Dothan Wolves’ Jayden Folmar to Rice, Bauer Sharp to Southeastern La.

On Wednesday, the two friends signed together on the dotted line for separate colleges. Folmar, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound receiver, inked with Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Rice University in Houston, Texas, while Sharp, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound quarterback, signed with Southeastern University, a Division-I Football Champions Subdivision team located in Hammond, La.

“I have known him only for two years, but we are like family,” Sharp said of Folmar. “That was one of my receivers, one of my good receivers, so I love that man. We had each other’s back during the season, last year and this year. It was good signing with him.”

This past season, Folmar caught 36 passes for 480 yards and six touchdowns with almost all of it coming off Sharp aerials. The two finished on a strong note in their final home game, connecting on a game-winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds left to earn a 35-31 win over Smiths Station.

“It was really special (signing together) because he was throwing to me,” Folmar said. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here today. It was a special thing. It is all love with Bauer.”

Folmar said the Rice coaching staff first contacted him in the summer and stayed in touch with him.

“It started around June, July when they called me,” Folmar said. “They told me it will be a long process, so I stayed patient and they contacted me throughout the season until about a month or two ago when they officially offered me.”

The Wolves wide receiver star said he and his family haven’t been able to visit Rice, considered one of the top academic universities in the country, because of the pandemic. They plan to make a trip there in April.

A combination of factors made going to the Houston program appealing to Folmar.

“It was the whole package,” Folmar said. “They have the academics and are playing big-time football every day. I couldn’t resist that.”

Rice’s style of play was also a key factor, said Folmar. In five games this season, the Owls averaged 26.6 pass attempts a game.

“They throw the ball a lot and me being a receiver, I want to go where I can contribute to the team and get the ball and do what I do,” said Folmar, who finished his career with more than 1,400 yards in receptions with 15 touchdowns.

Folmar, who started his high school career as a Dothan High Tiger before Dothan merged with Northview to become the Dothan Wolves, said signing fulfilled a life-long dream.

“It is really exciting,” Folmar said. “It is always been a dream of mine since I was a kid.”

The Owl signee said he knows he will have to work on his consistency when he arrives at the program for next fall.

“The main thing is consistency,” Folmar said. “Sometimes I have some mental lapses and drop here and there during the game. I feel I will be ready.”

Dothan head coach Smitty Grider said Rice is getting a hard worker in addition to a talented receiver.

“I was on a Zoom conference with Rice and some of their media out there and they asked me, ‘What are they getting with Jayden as far as player?'” Grider said before Wednesday’s signing. “I said, ‘He is one of the few players I’ve coached that every rep every day was 100 percent.’ You have five receivers go out and only one catches the ball, but you never saw Jayden take that route off whether he got the ball or not.”

Sharp transferred to Dothan two years ago from Northside Methodist Academy. After splitting time with Jamal Lane in 2019, he became the starter this past year and threw for 1,082 yards over eight games, averaging 135.3 a game, with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He completed 87-of-159 passes. He also ran for 218 yards and two scores on 65 carries.

“I am super proud of the year he had,” Grider said. “To not have a spring or 7-on-7 camps in the summer and be in his first year really starting in Class 7A football and have the season he had says a lot about his ability.”

Sharp said he knew Southeastern Louisiana was the place he needed to be at when touring the Hammond campus with his family.

“I liked the campus,” Sharp said. “We feel like the Lord wanted us to be there. We had a peace there. I love the coaches and I love the players, so it was a great fit.”

The Dothan QB said Southeastern coaches actually got word of him through a recommendation of another college program.

“The (Southeastern) head coach’s son is at Northwestern and they told Southeastern about me,” Sharp said.

“Three or four months ago they called and offered me. I feel blessed to have an offer during this hard time of the pandemic of COVID.”

Like Folmar, the chance to sign was a milestone moment for Sharp.

“It was awesome,” Sharp said. “All the hard work over the years has paid off. I finally get to do what I have dreamt up all these years.”

But it’s not the end goal for the Wolves senior.

“I do have a lot of goals, obviously NFL, but you have to get college first and get that done. I can’t wait. I am excited. I am ready to learn the play system,” Sharp said.

Though he still has to finish out his senior year at Dothan, he is already looking forward to the fall at Southeastern.

“I can’t wait to get on campus, get to know the players and get to work,” Sharp said.

Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo feels Sharp has a chance to be a big-impact player with the Lions.

“Bauer has great size and is very athletic,” Scelfo said in a Southeastern release. “He fits the mold of what we want out of the quarterback position. He reminds me a little bit of (former Tulane quarterback) Patrick Ramsey.

“He has a big arm, he’s a great leader and can make a difference with his athleticism. Bauer has a chance to be a big-time player for us and we think the sky’s the limit for him.”