the 2023 season. Jeff Faris was brought in to replace Walden, who led the Govs to back-to-back conference championships.
Locke was named Region 7-5A first team after a 2023 season in which Dalton finished 8-4 and reached the second round of the 5A playoffs. Locke helped revitalize a lethal passing game behind quarterback Ethan Long, and made life difficult on opposing quarterbacks with his pass rushing on defense.
Locke had 316 receiving yards and two touchdowns and also had 22 pancake blocks. On defense, Locke amassed 126 total tackles, including 19 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
Locke transferred to Dalton from Christian Heritage before his junior season. At Christian Heritage, Locke played with his older brother, Solomon, a running back and linebacker for the Lions. Jeffson is set to join Solomon as a Division I football player. The elder Locke plays at Chattanooga.
Austin Peay has also been a successful college landing ground for former Catamounts in recent years.
Former Dalton running back Ahmaad Tanner played at Austin Peay from 2017 to 2021, becoming just the ninth Governor to rush for 2,000 yards or more in a career and finishing tied for third in rushing touchdowns in school history.
Former Catamount John Wesley Whiteside also spent a few seasons at Austin Peay as a defensive tackle.
Wednesday was the start of the early signing period for NCAA Division I football and was the earliest Class of 2024 recruits could officially sign to play college football. The signing period closes Friday, then opens again in February.