Fruitful Recruiting Weekend For Jaguar Football
Head coach Joey Jones and his coaching staff picked up four verbal commitments over the weekend.
Lackawanna CC tight end Julian Allen is rated the 83rd best Junior College prospect for 2015. South Alabama has had a long line of talent at the tight end position and looks to have another great season from that position in 2014 with Wes Saxton and Braedon Bowman. With Allen’s commitment, that should continue to be the for seasons to come.
James Bynes, another tight end/wide receiver prospect from Dodge City CC committed over the weekend. He’s been very vocal about his commitment while visiting campus and the coaches over the weekend.
The third commit over the weekend was class of 2015 offensive lineman Steven Clark of Brindlee Mountain School in Guntersville, Alabama. Clark recently visited South Alabama but also had good experiences with the staffs at Southern Miss and Arkansas State among others. But the difference was how the USA staff’s dedication to let him know how much they wanted him at South Alabama.
Quinton Lane, a cornerback from Itawamba CC. in Fulton, Mississippi also gave his verbal commitment to the Jaguars over the weekend. The 6’2″, 185-pound cornerback is rated a three-star by 247Sports.
These four come on the heels of Jalen Thompson’s verbal last Tuesday where he chose the Jaguars over a host of other schools including South Carolina, who was heavily recruiting him and had hosted him for a visit the previous weekend viagra online prescription free.
Jones and his staff currently have seven verbal commitments for the class of 2015.
Jags Offer A Trio Of Players Recently
South Alabama has offered a trio of players over the last few days. The first is a local standout in Jerry Gibson of Theodore High School. Gibson is a 6’3″ 213-pound tight end that is listed as clocking a 4.83 40-yard dash. He has offers from Arkansas State and Furman so far.
Tyre McCants is a 5’10” 184-pound wide receiver from Niceville, Florida. He is rated a three-star wide receiver by 247sports. Rivals has the following stats on him: 4.45 40-yard dash, 490-pound squat max and a vertical of 39 inches. He also has offers from FAU, Georgia Tech, ULL, Louisville, Old Dominion and the Jags.
Keiwan Jones is a 6’2″ 265-pound defensive tackle from Dunnellon, Florida. He has a two-star rating from 247sports and has offers from Old Dominion, Western Michigan as well as the Jags. He is listed as having a 30″ vertical and a 330-pound bench max. Last season he had 36 tackles, 8 sacks, three forced fumbles, a blocked pass, a touchdown and a safety.
Jags Add JuCo Receiver To 2013 Class
South Alabama’s 2013 recruiting class is not quite over yet.
Head coach Joey Jones and the school announced 25 players who signed with the Jaguars on February 6th. But some of those were signed in December or January and the scholarships were able to be back-dated to 2012. Leaving five or six scholarships.
Tyrell Vinson, a wide receiver from Merced, California signed with the Jaguars on Monday. He is listed as being 6’1″ 190-pounds and is also listed as having two seasons of eligibility left to play for the Jaguars.
Last season Vinson caught 50 passes for 887 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned kicks for Merced College with an average of about 26 yards per return. He was also listed as being on the Basketball team for his freshman season.
The Jags are not done recruiting the junior college ranks for receivers as they hope to possibly add one more to their signing class this year.
South Alabama’s 2013 Football Signing Class
South Alabama signs 25 student-athletes in all to their 2013 signing class. Of the signees 17 signed National Letter-Of-Intents and two signed grants-in-aid on Wednesday.
Each recruiting site ranks the Jaguars differently in the Sun Belt Conference. Scout.com ranks the Jags third in the conference, Rivals.com ranks the Jags tied for seventh with Florida International while 247Sports puts the Jaguars recruiting class as #2 in the conference behind Louisiana-Lafayette. No matter how you look at it, it’s an impressive recruiting class for a program entering its first season as a full FBS and Sun Belt Conference member and only their fifth recruiting class in their short history.
The lure of competing for a Sun Belt Conference Championship and a bowl game berth aided the Jags in signing a class of good student-athletes on Wednesday.
