Lakeland Cavaliers cornerback Corvon’Tra Revell signed to attend and play football for Morgan State University during a ceremony on Wednesday at Lakeland High School.

“It means a lot to me,” he said of commanding a Division I offer and being able to commit. “I didn’t even think I could do it. I was hurt my junior year. I came back, it was very exciting and phenomenal for me to have the season that I had. It’s a blessing.”

He was named to the All-Ironclad Conference First Team for his 2014-15 performance as a defensive back, grabbing seven interceptions and consistently taking on the toughest coverage assignments.

On Wednesday, Revell thanked former Lakeland coach Bryan Potts for his encouragement after Revell’s 2013 season-ending hip injury. “He believed in me, he told me to just rest up, I have my senior year ahead of me.”

Potts, who led Revell’s signing ceremony, said, “He stuck to his goal, and today is his reward.”

Morgan State is giving Revell a full scholarship.

He had family and friends on hand for the ceremony, and his mother, Sabrina Revell, relayed her thoughts about his commitment.

“He never expressed that he was trying to take (football) to other levels, so that’s what’s really amazing to me, because I just thought he was just doing it for fun,” she said. “I had other kids that were really into it. He’s surprising to me.”

Corvon’Tra Revell said playing college football has been a goal of his since he played for Forest Glen Middle School.

“And when I got at Lakeland High School, Coach (Glenwood) Ferebee started me as a freshman, and that’s when I started taking it seriously,” he said.

Reflecting on the college selection process, Revell said, “It was very tough. Hampton University had Morgan State beat as far as academics, better campus, newer everything.”

But the timing of Hampton’s offer was an issue for him.

“It came so late, and I felt as though I was like a last-minute thing,” he said. Also, “by then, I had already developed a relationship with Morgan (State) and their football players, so there was no turning back at that point.”

The Baltimore-based Morgan State also had some other notable advantages that helped give it the edge over Hampton.

“I didn’t want to stay close to home, not to mention I have a teammate, Antonio Jefferson, up there,” Revell said. “Me and him have a pretty good relationship, and if I need anything to help, I feel like he can jumpstart me before anybody else, and I’ll be right on the field in no time.”

Potts said Revell’s tenacity and high football IQ will be the things that help him get on the field early in college.

Those traits contribute to his nickname, “OC,” a compliment that he earned on the practice field years ago.

“They gave it to him when he first got here,” Revell’s father, Cornelius Revell, said of Lakeland. “He was in the ninth grade, and they said he was ‘out of control.’”

Corvon’Tra Revell plans to major in information technology.