FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – A Fleming Island quarterback is signing to play college football.
In and of itself, that’s not breaking news.
Recommended Videos
But the quarterback, Mykala Maddox, is signing to play flag football in college at Florida Gateway College. It’s an opportunity that didn’t exist when Maddox started high school.
“I’m pretty surprised,” Maddox said. “It’s changed a whole lot. I’m excited that has changed and is going to keep changing.”
Maddox first realized there could be a chance to play the game she loves in college a year ago.
“I went to the Florida Gateway College football training camp,” Maddox said. “It was pretty cool. And I didn’t know the college had flag football until I went there last year. And then I was like, ‘Wow!’”
Maddox has drawn comparisons to a couple of big-name athletes from her coach, Clint Lyons.
“Basically, she’s (the) Lamar Jackson of flag football right now,” Lyons said. “She’s a senior. She’s extremely confident she knows what she’s doing. We really can keep things pretty simple because she’s so good. We don’t have to do a whole lot of fancy stuff because she’s just been such a great player. It’s like having Nolan Ryan and his prime, you let them throw fastballs. You don’t let them throw change-ups.”
The comparisons to Jackson, the Ravens’ quarterback, bring a smile to Maddox’s face and a lot of agreement from her teammates.
“That’s a great comparison because she’s just incredible,” said linebacker and running back Gabi Musa. “She thinks so fast whenever she’s throwing the ball to any of her teammates, and it’s awesome watching her play.”
Maddox is a three-year starter for Fleming Island and has led the Golden Eagles to 21 wins in their last 23 games. Fleming Island went 16-2 last season and has started this year 5-0 and Maddox is a big reason why.
“I’ve done this a long time and she’s playing about as high a level as I’ve seen, almost anybody I’ve coached or gone against,” Lyons said “She can take off and run it, she knows when to throw it she knows not when to throw it. She’s a handful to deal with.”
As for the responsibility of being a trailblazer in college flag football, Maddox embraces the challenge.
“I would love to be one of those people, be a leader, and just hope to make flag football grow more,” Maddox said.
As for her team, they have a chance to compete for a championship again this year.
“I believe we could do it,” Maddox said. “But we’ve still got work to do and once we get that done we’ll be able to do something with it.”