“The reason we were able to get several of these really good football players is because we can go to a bowl game and we can win a championship,” Jones said in his press conference. “The last few years we have been selling South Alabama, facilities, the city of Mobile, which are all great things to sell, but at the end of the day you’re going to get better players when you tell them you’re going to be on television a lot, go to bowl games and compete for a championship.”
“There’s no doubt it especially helps with junior-college kids because they’ve only got a couple of years to play,” he continued. “They really don’t want to sit and wait for you and your program to evolve. They want it to happen right now. That’s the reason why I think we signed more quality junior-college kids.”
Among the 25 who signed with South Alabama, six junior college transfers signed in December while five more signed on Wednesday with 14 freshmen. The players had offers from schools like Alabama, Florida State, South Carolina, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Kansas State, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Utah State, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Colorado State, Southern Miss, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Troy, Georgia State, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Memphis, UAB, Tulane, Ohio, Toledo, Marshall, Bowling Green and UMass.
Their primary focus was on defensive linemen and defensive backs on the defensive side of the ball while focusing on skilled playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.
Caleb Alves is a 6’3” 175-pound Wide Receiver from Palm Bay Senior High School from Melbourne, Florida. He ranked seventh in the Orlando Sentinel’s MidEast Florida Super 60 and was selected to the third team All-State team his senior season. He chose South Alabama over Bowling Green, Florida A&M, FIU, UMass and Memphis.
Noah Armstrong is a 6’7” 300-pound offensive lineman from Lawrence County High School in Moulton, Alabama. Rivals.com rated him a 3-star recruit and among the top 100 offensive linemen in the country. He had offers from Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss.
Kaleb Blanchard, 6’ 200-pound native of Denham Springs, Louisiana and running back for Denham Springs High School, committed to South Alabama after visiting Mobile for an official visit in late January on Senior Bowl weekend. He had actually committed to Arkansas but after a coaching change his recruitment opened back up. Three recruiting services has him ranked as a three-star recruit while one had him as a four star recruit.
Blanchard is listed as clocking a 4.45 40-yard dash. Rivals.com has him ranked as the #35 nationally at his position and #15 in the state of Louisiana while 247Sports has him ranked as the #42 player at his position. Despite injuries in his junior year, he still gained 400 yards rushing with six touchdowns. He was then named offensive MVP of the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl back in December. He was offered scholarships by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette among others.
Blanchard’s skill and potential explosiveness could give that extra punch that the Coach Matthews spread attack needs to open up both the running and passing games.
Roman Buchanan is a 6’2” 205-pound safety from Daleville High School in Daleville, Alabama. He was a four-year starter at his high school and was a first-team All-State selection by the Alabama Sport Writers Association in his senior year. As a junior, he had 72 solo tackles, 45 assists, four sacks, three forced turnovers, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and four passes defended. Then he also added a blocked field goal.
Jacob Chaffin is a 6’3″ 260-pound defensive tackle from Spain Park, AL. Chaffin had 38 solo tackles, 8 tackles for loss and three sacks as a junior. He was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN.com which also ranked him among the top 10 defensive tackles in Alabama.
Devon Earl is a 5’10” 185-pound cornerback from Hoover High School in Hoover Alabama. He had 61 tackles, 5 interceptions, 10 pass deflections and 3.5 TFL’s as a junior. He was ranked fifth in Alabama at cornerback according to ESPN.com.
Dejon Funderburk, a native of Pensacola and wide receiver at Booker T. Washington high school, committed to the Jags back in the summer of 2012 and stayed firmly committed even though he had been pursued by several programs. Funderburk had offers from Rutgers, Alabama, Alcorn State, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Florida State, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, South Carolina, South Florida, Troy, UAB and Western Kentucky.
The Hilltoppers were the last to try to woo Funderburk but he stayed with his initial commitment. He contributed his choice to playing close to home so friends and family could see him play. His big play ability will be used in Coach Matthews spread offense.
DeMarion Harper, a 6’4” 275-pound strong side defensive end originally from Vicksburg Mississippi and Fort Scott Community College. He redshirted last fall at CC but was credited with 38 tackles in 2011 at Highland CC. He was being recruited by Louisiana Tech, Kansas, Ohio and Toledo among others. He will come to South Alabama with two years of eligibility as well.
