Four Lincoln Prep players scored on signing day, bound for Auburn, Arkansas, Army, ISU

Anyone familiar with the Kansas City high school football scene is well aware of the perennial football schools in the area, programs like Rockhurst, Blue Springs, Bishop Miege and Olathe North.

But this week, as four high school seniors sat in a large gym at separate tables, each young man wearing a colorful shirt bearing the logo of his college destination, another program put its stamp on the city.

Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, better known locally as Lincoln Prep, is sending four of its senior football players to four different Division I programs, a feat made official during a signing day ceremony at the school on Wednesday:

Howard Brown: Iowa State, defensive tackle (QB in high school)

Tobechi Okoli: Auburn, defensive end

Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan: Arkansas, defensive back

Marcus Bass: Army, defensive back

Brown, a 300-pound high school quarterback who will play on the defensive line at Iowa State, could’ve been speaking for his three fellow seniors when he talked about how far he’s come and what’s ahead.

“The journey just began and I’ve got some more work to do,” he said during a FOX4 livestream of the signing ceremony.

With offers from five Division I schools, including Kansas and Missouri State, Brown might be the best-known of the four Blue Tigers. Videos of him in action have repeatedly gone viral throughout his senior year.

Ames-bound Brown

Listed officially as 6-foot-2 and 288 pounds, Brown led the Blue Tigers to the 2019 Missouri Class 4 championship game. That game was won by Platte County, but Lincoln Prep followed up this fall with a 7-3 campaign with Brown under center.

“I want to say thank you to my mother for being there since day one,” he said. “Youth football, every practice, every game, so I thank you for that and I love you.”

The other three members of the Blue Tigers’ Division I-bound quartet played defense in high school. Perhaps it should not be surprising that Lincoln Prep produced such a defensive bounty for college recruiters — after all, the Blue Tigers allowed an average of just 16.4 points per game this fall.

SEC for Okoli, Hamilton-Jordan

Two of the four Lincoln Prep players will next compete in the SEC.

Defensive end Okoli will remain a tiger, albeit in the state of Alabama, with the Auburn Tigers, while defensive back Hamilton-Jordan has signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Hamilton-Jordan was also recruited by Kansas and Iowa State, as well as Kansas State, but he eventually opted for the Hogs thanks to some coaxing from another tiger: former Mizzou coach Barry Odom, now the defensive coordinator at Arkansas.

Odom’s recruiting efforts played a pivotal role in luring Hamilton-Jordan to Fayetteville.

“I’m going to put it on for the city now,” Hamilton-Jordan said to bring Wednesday’s signing ceremony to a close.

Okoli was also recruited by Odom by eventually opted for an Auburn team known for turning out high-level talent at the defensive tackle position.

Bass, yes sir!

Bass will be trading in the blue and gold of Lincoln Prep for the black and gold of the Army Black Nights at prestigious West Point.

Bass is one of the prime success stories to emerge from a Lincoln Prep team that is similarly emerging as a major player in KC-area football.

Bass has played football for just three years. He started as a sophomore and quickly vaulted to the lofty heights at which he concludes his Lincoln Prep career: as one of the best players on one of the city’s best high school football teams.

“It was the best three years of my life,” he said. “I’ll always look back on high school football and think about this and reminisce. I already know.

“I’m just thankful to be in this position,” he said, before adding the phrase that every Army football fan loves to hear:

“Beat Navy!”