VALDOSTA — The group of families and friends made all five Lowndes football signees feel the love at Crimson Coliseum on National Signing Day.

Michael Barrett, Jalen Goss, Tayvonn Kyle, Palmer Henderson and Marcus Gary signed national letters of intent Wednesday.

“I’m very proud of these young men. They all come from great families, they’re going to do great things where they’re going, and they’ve represented Lowndes unbelievably for the last four years,” coach Randy McPherson said.

Barrett made it official with Michigan. Goss made it official with Florida State. Kyle decided on Iowa State. Henderson accepted a walk-on role with Georgia. Gary accepted an offer from West Georgia.

Barrett, a three-star quarterback, verbally committed to the Wolverines last month during the Lowndes boys basketball game and via Twitter.

He said the combination of academics, the stature of the football program and the surroundings of Ann Arbor, Mich., made it the right choice. He said distance was the only thing initially holding him back, but once he conquered that concern, he knew Michigan was the answer.

“It’s kind of like a relief,” Barrett said of the arrival of signing day. “I’m here. I finally made it, but I’m not all the way there yet. I still have a long way to go. It’s just a blessing to be here.”

Barrett wore a Michigan cap and bow tie, and said it took some time getting his wardrobe together.

“I didn’t know how to tie a bow tie until this morning,” he said. “I had to look it up on my phone on YouTube. It took me probably 15-20 minutes just looking at the video. I woke up about 6 o’clock and didn’t leave the house until about 7:30.”

Goss became the 10th player to sign with Florida State during McPherson’s tenure as a head coach. He committed to the Seminoles last month via Twitter.

The three-star offensive lineman said he’d been thinking about the signing day event since Monday. He got excited just thinking about it.

“I love my teammates, we’re all doing big things and this is just a great time,” Goss said.

“It means a lot, but it shows me how there’s a lot of people here today who support us. It also shows us that we made it, we finally made it. We accomplished something good for us and good for our community.”

Kyle, the Vikings’ top wide receiver last season, made his decision public at the signing ceremony. He signed with Iowa State, adding speed to the Cyclones’ 2018 recruiting class. The three-star receiver visited the school in Ames on Jan. 19. He also made a visit to Georgia State on Jan. 26.

“(Iowa State) offered me late in the process, but getting up there and seeing the atmosphere, getting a feel for it is kind of like Lowndes,” Kyle said. “Football is very important to them. I feel like I can go there and do what I have to do.”

Kyle, a finance major, said it was important for so many of those who have helped him reach signing day to attend and be able to see the final result.

“All of us have put in that work. It’s paying off, and it’s not done paying off,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll all get to these universities and do well there, also, and make it to the next level.”

Henderson met with Georgia coach Kirby Smart last month at Lowndes High School. The coach offered him a walk-on position with the team as a long snapper.

Athens turned out to be Henderson’s ideal landing spot. He said it was all surreal.

“Coach Mac had been talking to (Georgia) and he told them that I’d always wanted to go there. And coach Kirby Smart offered me a spot on the team,” he said.

Gary, who played tight end for the Vikings, had always dreamed of the day he would be sitting with family and friends and signing a letter of intent to play college football. But he didn’t expect West Georgia to make a last-minute offer.

McPherson said West Georgia coach David Dean called him around 7:30 Wednesday morning and said a player he’d been recruiting as a tight end had chosen to play elsewhere. Dean offered the open spot to Gary.

“I was very shocked,” Gary said. “I didn’t know any more colleges were still looking to recruit me, so I was very shocked. Right when coach (McPherson) told me I was like, ‘Wow.’”

Gary said he plans to visit the school later this month or next month.