Gaffney HS football has “dreams” realized in unified practice

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – For Grayson Loftis, a hot Friday morning football practice in Spartanburg was like realizing a dream.

Gaffney High School’s quarterback stood in front of NFL reporters on the practice fields at Wofford, smiling and fielding questions about his day.

Even the smallest details of the rising high school senior’s day, like standing at the front of a press conference, felt significant.

“It’s kind of a realization moment – kind of shocking,” Loftis said. “I’m a guy who grew up watching NFL Network all the time, so to be up here actually in the sport of the interview is pretty cool.”

The Panthers hosted Gaffney at their training camp site in Spartanburg for a unified practice, where the two teams went through stretches and warm-ups together before separating for independent practices, later sharing messages with each other on the field.

“This is the dream of a young kid – the position that those guys have,” Gaffney head coach Dan Jones said. “Just for our kids to be able to step on the field – even me, I’ve not been on the field with a pro football team. This is something they can remember for the rest of their life.”