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At a signing ceremony at Pike Liberal Arts School senior Cade Renfroe signed his letter-of-intent to continue his football career at Delta State University in Mississippi on Feb. 7.

Renfroe chose to sign with Delta State over offers from other schools like North Alabama, West Alabama and Belhaven. Renfroe also held a preferred walk-on offer from Troy University, where his brother, Scott Taylor Renfroe, is a kicker. Renfroe will be joining Charles Henderson senior Connor Jones at Delta State.

“The recruiting process was very long and what it came down to is I just love the campus and I love the direction they’re going in,” Renfroe said of signing with DSU. “It’s a great football program and I love the linebackers coach (Chance Albererswerth) and Coach (Todd) Cooley, the head coach.”

As a senior, Renfroe earned All-Messenger honors as both an offensive lineman and linebacker. Along with being the team’s leader on the offensive line, Renfroe tallied 102 tackles, 21 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries on defense. Renfroe also served as punter and kicker for PLAS. While he will be playing linebacker at Delta State, Renfroe said his kicking abilities would always be available for his team.

“They didn’t bring me in to kick but if they ever need an emergency kicker, I could do it,” Renfroe said with a smile.

While PLAS struggled through its first year in the Alabama High School Athletic Association – facing a number of transfers and coaching changes – Renfroe said he’d remember his time fondly as a Patriot.

“I loved my time at Pike and I loved my coaches,” he said. “I’m just blessed to be able to go to Pike. It’s family over here and I’m just glad they let me join the family.

“I don’t feel like our record defines our team. I feel like we were put in a tough situation but we did what we could and we made the most of it. I knew going in it was going to be tough and I had to lead and help our team.”

PLAS coach Charlie Scofield served as Renfroe’s head junior varsity coach in ninth grade and was his interim head coach on varsity for part of this past season. He described Renfroe as a “dedicated leader.”

“It’s been special to see his growth, to see how far he’s come since his ninth grade year,” Scofield said. “I’m extremely excited to see him continue to grow and see how things work out at Delta State.”

Renfroe, who plans to major in business, said that helping his new team would be his goal moving forward.

“I just want to graduate and get my education, but I also want to help the team however I can, in any way that I can,” Renfroe emphasized. “I want to be the best player that I can be.”