Climax-Scotts High School senior Miles Shannon (middle) is pictured in the front with his mom Karen McKendree and dad Paul Shannon, along with Karen’s friend, Tony Fields and Miles’ brother Mason Shannon during a ceremony for Miles, who signed a national letter of intent to be a preferred walk on to play football at Central Michigan University. February 22 at C-S High School.
By Bruce Rolfe
Climax-Scotts High School senior Miles Shannon admits football wasn’t really one of his favorite sports to play.
But after receiving encouragement from his coaches at Climax-Scotts High School and putting in a lot of hard work the last two years, the C-S senior found himself having quite a bit of success on the field, making the sport more appealing and fun for him.
His hard work and a pretty impressive junior and senior year captured the attention of college scouts and February 22 Shannon signed a national letter of intent to be a preferred walk on to play football at Central Michigan University.
Former C-S head varsity football coach and current assistant coach Kevin Langs explained as a preferred walk on, Shannon will have a roster spot on the team like a full ride scholarship player, however the C-S senior will have to pay for college with the opportunity to earn a scholarship by his performance on the field.
“It’s not like you’re on the team. It’s a special pick. So Miles being picked to be one of those preferred walk ons is a big deal. An opportunity. I’m so excited for him. He’s an awesome kid, so hopefully he can do great things there,” adds C-S varsity football coach Tyler Langs.
Shannon embraces the opportunity and plans to make the best of it.
“It means a lot. I worked really hard the last couple of years. I didn’t really like football at first, but played my junior year and sophomore year. So I just started working hard after my junior year and after I started playing, now it just means a lot to me,” said Shannon.
Tyler Langs said he’s noticed an uptick in commitment by Shannon the last two years so it isn’t surprising he started getting attention from college scouts after enjoying two strong seasons.
“Not only has Miles matured, taking the weight room serious, his training serious. Obviously we watched that and how much he grew physically, but maturity wise as a person. His maturity over the last three years of being able to be one of those leaders. Our senior class this year were awesome leaders and Miles was one of them. Not just the physical maturity, which is starting to take the weight room more serious, but also mental maturity, leadership-wise. So he’s grown. He’s got a lot of room to grow, which is awesome. Physically, I think he’s got room to grow too. The ceiling is really, really high for him,” said Tyler.
Shannon said he was told by CMU scouts they like his speed and height as well as his ability to run routes as a taller receiver.
Shannon realizes there will be a lot of competition on a roster filled with skilled athletes, but playing against higher competition is something he’s looking forward to.
“Yeah, I chose to go to Central just so I can challenge myself more. Better competition, and just all around better stuff,” he said.
The Panther senior said he’s enjoyed his time at C-S.
“Just the family aspect of it. Everyone here is a family and you know everybody. You can’t go around the hall thinking you can get away with something. You know you’re being watched,” said Shannon.
Shannon, who played as a wide receiver and defensive back at C-S, caught 22 passes for 558 yards his senior year after catching 12 passes for 388 yards during the regular season his junior year.
“They’ve talked about other positions too, but I’m a tight end. But I’m going to work to be a wide receiver first. But if it moved to that, I wouldn’t mind. Whatever I’ve got to do to play,” said Shannon, who said he plans on majoring in Computer Science and Software Engineering.
But after receiving encouragement from his coaches at Climax-Scotts High School and putting in a lot of hard work the last two years, the C-S senior found himself having quite a bit of success on the field, making the sport more appealing and fun for him.
His hard work and a pretty impressive junior and senior year captured the attention of college scouts and February 22 Shannon signed a national letter of intent to be a preferred walk on to play football at Central Michigan University.
Former C-S head varsity football coach and current assistant coach Kevin Langs explained as a preferred walk on, Shannon will have a roster spot on the team like a full ride scholarship player, however the C-S senior will have to pay for college with the opportunity to earn a scholarship by his performance on the field.
“It’s not like you’re on the team. It’s a special pick. So Miles being picked to be one of those preferred walk ons is a big deal. An opportunity. I’m so excited for him. He’s an awesome kid, so hopefully he can do great things there,” adds C-S varsity football coach Tyler Langs.
Shannon embraces the opportunity and plans to make the best of it.
“It means a lot. I worked really hard the last couple of years. I didn’t really like football at first, but played my junior year and sophomore year. So I just started working hard after my junior year and after I started playing, now it just means a lot to me,” said Shannon.
Tyler Langs said he’s noticed an uptick in commitment by Shannon the last two years so it isn’t surprising he started getting attention from college scouts after enjoying two strong seasons.
“Not only has Miles matured, taking the weight room serious, his training serious. Obviously we watched that and how much he grew physically, but maturity wise as a person. His maturity over the last three years of being able to be one of those leaders. Our senior class this year were awesome leaders and Miles was one of them. Not just the physical maturity, which is starting to take the weight room more serious, but also mental maturity, leadership-wise. So he’s grown. He’s got a lot of room to grow, which is awesome. Physically, I think he’s got room to grow too. The ceiling is really, really high for him,” said Tyler.
Shannon said he was told by CMU scouts they like his speed and height as well as his ability to run routes as a taller receiver.
Shannon realizes there will be a lot of competition on a roster filled with skilled athletes, but playing against higher competition is something he’s looking forward to.
“Yeah, I chose to go to Central just so I can challenge myself more. Better competition, and just all around better stuff,” he said.
The Panther senior said he’s enjoyed his time at C-S.
“Just the family aspect of it. Everyone here is a family and you know everybody. You can’t go around the hall thinking you can get away with something. You know you’re being watched,” said Shannon.
Shannon, who played as a wide receiver and defensive back at C-S, caught 22 passes for 558 yards his senior year after catching 12 passes for 388 yards during the regular season his junior year.
“They’ve talked about other positions too, but I’m a tight end. But I’m going to work to be a wide receiver first. But if it moved to that, I wouldn’t mind. Whatever I’ve got to do to play,” said Shannon, who said he plans on majoring in Computer Science and Software Engineering.
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