Jeff Pugh has won more than 100 games as East Limestone’s head football coach, but his favorite day of the year is always the first Wednesday in February, when his players sign to continue their football careers in college.

Four East players were honored at a signing ceremony Wednesday, with three of them signing letters of intent while the other, Haze Solomon, had already signed during the early signing day in December.

“This is the happiest time for me, because these are four very good young men,” Pugh said. “They paid the price. They did what we asked them to do, both in the classroom and on the field. They’re ambassadors for our school, and we’re proud that they’re getting to go on and continue their education by using football as their avenue.”

Offensive lineman JD Broussard signed with Austin Peay State University, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision school in Clarksville, Tennessee, while Crimson Bivens signed with Huntingdon College, a Division III school in Montgomery, and JD Farrar signed with Kentucky Christian University, an NAIA school in Grayson, Kentucky.

Solomon signed with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in December, but was honored along with the other signees Wednesday morning.

Each of Wednesday’s signees were excited to be able to play at the collegiate level.

“It’s really hard to describe because there is so much work that is put in behind the scenes,” Broussard said. “I’m really proud of my guys (who signed Wednesday), and I know they’re proud of me. (Austin Peay) will be a lot of work, but you just take it day by day and get better every day. That’s all you can do.”

Bivens overcame his 5-foot-9-inch stature to sign with Huntington as a linebacker.

“This is something I’ve been hoping for my whole life, especially with the obstacles that have been thrown at me, with my height situation and stuff,” he said. “Just (Huntingdon) giving me this opportunity is a wonderful blessing.”

Farrar said not everyone was able to put in the hard work that made Wednesday’s signing possible, which made the accomplishment extra special for him.

“Waking up for four years straight at 5 in the morning to be here (at workouts), that’s dedication,” Farrar said. “Most of my friends that started with me in ninth grade didn’t get through it. You had some stick around to do it with you, and these three I signed with today stuck around the whole time. They put in the work like I did.”