This is an opinion piece.

Former McGill-Toolen standout Carlton Martial will return to Mobile next week to participate in the Reese’s Senior Bowl at South Alabama.

Martial’s heroics on the football field for the Yellow Jackets – and for Troy in college – are pretty legendary at this point.

However, what some may forget is that the 5-foot-9 Martial was a key member of McGill-Toolen’s basketball program as well.

RELATED: Troy duo set to live out dreams in Mobile

“Carlton has always been the ultimate competitor,” Yellow Jackets basketball coach Phillip Murphy said this week. “Off the floor, he is a jovial guy – funny, lighthearted – and leads in a way that a lot of people don’t. He has a natural charisma that draws people to him.”

Martial helped Murphy’s team to the Class 7A state basketball title in 2016. He played the role of a smaller than average shooting guard. In fact, even Murphy had his doubts about Martial’s ability to play basketball when the two first met.

“Carlton’s older brother, Philbert, played for me,” Murphy said, recounting that first meeting. “Philbert was a defensive back, built like a defensive back. He came to me and told me that his little brother played basketball as well so I’m assuming little brother will have relatively the same build and look just like him.

“He brings Carlton over the next day and introduces him, and I nearly laughed in his face. If you’ve seen Carlton’s stature, you can imagine how small he was as an eighth grader. I told Philbert later that I didn’t think there was anyway Carlton could play for us.”

Murphy should be forgiven for underestimating Carlton Martial.

Many people have made that same mistake.

Martial went on to play three years of basketball for Murphy and was a key contributor as both a junior and senior.

“To be built like Carlton and to be able to do what he did is unbelievable,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have a shooting guard built like that again. He could do a little of everything.”

The word “unbelievable” has been used to describe Martial countless times in the past and likely will be again next week in Mobile and many times in the future.

He’s too small to play pro football right? I’m sure not counting him out.

McGill will honor Martial and fellow Senior Bowler Jakorian Bennett at the school next Friday.

A change for Auburn

I’ve heard a lot of positive statements from high school coaches in the state about new Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and his staff and the job they’ve done recruiting so far.

It is not worth dwelling on, but I didn’t hear a lot of positives about the previous staff and their work on the road during the last two years. In fact, one well-known writer and friend of mine who covers Auburn has termed it as “coaching malpractice.”

Auburn desperately needed a change and so did high-school student athletes in our state, and it sure looks like that has happened.

The ALFCA convention

Freeze was one of a high-powered list of guest speakers at this week’s ALFCA Convention and Coach of the Year Banquet being held in Montgomery today and Saturday. He was scheduled to be joined by Alabama coach Nick Saban, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, Arkansas coach Sam Pittman and Georgia coach Kirby Smart in what should be a record-setting attendance year for Alabama HS coaches.

The convention will conclude with the Coach of the Year banquet Saturday morning. Here are the honorees this year:

Lifetime Achievement winners: Don Creasy, Lamar Harris and Lymos McDonald.

Coach of the Year winners: 7A – Zach Golson (Mary G. Montgomery), 6A – Jere Adcock (Decatur), 5A – Quinn Hambrite (Charles Henderson), 4A – Trent Taylor (Andalusia), 3A – Jimmy Perry (St. James), 2A – Adam Fossett (B.B. Comer), 1A – Houston Powell (Meek).

Assistant Coach of the Year winners: 7A – Joel Williams (Fairhope), 6A – Tony Johnson (Mountain Brook), 5A – Steve Burkhalter (Central-Clay County), 4A – J.D. Whited (Oneonta), 3A – Matt Glover (Piedmont), 2A – Jerry Harrison (Isabella), 1A – Chan Lowe (Leroy).

Oh, you didn’t know?

In case you forgot, the second National Signing Day for football student-athletes is set for Wednesday.

There aren’t a lot of unanswered questions within the high school ranks of the state of Alabama. Most of the 4 or 5-star athletes signed in December.

In fact, of the top 30 seniors according to the 247 composite rankings, only Montgomery Catholic RB Jeremiah Cobb is listed as unsigned at this point. He will be at his school’s celebration on Wednesday and is expected to announce that he has signed with Auburn where he has been committed for a while.

A few names to watch next week include Theodore DB Will James, Vigor DL Michael Towner and Montgomery Catholic DB L.J. Green.

Thought for the week

“Next time there’s a hiccup in your day, instead of getting frustrated, look around and see how you can make the most of the situation.” – Tim Tebow, Mission Possible One-Year Devotion.

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. His weekly column is posted each Wednesday and Friday on AL.com. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays