TC’s McCloud commits to Furman

Posted Jan 20, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 21, 2010 at 06:23 PM

Tampa Catholic running back Hank McCloud, Hillsborough County’s leading rusher last fall with 1,759 yards rushing, has made a verbal commitment to Furman University, his mother Donnette McCloud, confirmed Wednesday.

Besides Furman, the 5-foot-8 180-pound McCloud had offers from the Naval Academy, Towson University and Harvard. Despite the prestige of attending one of those schools, particularly Harvard, Donnette McCloud said Furman “offered the best of both worlds” when it came to academics and athletics.

“Hank was really impressed during his visit [last weekend] with the small class sizes, the overall quality and reputation of their academics,” Donnette McCloud said. “Their football program also has a good reputation and should be big enough to give him the challenge he’s looking for.”

Furman, located in Greenville, S.C., competes at the Division I-AA level in football and finished 6-5 last season. Furman has won 12 Southern Conference titles, more than any school in the league’s history. Furman has only won one national championship and that was in football.

In 1988 Furman won the NCAA I-AA National Football Championship. Furman also advanced to the 1985 and 2001 I-AA championship game, but lost to Georgia Southern and Montana, respectively.