Caleb Hayman is a 6’3” 215-pound wide receiver and tight end prospect from Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Florida. He was selected first-team All-State after helping lead his school to the state title last season.
Tony Johnson, a 6’3” 250-pound linebacker from Summit Mississippi and Southwest Mississippi Community College is rated a two-star by some recruiting services but is rated a three-star by the 247Sports composite ratings. He was originally verbally committed to Louisiana Tech but flipped to the Jaguars at the last minute. He also had an offer from UAB. He is listed as having a 4.8 40-yard dash speed. He could very well step in and fill the shoes left by Jake Johnson’s graduation.
Xavier Johnson is a 5’11” 170-pound running back from Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Florida. He rushed for 1,736 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. He was ranked among the top 30 running backs in Florida by ESPN.com and was an honorable mention for All-State in 2012.
Akeem Lewis is 5’11” 230-pound defensive end from Abbeville, Louisiana by way of Los Angeles Harbor CC. He totaled 14.5 TFL’s and nine sacks and ranked in the top three in the league last season.
Jerome McClain, a 6’2” 295-pound defensive tackle from Pensacola and Northwest Mississippi Community College. He is rated as a three-star recruit by recruiting services. He had offers from Arizona State, Indiana, FIU, Memphis, Minnesota, Ohio, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky. He is listed as clocking a 5 second 40-yard dash. He’s another addition to a defensive line that became quite thin last season due to injuries and will have a number of seniors graduating after next season.
McClain finished with 51 tackles and 10 tackles for loss last season. Northwest Mississippi CC finished in the top 10 in NJCAA last year.
Tevaris McCormick is a 5’10” 170-pound wide receiver from Biloxi High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. He racked up 769 yards receiving, 213 yards rushing and 265 yards on kick returns with 16 total touchdowns. He played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic last year. He was rated a two-star from all of the national recruiting services.
Brandon McKee is from South Forsyth High School in Georgia and got on the Jaguars radar when he participated, and won, a punting and kicking competition in Mobile. But McKee did not stop there, he also won competitions at Appalachian State and Western Carolina, finished second at Auburn’s punting camp and was eighth out of 200 overall at the Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp in Wisconsin. He was a first-team All-State, All-Region and All-County selection last year.
During his senior season he had 33 punts for an average of 45 yards per punt and a long of 63. He also booted 10 other kicks over 50 yards each. McKee also went a perfect 25-for-25 on PATS and 8-of-9 in field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards. Another very impressive stat was 40 touchbacks on 45 kickoffs. All of those stats earned him First Team All-State honors in 6A.
McKee had interest from Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State plus some lower division schools. Texas A&M wanted him to join the program as a preferred walk-on. However he chose to verbally commit to South Alabama. The staff is primarily interested in him for punting duties since Scott Garber, who has handled the punting duties for the program’s first four years and has another year of eligibilty remaining is considering leaving.
But McKee may have an opportunity to placekick as well. Michel Chapuseaux graduated from the program leaving an opportunity for someone to earn his spot.
Theo Rich, a 6’3” 270-pound defensive tackle/strong-side defensive end from Portal High School in Portal Georgia and Itawamba Community College. He is ranked as a two-star prospect by some of the recruiting services. He signed with NC State before leaving the team in 2012 and going to Itawamba CC. He had offers from Middle Tennessee State and Georgia State but chose South Alabama in the end.
Rich will come to South Alabama with two years of eligibility remaining and will help to add depth to a defensive line that is full of seniors. He will also give the Jags experience on the defensive line next season as well.
Brett Sheehan, a 6’3” 184-pound quarterback from Suwanee Georgia and Collins Hill High School signed with South Alabama over Georgia State and FIU. He is considered a pocket passer and clocked a 4.93 40-yard dash. He is rated as a two-star recruit by some of the recruiting services.
DeVonta Staples is a 6’1” 190-pound safety from Valley High School in Lanett, Alabama. He was named to the All-State team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association
Jalen Wells is a 6’5” 230-pound defensive end from Dublin High School in Dublin, Georgia. He was projected at a number of positions by recruiting services such as tight end and linebacker. He had interest from Florida, Georgia, NC State, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech. Wells was rated a three-star recruit according to Scout.com and was named first-team All-Region and All-Middle Georgia last year.
