The First:

Marcellas Dial Becomes the Only Woodruff Wolverine Ever Selected in the NFL Draft

By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer | garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com

There is a first time for everything. Just ask Marcellas Dial.

There is not much room for firsts for a program as storied and iconic as Woodruff football. On Saturday, April 27, another first finally happened.

The Wolverines have won 10 state championships, are among the winningest programs in South Carolina high school football history, and have sent countless players into the collegiate ranks. Woodruff has also produced stars who now coach at the Division 1 level.

Now, they can add an NFL player to the ranks.

Marcellas Dial became the first former Woodruff player to be drafted by an NFL team when the New England Patriots selected the University of South Carolina cornerback in the sixth round with the 180th overall pick.

Dial may soon be wearing blue, red, and silver, but he will always have worn maroon and gold first.

“I will always be a Wolverine,” said Dial. “This just shows all that hard work has paid off. It is hard to believe that nobody from Woodruff has been drafted before, but I hope this paves the way for other kids in Woodruff to believe that it is possible. It can be done. Who would have thought I would even be here? It is a dream come true.”

Dial’s path to the NFL was a long and winding road fraught with self-doubt and uncertainty. As an All-Region player at Woodruff from 2016-2018, Dial was good but was not heavily recruited by colleges. He decided to sign with Georgia Military College, a junior college program in Milledgeville, GA, hoping to earn a more prestigious scholarship offer.

Dial made an immediate impact on the field, and after just one season, the University of South Carolina came calling. Extending an offer to Marcellas, the Gamecocks gave him an opportunity to live out his dream of playing major college football.

“I always had faith I would be here, but I was uncertain at times because where I come from, this doesn’t happen much,” Dial admitted. “I really spoke South Carolina into existence. I told every one of my teammates (at Georgia Military) that South Carolina would be the first school to offer me and that I would commit on the spot. That’s exactly what happened.”

Dial would spend the next four years playing for the Gamecocks, working his way up the depth chart with each subsequent season. By 2022, he was a starter. Marcellas played a great game against Tennessee in the second to last game of the season, and on the final Saturday in November, he played the game of his life in the state of South Carolina’s biggest game.

Against Clemson, on the Tigers’ home field with a seven-game losing streak in the historic rivalry threatening to extend to eight, the best of Marcellas came out. He may as well have been a shadow to Clemson receivers all afternoon.

With South Carolina clinging to a 31-30 lead and under four minutes to play, Dial delivered the punctuation mark. He intercepted a Tiger’s pass that broke Clemson’s back and ended the Gamecocks’ losing streak to their most prominent rival.

“I think that game helped a lot in getting my name out to scouts,” he said. “I was coming off a big game against Tennessee matching up with their best receiver, and I didn’t give up a touchdown. Against Clemson, I didn’t give up any catches. I had six pass break-ups in that game and then the interception. I think those two games showed my consistency as a player.”

It was that moment, probably, that put Dial on the radar screens of NFL scouts. He could have entered his name into the draft following the 2022 season but opted to return for one more year with hopes of improving his stock. It was a decision that Marcellas lost sleep over.

“Looking back, I probably should have entered the draft (after the 2022 season), Dial explained. “I thought I had more to prove. I did lose a lot of sleep over it. After the season ends, you start training for the (NFL) combine, so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. I took my chances and after thinking about it for a while, I wouldn’t change anything.”

Dial now has a chance to live a dream achieved by only the most gifted few. From a barely recruited high school prospect in small-town South Carolina to a college hero, Marcellas can now call himself a professional football player.

The road may have been long and winding, but the destination has brought Dial to the pinnacle of his football journey and his story full circle. Marcellas is now a New England Patriot but will always be a Woodruff Wolverine. The first Woodruff Wolverine to hear his name called in the NFL draft.

“It is a privilege to have this chance,” he said. “There has always been a lot of talent at Woodruff and I think a lot of great players who got overlooked. God has been on my side. My journey didn’t start where I wanted it to, but it has ended where I wanted it to. I know it is cliché, but this is nothing short of a blessing.”

There is always a first time for everything, even for Woodruff football. Marcellas Dial is living proof.
He added, “Sometimes I ask myself why I was the first from Woodruff to get drafted. I want the young guys there now to know that there is a way, and your last game doesn’t have to be the end of your story.”