Carolina Panthers Select Dalton Freeman of Pelion HS as Community Captain

By Tyler Wessel

The Carolina Panthers have selected Dalton Freeman, a senior offensive lineman at Pelion High School (Pelion, SC), as a 2007 Carolina Panthers Community Captain. Rated as one of the top linemen in the state by Scout.com, Freeman is on the school's honor role and is a role model in his community.

The Carolina Panthers Community Captain program recognizes outstanding high school student-athletes in North and South Carolina who excel on the football field, in the classroom, and in the community. The Panthers encourage their future development as role models while they continue their personal growth in college and in their professional careers.

Freeman (6-6, 270) is currently rated as the sixth overall player in South Carolina by Scout.com. He has earned all-area and all-conference recognition as both an offensive and defensive lineman in addition to being named all-state as an offensive guard. He has been named as a member of the 2007 South Carolina Shrine Bowl squad and has been selected to play in the Offensive/Defensive All American Bowl in Miami, Florida.

Freeman has had the special opportunity to play high school football for his father, the head coach at Pelion. Because of this extra time spent with his father, Freeman has been able to learn the proper techniques and footwork of a lineman. "Dalton is really a technician ... he's very fundamentally sound," says Scout.com's southeast scout Miller Safrit. "There is a good chance he will play early wherever he decides to play [college football]."

Freeman has been recruited by over 30 colleges and will be the first Division I-A player in the 30 year history of Pelion High football. He is currently considering scholarship offers from Clemson, Colorado, Florida State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.

Off the field, Freeman posts an impressive 4.1 GPA and is currently ranked in the top ten of his class. He plans to major in communications and would like to someday have a career in sports broadcasting. He is on the Principal's Honor Roll with straight A's and is also a member of the school's BETA Club.

Despite his busy football schedule, Freeman remains active in the school and community. He is involved in Pelion's FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) program and is on the Student Council. He also serves on the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, which consists of up to eight student representatives from the local high schools who meet with the Superintendent each month. On top of this involvement, Freeman has sat first chair string bass in the school's orchestra; he also plays cello and bass guitar.

Freeman's work in the community is also exemplary. He volunteers to work for the Juvenile Diabetes Association with several of their fundraisers. As a member of the Student Council, he has been active in raising money for and participating in the Relay for Life cancer survivor walk, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. He also ensures that the school's student body participates in its food drives and blood drives. When Freeman is not tutoring friends or carrying groceries for the disabled, he participates in his church's food or back to school drives, which provide food, clothes, and school supplies for those less fortunate.

"My goal is to be remembered as someone who cared," says Freeman.

Dalton Freeman and the rest of the 2007 Carolina Panthers Community Captain class will be recognized at Bank of America Stadium during a special on-field ceremony prior to the Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers game on December 16th. Award recipients will receive an authentic Carolina Panthers Community Captain jersey and will have the opportunity to participate in select Panthers community outreach events with current Panthers players.