Avon Park's Council inks scholarship with Evangel

Red Devils senior Dwayne Council signed a national letter of intent Monday to play football next fall at Evangel University.

Council, who recorded 89 tackles and three sacks last season, is expected to play a safety-defensive back hybrid position for Evangel, an NAIA school located in Springfield, Mo.

"I always wanted to play college football," Council said. 'The moment I met (Evangel head coach Brenton Illum), when he sat me down and talked to me and let me know what he has and what he can offer me, I knew that was the school for me. Out of all the schools, I knew I was going to go there."

After entertaining offers from Graceland, Georgia Southern and Carson-Newman, Council settled on the Division II school that offered both his intended major - criminal justice - and a chance to make an immediate impact on the football field.

"I went to the school that showed the most love," said Council, who plans to visit the campus in the spring. "They made me feel welcome and I knew I'd fit in with their system."

Council said he likely would start out as a safety until he bulked up. Then, he could shift to linebacker and play an integral role in Evangel's 3-5 stack defense, which puts an emphasis on speed.

"The coaches said I was really the perfect type of player that they were talking about, and they really wanted me up there," Council said.

Said Avon Park coach Andy Bonjokian: "He can play any position, if given the opportunity."

Council was the leading tackler last season for the Red Devils, who went 3-7 while playing a brutal schedule, including four games against top-10 teams. He is the second Avon Park athlete to ink a football scholarship, after running back Teddy Allen signed with Charleston Southern earlier this month.

"I've known him all my life, and I always knew that this would happen," Bonjokian said. "He always worked hard to achieve his goals, and I'm really happy he's doing that."