ESPN

While most of New York City’s best high school football players signed their letters of intent Feb. 2, Jordan Paul missed out on the fun. The New Utrecht senior quarterback simply wasn’t ready to sign.

“There were a lot of schools I was considering,” Paul said. “I wasn’t sure what school was best for me.”

At 5:05 p.m. Monday, Paul finally found the school that was the best for him: Gardner-Webb.

After flying to North Carolina Monday morning, Paul signed his letter of intent with the Runnin’ Bulldogs, a Division I-AA school. Paul led the Public Schools Athletic League in passing yards and completions and was second in touchdown passes this season.

“The environment is nice and you could learn a lot of things out here and study and get a good education coming out of this school,” Paul said. “You also have the time to work and practice by yourself and do individual things to get you better. I also like the coaching staff a lot.”

New Utrecht assistant coach Wendell Fevrine, who is Paul’s guardian, said they had set up a visit earlier in the recruiting process with Gardner-Webb, but the school had not yet hired a head coach after firing Steve Patton. The Big South school finally hired Ole Miss assistant Ron Dickerson Jr. on Jan. 26.

The pair flew out of JFK at 6:30 a.m. and arrived around 8:30 a.m. Paul had breakfast with the coaches and players before meeting with all of the coaches individually. He went out to eat with the staff and right after lunch signed with the program.

Paul said Gardner-Webb had always been on the top of his list, but he also had offers from Hampton, Charleston, Marist and Albany. Connecticut and Central Michigan had also showed interest during the recruiting process but didn’t offer.

“The players make me feel like I’m home. They had me talk to the quarterbacks and they’re nice guys and they told me they would be available if I need anything,” Paul said. “The coaches are perfect and the whole school is nice. The whole school gets involved in its games.”

Paul's coaches describe him as a dual-threat quarterback. Paul also led New Utrecht in rushing this season with 668 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

“You could say I’m like [Auburn quarterback] Cam Newton," Paul said. “I throw the ball real well and I could use my feet if I’m in trouble."

New Utrecht head coach Alan Balkan said Paul’s mechanics improved vastly from his junior to senior year and that coaches who saw Paul’s junior highlight tape and his senior highlight tape agreed.

Balkan said Paul went to three or four camps to work on his fundamentals, even spending time with former Giants quarterback Phil Simms to retool his mechanics.

Yet, even with Paul’s good numbers, New Utrecht struggled to a 3-6 record this season. But Balkan didn’t put the blame on his quarterback.

“We did not have a great group of seniors and defensively we were not that good,” Balkan said. “He kept us in every game.”