Eric Joyner used to spend summers hitting, running and throwing on baseball diamonds. This summer has been an entirely new experience. The former football player at King spends his days hitting, tackling and catching footballs in preparation for Friday's Hall of Fame Classic.
Joyner will be playing for the Fairfield County All-Stars in the game against New Haven's All-Stars at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven. Joyner, who will attend the University of New Hampshire, has seen time in practice at cornerback, slot receiver and the return team. "Everything I was doing at King,'' Eric says.
Joyner played baseball in the spring for King, and even flirted with the idea of playing the sport in college. As late as February, he was still undecided on where he would attend college and which sport he would play. "There was a point I was going to walk on at UConn, and New Hampshire finally came through in February,'' Joyner says. "I didn't think anything was going to happen with football, so I was considering baseball."
Joyner was a two-way performer at King, which has played in the last two New England Prep School Athletic Conference playoff games. He had 17 receptions and two touchdowns in a run-oriented offense last year, and also averaged 5.4 tackles per game. He led the team with four interceptions. He also played in the shadow of running back Silas Redd (Penn State) and Kevin Pierre-Louis (Boston College). "I didn't feel bad about that,'' Eric says. "It helped me out. More people came to the games so they were able to see me, too."
He gets a final chance to shine as high school football player on Friday. "It's tough because of the heat, but there's nothing that could make me happier now than playing football,'' Eric says. "Plus, it's getting me ready for better competition."
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