Below are junior college transfers who signed with the Jaguars in December.
Cristobal Dinham is a 5’10” 210-pound running back from Lithonia Georgia by way of Independence Community College in Kansas. He ranked fifth in the NJCAA after rushing for 1,012 yards in 2012 with 10 touchdowns.
The Fuller twins are from Scooba, Mississippi and attended Kemper County High School. They both attended East Central Mississippi CC. Steffon Fuller is a 6’4″ 205-pound safety who recorded 54 tackles and four pass break-ups last season to be named first-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s First-Team All-State. He recorded eight tackles in three of the Warriors’ nine games including against nationally-ranked East Mississippi CC.
Steven Fuller is also 6’4″ weighing in at 200-pounds. He played in the secondary, at wide receiver and on special teams until last year. Defensively he had 20 tackles, three of them for loss, two pass defenses and a blocked kick. Offensively he caught seven passes for 95 yards while collecting 13 pancake blocks on run plays.
Montell Garner is a 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback originally from Colleyville, Texas and transferring from Navarro Junior College. He tallied eight pass break-ups in the season which tied him for fifth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. He also added 23 tackles and an interception. The Bulldogs finished ranked fourth in the NJCAA poll with a 10-2 record. Against nationally ranked Kilgore Junior College, Garner tallied 10 tackles in the 42-14 win. Then against Blinn JC he tallied seven tackles, three passes defended and an interception in the win.
Jay Jones is a 5’9″, 180-pound running back from Horn Lake, Mississippi and transferring from Northwest Mississippi Community College. Jones rushed for 504 yards and three touchdowns to rank in the top 50 in the nation rushing. He also added 11 pass receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown. He began the season with an 83-yard, one touchdown rushing performance with another 23 yards on three catches against Copiah-Lincoln CC. He followed that up with a season-high of 157 yards rushing on 29 carries in a win at Jones County CC. He then followed that performance with a 126 yard rushing performance with a touchdown against Holmes CC. He also had a 51 yard reception during the season.
Desmond LaVelle is a 5’11″ 230-pound linebacker from Decatur, Alabama who transfers to USA from Northwest Mississippi CC. He tied for fourth on the team with 53 tackles, with 4.5 of them for a loss, two fumble recoveries an interception and a pass defended while earning first-team All-Conference honors. His team finished 8-2 on the season ranked ninth in the final NJCAA rankings and a defense ranked 14th in the nation with 316.6 yards per game. As a freshman in 2011, LaVelle collected 25 tackles, two of them for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Jaguar fans should be quite pleased with this recruiting class. If recent patterns continue, the staff should should do a great job of developing their talent to translate into outstanding play on the field. The defensive line and secondary added some very high quality depth. Offensively, the Jags added some big play threats and much needed depth at running back and wide receiver. They also picked up a huge offensive lineman, which was their target number for this class.
With the ability of back-signing the December JuCo signees to 2012, coach Jones said that he had five open scholarships and were still in the recruiting process for this class. The staff will have their eyes open for receivers to help build more depth and big play potential to the position.
Congratulations guys! We are glad that you chose South Alabama and look forward to watching you develop your abilities for the Jaguars.
USA Get Verbal Commitment From JuCo Pass Rusher
National Signing day is quickly approaching and the Jags got a verbal commitment from a much needed pass rusher on Thursday.
Akeem Lewis, a 6’3″ 242-pound Louisiana native, had an offer from Southern Miss but chose South Alabama to continue his college career. He totalled 17.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks last year in his sophomore season. He visited campus in early December and had since gotten interest from Washington and Arizona State then added Michigan, Illinois and Houston all showed interest later in his recruitment.
He told 247Sports that his family was a big factor in choosing South Alabama over other suitors. “Well, I’m from Louisiana, so it would be close to home,” he said. “My mom could come see me play, so it’s just the best fit for me right now. Just getting closer to home.”
Verbal commitments are non-binding. National Signing day is Wednesday, February 6th.
