Thanks to a mother who
wouldn�t let him walk away from football, Mike Price will be heading to
East Carolina University on a football scholarship in 2009.
A do-it-all wide receiver
from New Bern, Price became the ninth high school player to make a
verbal commitment to ECU�s recruiting Class of �09 on July 8. He made
the decision just over two weeks after receiving a surprise scholarship
offer from the Pirates after attending a one-day camp in Greenville.
�I didn�t think it
(scholarship) was going to come so soon,�� Price said. �I thought I�d
have to wait until the (2008) season started.
�But I had been down there
on a couple of (unofficial) visits. I walked around campus, talked to
the coaches and got to know the program a little bit. I just liked
everything about it.
�Plus, it�s close to home.
It won�t be a lot of work for me to get home.��
And it won�t be a lot of
work for his mother, Pamela Gaylor, to get to Greenville.
Gaylor is not only Price�s
biggest fan, she�s also the one responsible for him having a football
career.
You see, Price�s first
experience with tackle football wasn�t pleasant. He enjoyed playing flag
football in the Pop Warner program since he was 6. But around age 8,
Price got his first taste of tackle football.
And he didn�t like it.
On his very first play as
a running back with the New Bern Braves, Price was dealt a blow that
tested his resolve.
�I got hit pretty hard on
my first play,�� Price said. �It kind of knocked the wind out of me a
little bit. I wasn�t used to that and it scared me.
�I left the field and went
right into the stands to my mother. I told her I didn�t want to play
anymore. But she wouldn�t let me quit. She made me go back out there
right then.��
Price hasn�t looked back
since.
After spending two seasons
on the New Bern junior varsity � he led them to an unbeaten season as a
sophomore � Price was one of the few newcomers to earn a starting job on
the Bears� senior-laden 2007 team.
He filled a number of
roles for New Bern, which ended Independence�s seven-year reign as state
4-AA champion with a 28-17 triumph in the state finals.
�He�s not only our wideout,
he�s our punter, he plays defensive back and sometimes we put him in
motion and hand the football to him,�� New Bern coach Bobby Curlings
said. �I think he was second or third on our team in rushing last
season. He�s on the field all of the time.��
Price�s biggest plays came
at wide receiver where he caught 33 passes for 796 yards (24-yard per
catch average) and six touchdowns. The performance earned him a spot on
the New Bern Sun Journal�s All-Area team.
But the highlight of
Price�s season came in the state finals when he made a play that sparked
a New Bern turnaround that wiped out a 14-0 deficit.
�He made a big catch over
their big-time defensive back,�� Curlings said. �It was a big play that
kind of breathed some life back into our offense and it let everyone
know we were OK.��
Price wound up with 104
yards receiving and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the second half on
a 37-yard catch.
�That was a great day
because we were underdogs,�� Price said. �We had lost to them three
times in the past. We just had to let go of that and focus on that game.
We were mentally ready.��
East Carolina began
contacting Price last spring while he was competing for the New Bern
track and field squad. He�s a state champion in the long jump, having
won the event at the 2008 N.C. High School Athletic Association Indoor
Championships with a career-best leap of 23 feet, 07.25 inches.
Catching a football,
however, is Price�s forte.
�I�m more of a route
runner as a receiver,�� Price said. �I�m quick, but my routes are
precise and that�s how I get open.
�I think I kind of play
like Dwayne Jarrett was in college. That�s who I kind of look up to.��
Jarrett was an
All-American at Southern Cal and now plays for the NFL�s Carolina
Panthers.
The Pirates were the first
school to offer Price, but South Carolina and Virginia Tech were also
showing interest.
Curlings believes ECU has
made a solid addition to its program in Price.
�He�s just a well-rounded
young man with good grades and a good personality,�� Curlings said. �He
is everything you want in somebody to look to as a role model for other
players.��
