CEDAR CITY — Cedar High School senior Koden Lunt signed a letter of intent on Tuesday to play football for Southern Virginia University.

Lunt, who played quarterback for the Reds his sophomore and junior years before switching to outside linebacker his senior year, said he’s prepared to play on either side of the ball for the Knights. 

“They offered me as an athlete,” Lunt explained during his signing ceremony at Cedar High School on Tuesday. “I’ll go out there and I’ll play wherever they see me fit, whether it’s on offense or defense.”

As he welcomed the dozens of students and family members in attendance at the lunchtime event, Cedar High athletic director Danny Lewis noted that Lunt has been a leader on and off the field, playing multiple sports as well as excelling academically. He also serves on the school’s student council and takes an active role in its anti-bullying efforts.

“We couldn’t be more proud of him,” Lewis said. “We all know about the ‘Lighting of the C’ project that he spearheaded and made sure that it came to fruition. Koden is just such an outstanding young man that I think not only Cedar High School, but Cedar City is proud of. We’re grateful for him and excited for this opportunity.”

Added Koden’s father Kregg Lunt:

It’s pretty awesome to see the support of one another and really, the family feeling in our community and within Cedar High School. We’re grateful for his coaches, administrators, and all the family that we have. And when we say family, we mean our immediate family, our school family, our football family, our baseball family, our friends, all of it. It’s all family to us.

Koden’s mom Sandi Lunt shared that she still remembers that on the day Koden turned 9 years old, he told her he wanted to “major in football” when he went to college.

“We’re just proud of him for having that opportunity in front of him and for chasing those dreams for as long as he has,” she said. “He has worked really hard, but he’s had so much fun doing it with all of you.”

Former Cedar High football coach Josh Bennett said he was “super proud” of Koden and praised him for his example and leadership.

“I’m very thankful I had the opportunity to coach him,” he said. “I learned a lot of lessons from him. He taught me a lot of things.”

Koden Lunt, who did have other scholarship offers from a few out-of-state schools, said he decided on SVU because it embraces the values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even though it isn’t owned by or officially affiliated with the church. The privately owned institution has an enrollment of just over 1,000 students and competes athletically within NCAA’s Division III as a member of the USA South Atlantic Conference.

“It’s been a fun ride and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me,” Lunt said shortly before he officially signed the paperwork.

Before he plays any collegiate football, however, Lunt first plans to serve a two-year mission for the church. In fact, he opened his mission call later that same evening and learned that he will be serving in the Scotland/Ireland Mission starting in July.

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