Gulf Breeze holds college signing ceremony for three football, one baseball star

Four seniors from Gulf Breeze signed their letters of intent to compete in college athletics on Thursday.

Three of the athletes are headed to play college football. Battle Alberson, the 2023 PNJ Offensive Player of the Year, will go to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. One of Alberson's top receivers, Bryson Rouillier, signed with Jacksonville State. Shamane Walker, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Dolphins, is headed to Birmingham Southern College.

On the baseball side, Jacob Thorn, who, as of Thursday, has one win on the year in three appearances for Gulf Breeze, will play at Southeastern Louisiana University.

"All these kids represent the same thing," said Gulf Breeze assistant football coach Ian Jones. "They're amazing kids, and they're amazing athletes."

"I don't know the last time Gulf Breeze had four of five guys signing at one time for football and baseball combined. This, right here, is truly awesome," assistant coach Kevin Rollins said during the signing ceremony. "I know all four of you are going to battle through it. ... You know why? Because y'all had good parents. You grew up the right way. And you're tough as nails. I look forward to following all of you."

Quarterback Battle Alberson headed to Chattanooga

It's hard not to use his name when describing his career.

Simply put, Battle battled. Through coaching changes and doubts, Alberson simply proved them wrong. That included a monster senior year under a strong air-raid offense, recording an astounding 3,142 yards passing and 30 touchdowns.

That nearly doubled his junior year stats, and he finished his varsity career with 6,830 yards passing and 67 touchdowns. He also had 836 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on the ground, 688 of which came his senior year.

Alberson never had a game below 230 yards passing this year, including a 463-yard passing game against Milton where he threw for eight touchdowns. Both are school records.

"I’m glad to be able to look back and say I did the best I could. I don’t have any regrets," Alberson said. "I did everything that I could."

While he's competing in his last year for the Gulf Breeze baseball team currently, he's been adhering to some of the workout plan that the UT-Chattanooga has provided him for the summer.

Described as a player with Power 5 talent, Alberson said he really liked the Mocs' coaching staff, which stood out to him.

"I think Chattanooga is somewhere I can go and flourish," Alberson said. "I look forward to that."

Alberson also noted he was impressed by the packed library at Thursday's signing.

"You can see the support that our community showed throughout these four years. It’s been crazy. Even sophomore year, when we were kind of new, and the stadium was packed," Alberson said. "It’s an example of that. You can tell how much of an impact, not just myself, but all four of us have made. ...

"I’m sure anybody who’s gone through the recruiting process will tell you there’s a lot of stress that comes with it. I’m glad to have it over with, and now I can just focus on football. I’m excited about that."

Bryson Rouillier signs with Jacksonville State

It's safe to say that Rouillier also had a breakout senior year, and was a favorite receiver of Alberson's during the season.

Almost tripling his receiving yards from his junior and sophomore years, Rouillier was ranked in the top 10 in all of Florida for receiving yards with 1,364. He also scored 13 touchdowns on 82 receptions.

"It was amazing. I couldn’t dream of anything else. God made that happen," Rouillier said. "Honestly, I don’t even know the words to describe it. It’s great to leave my legacy here and move onto the next level.”

Jacksonville State offered Rouillier about a month ago, he noted. And he said what stood out was the program's culture and playing for head coach Rich Rodriguez is "a dream."

"Just the welcoming they gave me when I went down there, it was amazing," Rouillier said.

Rouillier joins another local standout, who also signed with Jacksonville State. Pensacola Catholic offensive lineman Ryland Bragg is also joining the Gamecocks, and Rouillier said the pair have already gotten in touch.

"It's great to have somebody I somewhat know from my area," Rouillier said.

Also excited by the packed room, which included not just family members and teammates from the baseball and football teams, but members of other Gulf Breeze athletic squads, Rouiller called the Dolphins' environment "a family."

"It's a great family we've made through a bunch of coaching changes. There are unbreakable bonds on our team," Rouillier said. "I'm glad everybody showed up and showed their support."

Even with 'half a shoulder,' Shamane Walker stands out, signs with Birmingham Southern

There was something not a ton of people knew what Walker was going through his senior year.

During the entire campaign, Walker was playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder. But his perseverance never waivered, and he stood out on the Dolphins' defensive line.

Walker recorded 71 tackles (29 solo, 42 assisted) with a sack during his senior season. He also had a pair of fumble recoveries.

One coach noted that if Walker was a little taller, he'd be a Division I prospect. Walker, standing at 5-foot-5, smirked a little bit when that coach said Birmingham Southern "was getting a steal."

"When you see that, know that you have that dog and fight in me. I had to go week-by-week. I may have had half a shoulder, but I knew I had to give the team everything I had," Walker said of playing with the torn labrum. "We’re five weeks out (from having the surgery). I should get my sling off in a couple weeks. Looking forward to getting back in the weight room and getting stronger.”

Birmingham Southern's confidence in Walker never fell, either, he noted, despite telling them he'd need to have surgery after the season.

"When you tell coaches you have to have surgery, some of them kind of pause on you," Walker said. "Now that I signed, it feels good. ... We've always had a great relationship. I love what they're doing at Birmingham Southern, and I can't wait to be a part of it.

"I can't wait to be a part of the brotherhood there."

Walker also joins some other local names headed to Birmingham Southern, including Tate's Clayton Philley and Navarre's Charlie Cottrell.

“Yeah, we were rivals, but we still have that bond with each other," Walker said. "It’ll be nice to have some guys that I can lean on and count on."

Walker called Gulf Breeze football "something special."

"Walking in, day one, being who I am, everybody took me in as a brother. Our bond built day in and day out," Walker said. "Between coaches leaving and coaches coming in, we stuck together and we became really close."

Gulf Breeze's ace Jacob Thorn 'happy for the opportunity' at Southeastern Louisiana

Thorn said he said it feels like "all his stress is gone," and now he can focus on his senior baseball season with the Dolphins.

Gulf Breeze's ace has 16 innings on the mound already this season, recording 32 strikeouts. He's only allowed five earned runs, 10 hits and four walks.

In his first two seasons, Thorn recorded 88 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched. He also had four wins in those first two seasons.

"I am kind of happy to be able to take a deep breath and step back to know the process is over, because no matter what it’s stressful. There’s a lot going on. … I’m happy for the opportunity," Thorn said. "It’s easy to focus on my team, pick them up. We’ll see where we go this year."

Thorn said he liked the coaching staff at Southeastern Louisiana, and they "made (him) feel like more than just a number," and they cared about Thorn as a player.

"The competitiveness is there. … I felt like they’re trying to do something way bigger than what they have right now and what they’ve had," Thorn said. "I want to be a part of what they want to be and what they’re going to be. I want to contribute to that, instead of just being a number somewhere else."

Thorn used to play both football and baseball at Gulf Breeze, but focused solely on baseball for his senior season. He said the Gulf Breeze school "has always had (their) back," referring to all four signees on Thursday, "even in an underwhelming season."

"It really feels like we did something bigger than ourselves," Thorn said. "No matter what, good game or bad game, the next day I always had people showing support. … There’s no better environment than the Splash Zone and what they bring.

"It really does feel good to leave a mark here."

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Four Gulf Breeze athletes sign to play college football, baseball