Nashville Christian, with just 225 students, has two former stars at SEC Media Days

Tom Kreager
The Tennessean

Three former Nashville high school football standouts were selected to be in Hoover, Alabama, at SEC Media Days to represent their current college program this week.

Two of them came from one of the smallest high schools in Middle Tennessee.

Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli and Ole Miss offensive tackle Alex Givens spoke on Tuesday at the annual SEC event. Both are former Nashville Christian stars.

A third local athlete, former Pearl-Cohn running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, will be there Thursday representing Vanderbilt.

Nashville Christian football coach Jeff Brothers said the private school has about 225 students in its high school. They were the seventh-smallest school in the Nashville area that offered 11-man football, according to last year's enrollment numbers provided by the TSSAA.

"That — in one day — just defeats the argument for people saying you can't do it at Nashville Christian," Brothers said. "You can do it from here. You can play here and then play at those two schools in the best conference in the country.

"It speaks to the school we have."

Mississippi offensive lineman Alex Givens speaks to reporters during the NCAA college football Southeastern Conference Media Days, Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Givens, a 6-foot-6, 303-pound offensive tackle, started every game for the Rebels in 2018 at right tackle. That came after playing in 10 games in 2017.

Bituli, a 6-foot-3, 252-pound linebacker, started in 10 games a year ago at Tennessee and played in all 12. He's played in 33 games in his first three years.

"This just confirms what we already knew here at Nashville Christian," Brothers said. "They both had great work ethics. They are great ambassadors for Nashville Christian and their current schools.

"They have been leaders long before now."

Jul 16, 2019; Birmingham, AL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Daniel Bituli speaks to the media at the Hyatt Regency-Birmingham. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

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Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 at tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.