McLaughlin and Hallums Prep For One Last Game

Mauldin football stars Jonathan McLaughlin and Jordan Hallums will each play one more game as a Maverick in the next week or so. McLaughlin, an offensive tackle, will compete in the Shrine Bowl next Saturday the 17^th at Gibbs Stadium on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg. Tomorrow, Hallums, a wide receiver, will play in the North-South Game in Myrtle Beach.

Their successful careers coming to a close, McLaughlin and Hallums talked to Patch recently about their time playing for Mauldin High, as well as what’s ahead.

Mavericks Head Coach Doug Shaw said, “Jonathan and Jordan were integral to what we’ve done here and we’re very excited for them to be playing in all-star games.”

McLaughlin, who is the third of four children, has been offered scholarships to Wake Forest, East Carolina, Marshall and several other schools, including Furman. North Carolina and North Carolina State have also expressed interest. If one of the North Carolina schools were to offer a scholarship, McLaughlin says they would merit strong consideration as he has family in Virginia and North Carolina. As it stands now, Wake, ECU and Marshall are his top three choices.

For McLaughlin the quality of the academics and his relationship with the coaches are the two biggest factors in his decision.

Hallums has earned attention from Presbyterian, South Carolina State, Liberty and Furman. Hallums prefers to stay close to home during college as he is the only child to his mom.

Hallums believes that he began to catch college scouts’ eyes when he lowered his time in the 40-yard dash from 4.6 to 4.5 this past summer. He credits intense off-season workouts for the improvement.

Overall, both McLaughlin and Hallums agreed that the turning points in their careers came the summer before their junior years.

Coach Shaw agreed, “They were both kind of thrown to the wolves and came through.”

“I just started to take everything more seriously,” McLaughlin said. “Whether it was conditioning or learning my position.”

This year, the season started off with promise as the Mavericks won their first four games. But their youthfulness caught up with them and they dropped six of their final eight games. McLaughlin and Hallums were thrust into leadership roles, which was a new experience for both athletes.

“I just tried to make sure we (the receiving corps) were on the same page as our quarterbacks because we were so young,” Hallums said.

Coach Shaw said, “(Jonathan and Jordan) are both very quiet kids, but they were great leaders for us. They’re the kind of kids coaches love.”

Prior to the all-star games, McLaughlin and Hallums will practice for a week with their respective teams. They have slightly different goals, however. McLaughlin will be looking just to have some fun, while Hallums will be looking to improve his standing with scouts. “I want do that by helping my team win,” Hallums said. “That’s the best way to impress scouts.”

Shaw will try to take in both his players’ games and then he’ll begin cheering for them from afar. “They are two great kids and they will be sorely missed around here,” he said.