Congratulations to East Bladen graduate Larrell Murchison, who signed his letter of intent to play collegiate football with N.C. State — the county’s first Div. I football signee in a number of years.

The path to the Wolfpack, however, was hardly anything smooth.

Murchison, who played his last two seasons of football with Louisburg College, where he earned JUCO All-American honors after his sophomore season, burst onto the big-time college football scene just weeks ago when he was recruited by the likes of Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas and Houston — receiving scholarship offers from all four.

He had also made recruiting visits to North Carolina and Kentucky.

But a decision on where he would take his talents didn’t come quickly for the 6-foot, 4-inch, 290-pound defensive lineman. In fact, the journey was more like a wooden roller-coaster ride at Carowinds — bumpy, up and down, overwhelming.

Ole Miss seemed to have the early lead. It was Murchison’s first recruiting visit and the Rebels left an indelible mark on the former Eagles star. Visits to Texas and Georgia began to make the decision difficult, but to Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze’s credit, he continued to show his interest in Murchison, including a visit to East Bladen High recently.

As Decision Day got closer, Ole Miss still seemed to be in Murchison’s future — until it wasn’t.

Just 30 hours before Murchison was scheduled for a signing celebration at East Bladen High — complete with a red and white cake ordered by East Bladen coach Robby Priest, which was expected to work whether his former player chose Ole Miss or Georgia — things began to fall apart.

Murchison had reportedly decided on Georgia, but that decision apparently came too late for the Bulldogs and they had already pulled the scholarship offer. Ole Miss was miffed and also went another way.

But Murchison’s former coaches at Louisburg College had a Plan C, and they used a pipeline with coaches at N.C. State to get Murchison on the Wolfpack’s radar — and it paid off. Murchison, after a flurry of faxes between Raleigh and Elizabethtown, signed with N.C. State on Wednesday afternoon.

To say it was a frantic 30 hours is an understatement.

But we credit Murchison for having the patience to weigh all of his options and not rush into a decision based on emotions immediately after being wooed by the big-time college football programs. And when this seemed to fall apart, Murchison didn’t panic and made what turns out to be the best choice for his future when many others would have been discouraged and broken.

We also credit Murchison’s parents for guiding him, not only through this difficult decision but throughout his life, as well as Priest for the effort he made during the recruiting process.

We wish nothing but the best for Murchison with N.C. State, and we continue to cross our fingers that his twin brother Farrell — an East Bladen and Louisburg College football star in his own right — will also land with a Div. I football program, perferrably with his brother and the Wolfpack.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Difficult times often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” (C.S. Lewis)