With only a week to go before National Signing Day, two Dallas County Hornets football players have several options in front of them.

Both Lowell Furlow and Xavier Knight are planning to sign letters of intent to play college football Feb. 4. The question is where each player will sign.

After originally being verbally committed to Southern Mississippi, Furlow, a 6-foot-9 offensive tackle, will decide between Troy and Tennessee Tech. Hornets head coach Marty Smith said both are good choices.

“He’s either going to go to Troy or Tennessee Tech,” Smith said. “Obviously Troy, because it’s close to home and Tennessee Tech because of [head coach] Watson Brown. People don’t understand how respected Watson Brown is in the coaching community and in the NFL community.”

Smith said playing time probably factored into Furlow’s decision to decommit from Southern Mississippi and open back up his recruiting.

“I think the fact that Southern Miss signed some junior college offensive lineman that they were able to get in December, led him to the fact that he may want to look into going a different direction,” Smith said. “The opportunity to play and the opportunity to get on the field quicker made him look at other schools.”

Furlow had surgery in the fall to repair a torn labrum, which cut his football season short. He recovered quickly and is already on the basketball court and playing meaningful minutes for the Hornets’ basketball team.

Smith, who is in his first season at Dallas County, noted that in the spring and fall Furlow made great strides in his run blocking.

“Furlow had gotten to the point in the first weeks of the season things started clicking as far as run blocking and the effort and consistency on every single play,” Smith said. “He was starting to produce it in practice and because of that coaches have really started to jump on board. If he can start doing that on a consistent basis he’s going to be a special, special player.”

Furlow is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. Knight, who has a big decision of his own to make, is rated as a two-star prospect by Rivals. He’s being recruited as a defensive back and a kick returner by Tennessee Tech and Birmingham Southern.

“He’s got good speed and he’s physical so they really want to look at him playing corner and in the return game,” Smith said.

Knight made the Times-Journal’s all-county football team. He lined up all over the field for the Hornets this past season.