Stephens aces scholarship to Faulkner University

Colby Stephens didn’t begin playing golf until the seventh grade, when he tried out for and made the Boaz Middle School boys team.

Stephens improved rapidly, becoming a fixture in the Pirate varsity team’s lineup as a freshman.

Stephens’ talents didn’t go unnoticed, as Faulkner University in Montgomery developed a relationship with him as a sophomore.

It paid off for Stephens and the Eagles two years later, as he signed with the NAIA program during a May 16 ceremony in the BHS library.

“They’ve been talking to me for a while,” Stephens said. “They got a new coach and he started talking to me, and that’s where we decided was best.

“I got some interest from Shorter (University in Rome, Ga.,) and a little bit from Jacksonville State, but not enough to really matter.

“Faulkner is just like a laidback campus. It seems small but it’s actually really big. The people are really nice, and they play a really good course, the Capitol Hill.”

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in Prattville is the Eagles’ home course.

“It’s a difficult course,” Stephens said.

Stephens joins a Faulkner program that achieved new heights during its 2013 season.

The Eagles won all four of their spring regular-season tournaments and came in second in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament behind Lee, which was ranked No. 5 in the final poll.

Faulkner received the last remaining at-large bid to the national tournament and finished eighth in the 28-team event in its first-ever appearance.

The Eagles were ranked No. 10 in the final poll.

“They didn’t lose anybody in their top five,” said Stephens, who realizes he’ll have to work hard to break into the playing rotation as a freshman.

Stephens’ career-best score is a “73 or 74.” His goal is to shoot under 70 during his Faulkner career.

“I would say my short game is the best part of my game because I practice in the yard all the time with my dad,” he said.

His irons need the most work.

“I don’t get to practice those at Boaz because it’s so short,” he said. “It will be awesome playing a long course like that (Capitol Hill).”

Stephens was a three-time All-Marshall County golfer.

As a senior, he helped the Pirates earn a seventh consecutive sub-state berth.

One of Stephens’ favorite high school memories is helping the Pirates beat defending Class 5A state champion Fort Payne in a playoff to earn a sub-state berth in 2013.

Stephens thanked his parents, Stan and Melissa Stephens, and former Boaz head coach Eric Whaley for their contributions to his career.

“It meant a lot to have my parents there,” he said. “I played against golfers that would never have anybody watching them, and I really can’t remember any matches that my mom and dad have ever missed.

“Coach Whaley would come and walk with us and play with us at practice. He’d stay after practice if we needed him to because something was wrong or we had a question. He would do that just about every day.”

Whaley said Stephens is the kind of person who will be successful at whatever he decides to do.

“He has a love for the game of golf, and he will make the most of this opportunity,” Whaley said.

“There are so many other high school athletes that would love to be in his shoes. I know that he will represent Boaz well.

“Colby was a valuable asset to our program and school, and he will be greatly missed.”