Jags Land Highly Rated Recruit
On the heels of the announcement that Terrence Upshaw had decommitted from South Alabama and committed to Samford, the Jags landed another running back, and a big one at that.
Kaleb Blanchard was among the large group of recruits who visited South Alabama over the weekend of January 25. He saw what the school and the city had to offer with tours of the football facilities and the school itself as well as taking in a Mardi Gras parade and the Senior Bowl.
According to multiple sites, he seemed to liked what he saw and was ready to commit.
Blanchard is rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN Recruiting Nation and Scout.com while being rated a four-star prospect by Rivals. He is listed as having offers from Arkansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech and Tennessee by the recruiting sites.
He is listed as a 6′ 200-pound running back from Denham Springs High School in Denham Springs, Louisiana. According to Scout.com he is listed as having a 4.45 40-yard dash. 247Sports has him ranked at the #42 player at his position. Rivals.com has him ranked #35 nationally at his position and #15 in the state of Louisiana.
Blanchard suffered and injury that cut his Junior season short yet still managed 400 yards rushing with six touchdowns. In more recent news he was named the offensive MVP of the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in December.
His recruiting opened back up after the new staff hired by Brett Bielema at Arkansas pulled his offer recently.
Jags Receive Verbal From Georgia Running Back
The South Alabama football team received another verbal commitment following a recruiting visit over this past weekend. Terrence Upshaw gave his verbal commitment to the Jaguars following an official visit to the university over the weekend of January 18th.
Upshaw is a 5’10”, 190-pound running back from Northview High School in Duluth, GA. He is ranked a two-star recruit by some of the recruiting sites. He rushed for 1,267 yards and 27 touchdowns last season and gained over 1,600 yards of total offense. He also added two touchdowns on pass receptions and a touchdown on a kickoff return and punt return.
In a phone interview with AL.com, Upshaw had the following to say. “I like that it is a new, upcoming program and I like what (head) coach (Joey) Jones is doing with the team. The dorms and facilities and the football facility is really nice… They run the same offense that my high school does. Coach (Robert) Matthews (offensive coordinator) said I should be able to come in and play early.”
Upshaw had a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt but when South Alabama came to recruit him, he really liked the coaches and his visit to the campus.
Upshaw’s high school coach considers Terrance “one of the most overlooked kids in our Metro Atlanta area.”
Upshaw is a two-time all-region player and broke the single-season rushing record and single-season touchdown record in two seasons at his high school. In two seasons he totalled 45 touchdowns.
National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 6th. Verbal commitments are non-binding.
Jags Football To Be Without Hollinger This Season
Game Captains for South Alabama Romelle Jones, B.J. Scott, Greg Hollinger and Alex Page meet the Troy captains at mid-field for the coin toss in the two teams first meeting and the Jaguars first Sun Belt Conference game.
While head coach Joey Jones and his staff are in the midst of recruiting for the 2013 class and trying to hire coaches to fill two positions on his staff, he will have a spot at tight end to fill.
The Jags will be without Greg Hollinger next season as he is not enrolled and will not return to South Alabama according to AL.com. Hollinger, a 6’4″ 230-pound former Jaguar would have been a senior during the 2013 season. He had to sit out his freshman year due to academic reasons.
Last season Hollinger caught 22 passes for 321 yards, averaging 14.6 yards per reception, and two touchdowns. In 2011 he caught four passes for 76 yards as a wide receiver.
Those numbers put him 6th on the team in receptions last season, 5th in yardage and tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions.
The Jags will return Wes Saxton who caught 26 passes for 336 yards last season and Jared Palmer who caught two passes for two yards last season. Also Rush Hendricks, Ryan Onkka and Kyle Sappington were all on the roster last season for the Jags.
Twin defensive backs Steffon and Steven Fuller, who were exected to enroll at South Alabama this semester, have not enrolled as of Friday. Instead, they are expected to enroll for the summer semester in May, however they will miss spring practice. They are expected to contend for starting spots this fall.
As for recruiting, Coach Jones and his staff have been vigorously recruiting. They are keeping in touch with prospects who have already given their verbal committments as well as talking with other prospects they hope to sign to the school.
This weekend a small group of prospects will be visiting. Xavier Johnson, is a 5’10” 167-pound running back from Tampa, FL., who verbally committed to South Alabama prior to the start of this past season but backed off his committment just before football season began. He rushed for 1,736 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. While his numbers were down for his senior season, he still scored 10 touchdowns. Since then he has solidly reaffirmed his committment to the Jags.
Kevin Gary, a 6′ 180-pound wide receiver from Georgia Military where he caught 21 passes for 429 yards and 7 touchdowns his past season. Terrence Upshaw, a 5’9″ 180-pound running back from Duluth Georgia, who is ranked as a 3-star recuit by Rivals.com.
De’Shawn Beck, a 5’9″ 180-pound wide receiver from Los Angeles Harbor College. During the 2012 season he caught 37 passes for 647 yards and five touchdowns. Beck’s teammate Jarrell Wright, a 6’3″ 300-pound defensive lineman, who tallied 41 tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss and six sacks.
Earlier this week Jones said that the main needs of this season’s recruiting class are defensive linemen and offensive playmakers. Based on these recuits, that is what they are looking at.
However, the biggest on-campus recruiting weekend for the Jags will be next weekend. At this time they expect to have as many as 20 prospects on campus for a whirl-wind recruiting effort.
South Alabama will be able to sign a full class of 25 players.
South Alabama Looking To Finish Strong In 2013 Recruiting Season
Head Coach Joey Jones speaks to his team after the conclusion of the Jaguars first practice of preseason camp.
With about two weeks left until National Signing Day, the Jags continue to look to get verbal commitments from recruits as well as holding onto the ones already verbally committed to the program. Verbal commitments are non-binding. But the 2013 class may be the best yet for the Jaguars.
This season South Alabama will have a full compliment of 85 scholarships as all other FBS schools have. They can assure recruits that they can compete for the Sun Belt Conference Championship and can be eligible to play in a bowl game as they have finished their two-year transition period into the FBS ranks.
The Jaguar program have received more verbal commitments this recruiting season than they any previous recruiting season. If they can attract just a few more players they are actively recruiting, then Coach Jones will be quite pleased with this recruiting class they have worked hard to obtain.
In previous recruiting classes, Jones and his staff focused on recruiting players for the secondary and offensive line. Those positions were considered areas of need. They needed players who could contribute immediately. Those positions are now strengths on the team, so the coaching staff is now targeting needs at defensive line and the skill positions on offense. But they will be signing players at other positions as well, especially if a talented player becomes available regardless of the position.
“On the offensive side of the ball, we’re looking for playmakers, and that means running backs and receivers,” Jones said in an interview with AL.com. “Defensively, we’ll try to find more defensive linemen because we have a lot of senior d-linemen this year and we’re obviously trying to recruit some depth there.”
Romelle Jones, Pat Moore, Ridge James, Alex Page, Montavious Williams, Randon Carnathan and Byron Sneed will all be seniors on the defensive line for the 2013 season. Some of those names are well known by Jaguar fans and have contributed to South Alabama’s defensive strength since the program began, including their second place ranking last season in the Sun Belt Conference.
Six junior college players signed in December and have enrolled or are expected to enroll in classes this week. If so, they will be available to participate in spring practice, which may start near the end of February. There may be some in that group that may not be able to enroll until May though.
As previously reported here back in December, junior college signees running back Cristobal Dinham, twin defensive backs Steffon and Steven Fuller, linebacker Desmond LaVelle, running back Jay Jones and cornerback Montell Garner have enrolled or are expected to enroll this week.
South Alabama had some recruits visit campus over the weekend but their biggest recruiting weekend is coming up in two weeks. They will be in town when the Senior Bowl and Mardi Gras are both taking place for a whirlwind recruiting weekend.
“The guys we signed from junior college, we feel good about them and the guys we have,” Jones said to AL.com in reference to the defensive backs in particular but also the junior college group as a whole. “We feel good there. I feel like our needs have been met there.”
“We do feel good about where we are, but we’ve got to finish,” he continued. “That’s one thing we’ve got to do. It’s just like every year, we’ve got to finish strong. There are a lot of times when it comes down to three or four players at the end. If you land those guys you’re in really good shape and you can have a great year.”
