Meade quarterback chooses Ole Miss

Three hats sat in front of Raymond Cotton, extending the two-month mystery until the last possible second. The Meade High quarterback stood up, spoke softly and reached down to pick the one that fit best.

Ole Miss has inherited Auburn's loss.

"I've got three schools, and all of them are good," Cotton said, while looking at hats from his top three choices - Mississippi, Auburn and Southern Mississippi. "They're close to my family and where I'm from. There are great educations at all three schools and great coaches. But one caught my eye that I like the most, and that's the one I'm going to pick. And I'm a Rebel."

Cotton, who transferred in during the summer and led the Mustangs (4-6) to their most wins since 2001, opted out of a commitment to Auburn following the dismissal of head coach Tommy Tuberville and linebackers coach James Willis, who originally recruited him.

Cotton visited Kansas State in January, but narrowed his choice to three and selected Ole Mill nearly two weeks ago.

"I just knew at the last visit," said Cotton, who transferred from Mobile, Ala, where he led Faith Academy to a second-place finish in 2007. "I like K-State, but it's so far away, and it's cold all the time. Ole Miss is the place for me."

Arkansas - a fourth Southeastern Conference school - also showed interest in Cotton.

Cotton, who threw for 2,196 yards and 24 touchdowns, announced his decision at Meade's auditorium in front of approximately 100 students, teachers and coaches. He made his decision public alongside his favorite target last season, Trevor Turner, who signed with Championship Division Rhode Island.

Turner and Cotton became the second duo to sign Division I football scholarships together at Meade since Tanardo Sharps (Temple) and Malwan Johnson (Towson) did so in 1997.

Meade produced two of the five Division I football recruits from Anne Arundel County schools.

"We won that battle," Mustangs coach Lance Clelland said.

Arundel's Alec Lemon officially committed to Syracuse, and Archbishop Spalding's Beau Haworth and Billy Lang signed National Letters of Intent with Navy and Holy Cross, respectively.

Crofton resident Tom Chroniger, a Crofton resident, signed with Towson.

Lemon, the Capital-Gazette Communications' Player of the Year and Rhodes Trophy winner, set the Maryland public school record for receiving yards in a season (1,616) and tied former teammate Brandon Johnson-Farrell's state marks with 103 receptions and 23 touchdown catches in 2008.

Lemon scored 30 touchdowns this season - four on defense, two on kickoff returns and a rushing score - and led Arundel with six interceptions.

"We didn't expect anybody to do what Brandon Farrell did, but he had the same kind of numbers," Wildcats coach Chuck Markiewicz said. "You don't replace them because they're all special. You just kind of plug somebody and hope they do well."

Like Auburn, Syracuse underwent a massive facelift in its coaching regime. Greg Robinson was fired as coach on Nov. 16 after a 10-37 record in four seasons.

Doug Marrone, former offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints, took the job a month later. All the while, Lemon maintained the commitment he made in August.

"I committed to Syracuse knowing that Robinson might be let go, but it was the program," Lemon said. "Everything about Syracuse, I liked when I was up there. I knew if Coach Robinson was fired, they'd bring in a great coaching staff, and that's what they did. We feel like we're ready to turn this program around."

Syracuse had 11 receiving touchdowns all last season, and Donte Davis led the team with 29 catches for 312 yards.

Lemon isn't sure what the time line is for his future. He just wants to help Syracuse rebuild its reputation. The Orange finished 3-9 last year (1-6 in the Big East) and lost 10 games in two of the last four seasons.

"I'm sure he's going to be a valuable member of their football team," Markiewicz said. "If you want a good kid to turn your program around, he's the one."

Turner will join Johnson-Farrell at Rhode Island in the fall. In his first season with the Rams, Johnson-Farrell caught a team-high 57 passes for 456 yards and ran back 42 kicks for 907 yards and a score.

Turner exploded for 38 receptions and 894 yards - 23.5 yards a catch - a year after catching just 12 passes.

"He's just now scratching the surface as to what he can do as a wide receiver," Clelland said. "All of his best football is ahead of him."

Turner had interest from Towson, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, but chose Rhode Island because of its atmosphere and coaching staff.

"It's perfect," Turner said. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

Turner was Cotton's consistent deep threat. He grabbed 11 touchdown passes and accounted for 40 percent of Cotton's passing yards.

"I was glad to have him because he's an every-down kind of guy," Cotton said. "If I got in trouble, I could roll out, scramble around, and he's there."

The dynamic he had with Cotton was a large reason there was so much interest in Turner. Prior to this season, Turner's highlight reel wasn't too long, largely because of an anemic Mustangs offense.

Once Cotton enrolled at Meade, plenty of doors opened for Turner - on and off the field.

"He always had the trust in me to just put it up," Turner said. "That's the kind of relationship we've had all season. He's one of my best friends."

Cotton joins an Ole Miss team that went 9-4 last year. The Rebels won their last six games and capped the season with a victory over Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.

Cotton will likely sit behind Jevan Snead, who threw for 2,762 yards and 26 touchdowns as a sophomore. Working under quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Kent Austin, Cotton believes he'll have what it takes to be a high draft pick in the National Football League when his chance comes.

"That's where I want to go," Cotton said. "But first, I want to be the best in college."

Clelland doesn't see anything standing in Cotton's way.

"He's got the work ethic to do it," Clelland said. "If I'm blessed to have another kid like that, God loves me."

COUNTY SIGNINGS

Baseball

Eddie Palmer, Archbishop Spalding, St. Joseph's

Girls basketball

Katie Dickerson, Severn, Emory

Football

Tom Chroniger, DeMatha/Crofton, Towson

Raymond Cotton, Meade, Ole Miss

Beau Haworth, Archbishop Spalding, Navy

Billy Lang, Archbishop Spalding, Holy Cross

Alec Lemon, Arundel, Syracuse

Trevor Turner, Meade, Rhode Island

Nick Whittles, Archbishop Spalding, Shippensburg (Pa.)

Boys lacrosse

Mike Williams, DeMatha/Crofton, Jacksonville

Girls lacrosse

Chelsea Hauswirth, Old Mill, Connecticut

Brittany Pastrana, Annapolis, George Mason

Boys soccer

Jonathan Kershaw, Severna Park, Gardner-Webb

Alex Workman, Broadneck, LaSalle

Girls soccer

Megan Frost, Arundel, Gardner-Webb

Mary Knepp, St. Mary's, Mount Olive College

Courtney Lupinek, Chesapeake, Towson

Erica Page, Archbishop Spalding, Maryland

Lindsay Powell, Severna Park, UMBC

Jeanne Marie Yanchulis, Broadneck, Wheeling Jesuit

Swimming

Whitney Avers, Broadneck - South Carolina Caroline Burns, Severn - James Madison

Volleyball

Caroline Jacobs, Broadneck, Navy Prep

Alli Kamsch, Severna Park, Rochester Institute of Technology