Bell County senior linebacker Adam Partin, affectionately referred to as “Chub”, has signed to play football for the University of the Cumberlands. In a jam-packed Bell County auditorium on Tuesday afternoon, Partin signed his letter of intent to the University of the Cumberlands surrounded by friends, family and teammates.

In a very successful season in which the Bobcats went 11-2, Partin led the team in tackles with 92 tackles total, including 66 solo tackles, 26 assisted tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

Partin was awarded the “Most Valuable Player” trophy, presented by head coach Dudley Hilton at the Bell County postseason awards banquet. Unable to attend the banquet due to being selected to the All-Star team, Partin says that it meant the world to him to receive the award.

“It meant the world to me,” said Partin. “I didn’t really expect it at all. I was at the all-star game and was unable to attend the banquet, but when I got back and they told me I got that award, I was shocked. It meant the world to me.”

Partin’s coach, Hilton, has been high on Partin all season long. Hilton heaps praise on Partin’s development and work ethic.

“If you win M.V.P on my team, you’ve worked for it,” said Hilton. “Chub wanted to keep getting better, and that’s exactly what he did. In my two years I coached him, I wasn’t very high on him at first, but his senior year was just unbelievable at how he improved. When a kid wants to get better and improve themselves, they’ll work hard at it and that’s exactly what he did.

“His leadership and his concentration were what set him apart from everyone else. It’s hard to get kids to concentrate these days with all this technology around, but Chub really focused in and concentrated on getting better, and that’s saying something special about a kid today. He was always prepared, he was always ready and he knew exactly what he wanted to do during the game. With his leadership, focus and talent, I feel like the University of the Cumberlands are getting a steal with Adam.”

Partin’s parents, Charlisa and Donnie Farrell, are ecstatic about their son’s signing to the University of the Cumberlands.

“It means the world to us as a family,” said Charlisa. “We are just so proud and excited for him.”

“We are just so proud,” said Donnie. “I know that sounds cliché, but it’s cliché for a reason. We are just over-the-moon about it.”

Partin’s family began to take notice of their son’s abilities on the field after a spectacular senior season.

“We always knew he had it in him,” they said. “He’s just been a little indecisive about whether or not he wanted to continue to play football. He made a recent decision that he was going to pursue football while trying to further his education.”

Partin feels blessed to be able to continue his education on scholarship while playing the game he loves – football.

“It’s a blessing to go to college for free, anytime you can, football or not.” said Partin. “To be able to continue to play the game I love means everything to me.”

Partin says his main focus is working on his speed and getting adjusted to the speed of the game in college.

“I’m definitely going to work on my speed,” said Partin. “Being able to play with some of those really good players from across the county in the all-star game really helped me out a lot. I’m going to focus on building muscle and getting stronger as well to make sure I stay competitive.”

Partin plans on majoring in Biology with a minor in Criminal Justice, in order to pursue a career as a wildlife resource officer.