Just like Jones and his staff preaches to the players during practice, Jones also says it to himself and his staff. “We’ve got to finish strong.” The Jags have verbals from some great players and in about two weeks we will see how well they finish and how well they build on their progress this past season.
Go Jags.
USA Football Signs Six JuCo Transfers
Head Coach Joey Jones talking with wide receiver Carr Tigner during preseason practice.
The University of South Alabama football team received National Letter-of-Intent’s from six junior-college transfers on Wednesday.
Jay Jones, Cristobal Dinham, Montell Garner, Desmond LaVelle and twins Steven and Steffon Fuller all signed with the Jaguars on Wednesday. They will enroll at USA in January and will be eligible to participate in spring drills.
Jones is a 5’9″, 180-pound running back from Horn Lake, Mississippi adn transferring from Northwest Mississippi Community College. Jones rushed for 504 yards and three touchdowns to rank in the top 50 in the nation rushing. He also added 11 pass receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown. He began the season with an 83-yard, one touchdown rushing performance with another 23 yards on three catches against Copiah-Lincoln CC. He followed that up with a season-high of 157 yards rushing on 29 carries in a win at Jones County CC. He then followed that performance with a 126 yard rushing performance with a touchdown against Holmes CC. He also had a 51 yard reception during the season.
Dinham is 5’10”, 210-pound running back from Lithonia, Georgia and transfers from Independence Community College in Kansas. He ranked fifth in the NCJAA by averaging 126.5 yards per game and finished the season with 1,012 yards and 10 touchdowns. He rushed for 100+ yards in five of his eight games. He rushed 30 times for 276 yards in the season finale in a win over Highland Community College. He tied a school record by scoring four times in a game against Dodge City Communtity College while rushing for 176 yards in the game. He also rushed for 157 and 110 yards in back-to-back wins for the school.
Garner is a 6’1″ 185-pound cornerback originally from Colleyville, Texas and transferring from Navarro Junior College. He tallied eight pass break-ups in the season which tied him for fifth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. He also added 23 tackles and an interception. The Bulldogs finished ranked fourth in the NJCAA poll with a 10-2 record. Against nationally ranked Kilgore Junior College, Garner tallied 10 tackles in the 42-14 win. Then against Blinn JC he tallied seven tackles, three passes defended and an interception in the win.
LaVelle is a 5’11” 230-pound linebacker from Decatur, Alabama who transfers to USA from Northwest Mississippi CC. He tied for fourth on the team with 53 tackles, with 4.5 of them for a loss, two fumble recoveries an interception and a pass defended while earning first-team All-Conference honors. His team finished 8-2 on the season ranked ninth in the final NJCAA rankings and a defense ranked 14th in the nation with 316.6 yards per game. As a freshman in 2011, LaVelle collected 25 tackles, two of them for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
The Fuller brothers are from Scooba, Mississippi and attended Kemper County High School. They both attended East Central Mississippi CC. Steffon is a 6’4″ 205-pound safety who recorded 54 tackles and four pass break-ups last season to be named first-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s First-Team All-State. He recorded eight tackles in three of the Warriors’ nine games including against nationally-ranked East Mississippi CC.
Steven Fuller is also 6’4″ weighing in at 200-pounds. He played in the secondary, at wide receiver and on special teams until last year. Defensively he had 20 tackles, three of them for loss, two pass defenses and a blocked kick. Offensively he caught seven passes for 95 yards while collecting 13 pancake blocks on run plays.
“Any time you sign junior college kids, you want to upgrade your starting lineup. Not that these young men will be given a starting job, but when you sign a junior college student-athlete you anticipate that they can come in and start,” Jones stated. “We’ve got a couple of safeties that we feel really good about — they are real good athletes who had a ton of offers — who will help us fill the void losing B.J. Scott, and a tall cornerback. We also signed two running backs because we had a lot of depth issues with injuries there in the fall. You can’t have enough good running backs. And with Desmond LaVelle returning, we signed four on defense and two on offense.”
“I think we have upgraded our team for sure.”
Wednesday was the first day Junior College transfers could sign their National LOI’s. They have through January 15th to sign with schools.