Two Clinton Red Devils are headed to NCAA Division II programs with winning traditions to continue their football careers, as Chris Boyd signed with Carson-Newman University and Bryson Perrin signed with North Greenville University on Wednesday.
It was National Signing Day, and Carson-Newman Football posted 46 signees for the Eagles’ program. North Greenville Football did not immediately post a signing update.
This is Carson-Newman’s listing for Boyd, 2-time All-State defensive back:
Chris Boyd – 6-0 – 170 – DB – Clinton, S.C. – Clinton - @Chrisb1790
HIGH SCHOOL: Boyd racked up 201 tackles, five picks and 16 pass breakups for Corey Fountain at Clinton High School. He also registered eight tackles for loss while helping the Red Devils to a state title. He was a two-time all-state selection.
PERSONAL: The son of Annette Lee. He was a member of the A/B Honor roll in high school.
In 2025, Carson-Newman was 7-3 overall, 6-3 in conference and won 4 of their last 5 games. The Head Coach is Tyler Almond, who was introduced as the Eagles’ head coach on Jan. 1, 2026, in his 3rd year overall with the program, after 2 seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. On Dec. 9, 2025, he was named the American Football Coaches Association DII Assistant Coach of the Year.
“I thank God for helping me be here,” Boyd said before his signing. “I thank my mom, my brothers and everybody, my teammates for helping me get here, my coaches for all the hard work they have put in.”
He said in an interview, “I really like the coaching staff and the atmosphere around (Carson Newman) and everything. It’s in the mountains and there’s a lot around it. I like the facility, the majors they have started. I’m going there undecided (on a major), trying to figure out what I like the most; but I like everything about the school.”
Boyd said he considered Presbyterian College and Anderson University. “My dream was always to go Division I, but I feel like with the transfer portal now, I can still go there and make my dream, (but) D II is a good place to go.”
The Eagles have “a good development program - they get you bigger and make sure your grades are right. It’s a Christian school, and there is a brotherhood. Everybody is close around there.”
Signing Perrin on National Signing Day, North Greenville went 7-5 overall, 6-0 in Conference Carolinas in 2025. The Trailblazers’ season ended with a 43-19 loss to West Florida (10-1) in Pensacola, and they won 6 of their final 8 games of the season. The Head Coach is Nate Garner, named Jan. 15, from Limestone College, where he had been the offensive line coach since 2022. He has been coaching since 2018 after 7 seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
Also a defensive back, Perrin said of North Greenville, "The coaches believe in me and they say I can help their program. It’s near the mountains and my sister goes there, so I will have family there.
Playing college football, Perrin said, “has been my dream my whole life. Their defense is one of the top defenses in Division II and I can really go there and develop and be a part of the team. (At Clinton High) the coaches pushed me every day, it really helped, the whole process.”
Red Devil Football Head Coach Corey Fountain said, “It’s always a great day - Signing Day - any time any of our guys gets to go off and gets an opportunity to go to school, play football, and become a better young man. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this program is all about, to build these guys into awesome young men first in the community, at school, in their home, and on the football field.”
About Bryson, Fountain said, “I remember how upset he was when I brought a bunch of guys up for the playoffs one year, and I didn’t bring Bryson up; but I think what that did was it lit a fire in him to work even that much harder and to get even that much better as a player, to become more aggressive; to make sure he was going to prove me wrong the next year and he’s been starting the last two years at defensive back and has done an awesome job for us."
About Chris, he said, “He’s just been grinding away all the time. He and his brother (Austin) were competing in practice. It was fun to watch; he didn’t get to compete against (his brother) Tristen that much because Tristen is D-lineman and Chris plays in the secondary. But it was always fun to watch them play together and see the work that he’s put in come to a fruition and have a chance to play college football."
“In this landscape of recruiting, it’s really hard right now for high schools to have two guys sign,” Fountain said, “and previously having Tre Aiken sign (with NC State) as well, is awesome for our program.”
