By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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With one brother who played college football at Pittsburgh and another brother who is getting ready to enter his first year on the collegiate gridiron, excelling on the football field is something that is deeply engrained in Adrien Cross’ blood.

Things will undoubtedly look remarkably different at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia, when the Red Terrors take the gridiron this fall.

Welcoming in new head coach Rocky Hidalgo, the Red Terrors are looking to make the transition to a more up-tempo, quarterback-friendly attack. Such a shift will certainly prove to be a drastic change from the physical, heavily ground-based attack successfully employed in the past by Rob Ridings, who recently took the head coaching position at Thomson High School.

But even with the impending schematic alterations, Glynn Academy’s new head coach will assuredly be able to agree with Ridings on one philosophical approach: making star athlete Adrien Cross a primary focus of the game plan on offense and defense.

As a junior in 2013, Cross emerged as one of the top playmakers in Georgia’s Region 3-AAAAA. Displaying exceptional instincts and elite athleticism in the defensive backfield, Cross earned first-team all-region honors at safety after finishing the campaign with ¬¬¬93 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception.

Though Cross stands just five-foot-ten, his lack of ideal height has never hindered him from standing out on the football field.

Coming from a strong lineage of athletes, Cross separates himself from the competition with his overall speed and explosiveness.

At the Explosive Southern Pigskin Camp held in Savannah in March, Cross tied for the fastest time of the more than 100 prospects in attendance in the 40-yard dash with a blazing time of 4.47. He was also one of the top workout performers in the shuttle drills, while earning recognition as one of the top overall performers at the camp.

Cross’ standout performance on the camp circuit during the offseason has naturally led to an increase in attention on the recruiting trail. Cincinnati, Charlotte, Middle Tennessee, Purdue, NC State and UCF are just a handful of the programs to ramp up their recruiting efforts with Cross over the past few months.

“The recruiting process is going good right now,” Cross commented to Southern Pigskin. “I just came back from a camp at UCF that went really well. The coaches were complimenting me a lot on the things I was doing well.”

Cincinnati and Charlotte, in particular, have shown a significant amount of interest in Cross in recent weeks, and appear to be very close to pulling the trigger on a scholarship offer.

In the meantime, Cross continues to focus his efforts on improving his game for his final season at the high school level.

“I’ve just been working out a lot,” Cross commented on his offseason regimen. “I’m trying to work on some of the areas where I think I’m not quite as strong. I think my ability to attack the football and tackle is one of my biggest strengths, so I am working hard to improve the other parts of my game.”

Cross has already proven on multiple occasions that he is one of the top overall athletes that South Georgia has to offer in the class of 2015. The unique facet of his game, however, is that he also has the statistical production to back up his physical tools.

There are certainly plenty of reasons why Adrien Cross has become a hotly-pursued athlete for college football programs.

With one brother who played college football at Pittsburgh and another brother who is getting ready to enter his first year on the collegiate gridiron, excelling on the football field is something that is deeply engrained in Cross’ blood.

For the college program that plays its cards right, the Cross family tradition of football excellence will be making its way to their respective college campus in a little less than a year from right now.