Changing colors… Cyclones Maupin turning in orange for blue and gold of ETSU
Published 12:59 am Monday, February 17, 2020
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone senior Cade Maupin put ink to paper on Thursday inside the Elizabethton Commons Area to continue his football career as a Buccaneer at ETSU.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton's Cade Maupin was joined by his Cyclone baseball teammates for his signing Thursday with ETSU.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone senior Cade Maupin only had one year under the tutelage of the Elizabethton football coaching staff but made the best of that one season as he signed with ETSU on Thursday. Joining Maupin was the EHS coaching staff - front (L-R) David Campbell, Maupin, and Terry Moore. Back (L-R) Michael Grindstaff, Brian Jenkins, Jordy Harrison, and head coach Shawn Witten.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Members of the Cyclone football team are pictured with teammate Cade Maupin at his signing with ETSU on Thursday.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
It was a very special year for the Elizabethton Cyclone football program and part of the reason for that was a transfer from Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett by the name of Cade Maupin.
Maupin had some deep bloodlines in the orange and black of Elizabethton and when he arrived on the Elizabethton campus the young Maupin probably didn’t know what to expect.
But as the season went on the Cyclone coaching staff along with the fans that filled the stands of Citizens Bank Stadium soon come to realize there was something special about the senior transfer.
By season’s end, there was no question that Maupin was a tough-nosed football player as he helped to lead the Cyclones to their first BlueCross Championship since 1938 rushing for over 1,500 yards and multiple scores offensively and playing a key role on the defensive side of the football.
It was a season of learning a new system and Maupin passed with flying colors.
As a result, Maupin will have a short turn around as on Thursday he signed a National Letter of Intent to join Coach Randy Sanders and the ETSU Buccaneer football program where the playbook is thicker and the game really speeds up.
“It’s really amazing,” said Maupin about the opportunity to play collegiately. “It’s something that I have dreamed about my whole life to play Division 1 football.
“It is really motivating to know that I get to play at that level and I can’t wait to get to work and get out there to prove myself.”
Maupin has no regrets in his decision to join a Cyclone football program that many knew was good but was made better by his presence on the field.
“I feel in love with the game again when I came here,” Maupin stated. “I had come off a pretty rough year and to come here and have the season we had, I really learned how to work hard and what it means to be a champion and how to win.
“I just couldn’t treasure that any more than that and I am just happy I got to be a part of that.”
Elizabethton head coach Shawn Witten had nothing but words of high praise for Maupin.
“I think the ability of Cade to be open-minded to play multiple positions where he doesn’t get categorized as a running back, safety, or an outside linebacker will be key over there,” Witten said of Maupin. “They see his body and speed and they see he possibly could be a 210 or 215 linebacker or slot receiver.
“He can do different things. They saw Cade’s ability to break free with separation. They want to see the speed in the college game – how fast can you cover kicks, how fast can you get open, how fast can you close. I think Cade has that.”
Witten went on to add it was vital for Maupin to show that he had moved on from some prior injuries and that the positive upside he had in the future was something that Sanders and the Bucs couldn’t deny.
“This year showed his confidence to play and he had the durability to play 15 games. In the past, he has kind of been banged up but he kept himself healthy and in a lot of the big games this year he had 20-plus carries and in the Johnson City game, he had 31,” Witten continued.
“He has put himself in the position that his best football is ahead of him in the future. He also is a very intelligent kid. He reminds me of a coach’s kid in that he has those intangibles that you don’t see in a lot of players. He caught on very quickly.”
Maupin was joined by family, friends, coaches, and both teammates from the football and baseball teams and celebrated with cake and refreshments after the ceremony.
