By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA ó John Noble and Malcolm Gaither have joined a long list of West Rowan Falcons continuing their college football career, coach Scott Young announced earlier this week.
Offensive lineman Noble has signed with Virginia Union of the CIAA while tight end Malcolm Gaither will be going to Division III Greensboro of the USA South Conference.
They join teammates Justin Avery, Jordan Lilly and Robert Kepley, who have already signed.
“We’ve been blessed to have good kids here,” Young said.
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Noble was leaning toward Johnson C. Smith, thanks to the recruiting of assistant coach Jay Mai.
But Mai, who lives in Spencer, was added to Union’s staff when Greg Richardson became the head coach. Richardson coached at Livingstone at one time and still has a home in Salisbury.
Noble, a 5-foot-11, 260-pound tackle, is already on campus. He left for Richmond on Tuesday.
“It was my main goal,” Noble said of playing in college.
No one is happier than Young. Noble was a two-year starter, winning all-county and all-conference honors.
“John’s only fault was that he was a bit undersized,” Young said. “But he’s a very good technician. He’s a neat kid.”
When Noble arrived at Union, his days as a tackle were over. He is being groomed as a center. He received plenty of help this summer from West’s offensive line coach Joe Nixon.
“I’ve been working on my steps,” Noble said. “There’s a big difference.”
Young said Noble has come a long way in four years.
“As a jayvee player he was a little lazy in the classroom and on the field,” Young said. “But we saw a tremendous amount of potential. Now, he has a 3.2 GPA. I’m glad to see him give himself a chance.”
Noble added, “I’ve improved a lot. I’m glad I made it.”
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Gaither molded himself into a college recruit through work in the weight room.
“I don’t know that we’ve had any kid improve as much as a football player as he did,” Young said. “He did it in the weight room. He transformed his body. He was a weak and chubby kid who’s now a rocked-up kid.”
Gaither moved into the starting lineup at tight end in 2007 for West’s 11-2 team that won its fourth straight North Piedmont Conference title.
Still, Gaither had decided to go to UNC-Greensboro and not try to continue on the field.
“Until this year, I hadn’t even considered it,” he said.
Then, he joined some teammates on a recruiting visit to Greensboro. He remembered his cousin, Terris Sifford, had played there. Suddenly, he was very interested.
“As a junior, my goal was to get good enough to play here,” Gaither said. “My senior year, I thought I could actually go somewhere.”
He won’t play tight end at Greensboro, which is starting only its 12th season of football. He is being looked at as an outside linebacker.
“With my size, I might play safety,” he said.
Gaither reports to the Pride on Aug. 13.