Choctawhatchee High School celebrated five student-athletes who signed college commitments during a National Signing Day ceremony on Wednesday, with two football players heading to Division I programs.

Linebacker Tristan Jackson signed with the University of Houston on a full scholarship, while teammate Dante Core committed to the University of Mississippi.

• The signing class also included Gabbi Barnowsky (softball, Auburn University at Montgomery), Zackary Radka (swimming, William Peace University), and Aaron Rowell (baseball, Pensacola State College).

“A lot of these kids have been playing since they were 5-years old,” said Athletic Director Andy Thigpen. “Just seeing them be successful and highlight them, their careers and the hard work and sacrifices that the kids and parents have made speaks volumes.”

Jackson, a multi-sport athlete who also plays basketball and baseball for Choctaw, has spent all four years at the school where his mother serves as a coach. He credited the school’s coaching staff for creating a collegiate atmosphere.

• “It’s been great, I feel like it’s a college program in high school,” Jackson said. “We’re getting after it every day in the weight-room. We’re taking on each other every day in practice. We’re just making each other great.”

The school typically holds two signing ceremonies each year, with the first focusing on Division I commitments during the fall national signing period and another ceremony in the spring.

“It just shows the hard work our coaches put in,” Thigpen said. “They try to get our kids recruited and scouted, and it pays off and shows that we’re here for the kids athletically, personally and academically.”

Jackson, who plans to play linebacker at Houston, said he looks forward to getting on the field early to represent his hometown but will miss the relationships he built at Choctaw.

“I just will miss the brotherhood and the friendships that I created here,” he said. “along with all of the teachers and staff that I bonded with the past four years.”