South Alabama’s 2011 Signing Class

February 2, 2011 · By · Filed Under Football, News 

Coach Joey Jones talked with WNSP’s Pat Greenwood at halftime of the Jaguars win over Georgia State.

Here is a breakdown of the players who signed Letter-Of-Intent for South Alabama:

  • Akeem Appleton from Fort Payne, AL and Fort Payne HS. Akeem is ranked 10th among athletes in the state of Alabama by ESPN.com and rated a 2* by Scout. He is 5’11” and weighs 175lbs while playing running back.
  • Demetre Baker from Orange Park, FL via Georgia and stands 6’1” and weighs 210lbs. He has been recruited as a running back, which he played in high school. But his time a Georgia was spent as a linebacker. He was a High School All-American by both SuperPrep and PreStar magazines.
  • Jeffrey Dyson from Thomasville, GA and stands 5’9” while weighing 150lbs. According to Scout, he runs a 4.4 40 and played running back and defensive back at Thomasville HS.
  • Ameriol Finley from Spanish Fort, AL stands 6′ and weighs 175lbs. He is a 2* recruit by Scout and lead Spanish Fort HS to their first state championship in 5A. He played quarterback in a zone read type offense. He has already enrolled and started classes at USA this spring and was recruited to play defensive back.
  • Marquel Gardner from Prichard, AL stands 6’2” and weighs 200lbs. According to Rivals, he is a 2* recruit and runs a 40 in 4.6 seconds. He played Safety and is labeled as a defensive back for South Alabama. He was selected first-team All-Region as a Senior. Gardner transferred from Tuskegee.
  • Cordivido Grice from Pensacola, FL stands 6′ and weighs 205lbs. He is listed as an Outside Linebacker. He was ranked among the top 25 Outside linebackers in the state by ESPN after recording 114 total tackles.
  • Joey Hamilton from Northridge HS in Tuscaloosa, AL stands 6’2” and weighs 225lbs. He is listed as a Long Snapper and a Linebacker on Scout while being listed as a long snapper and full back by the Jags.
  • Charles Harris from Charleston, MS from Coahoma MS CC stands 6’2” and weighs 190lbs. He is listed as a linebacker and a safety on Scout and is listed as a defensive back by the Jags. He lead Coahoma with 89 total tackles with 69 of them being unassisted.
  • Maleki Harris is from Cordova, AL and stands 6’2” and weights 200lbs. He is listed as a 3* recruit and also is listed as the number 33 player in the state of Alabama by Rivals and is listed as running a 4.6 40. He had 142 tackles, 13 sacks and 5 interceptions in the 2010 season for Cordova HS at outside linebacker. Maleki had offers from Illinios, Kansas, Memphis, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
  • Kennedy Helms from Gulfport, MS and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC stands 6’2” and weighs 230lbs. He may sound familiar because his brother already plays for South Alabama. He helped MGCCC go 10-2 on the season and finish 3rd in the NJCAA poll. He plays tight end.
  • Jake Howton is another player from Cordova, AL that stands 6’2” and weighs 180lbs. He is ranked 15th among athletes in the state of Alabama by ESPN. He totalled 1,363 yards of total offense in 2010. He is listed as a wide receiver for the Jags.
  • DaMon Husband from Williamson HS in Mobile, AL stands 6’2” and weighs 315lbs. At Williamson he was a four-year starter and is ranked number 83 overall and 3rd in the state among guards by ESPN.
  • Anthony Ingram from Jasper, FL stands 5’9” and weighs 170lbs. He is a 3* prospect according to Rivals and lead his team to a district title with a 6-0 record. His Scout profile has him listed as a wide receiver while he is listed as an Athlete by the Jags.
  • Ceasare Johnson from Memphis, TN stands 6’6” and weighs 265lbs. He is credited with 70 total tackles, 51 being solo and six sacks while at Coahoma MS CC. He is listed as a weak side defensive end on Rivals and is simply listed as a defensive lineman by South Alabama.
  • J.J. Keels from Melbourne, FL stands 5’10” and weighs 180lbs. Keels is listed as a 3* recruit and ranked 38th nationally and also in the top 10 in Florida at running back by ESPN. Rivals has him timed at 4.42 seconds in the 40 and 4.25 seconds in the shuttle while aslo having a 36” vertical and a 3.8 GPA. Plus looking at his highligh film, J.J. has great vision.
  • Desmond Lavelle from Decatur, AL stands 5’11” and weighs 225lbs. He is rated second among inside linebackers in the state of Alabama by ESPN and is a 3* recruit according to Rivals. He has a 4.6 second 40 according to Rivals.
  • Ramone Lewis from Eufaula, AL stands 5’10” and weighs 230lbs. He is a 2* recruit according to Scout and is credited with 84 total tackles during his Senior season. Ramone is listed as an inside linebacker and a running back in high school, but is listed as a linebacker at USA.
  • Gabe Loper from Meridian, MS stands 6’2” and weighs 190lbs. He is a transfer from East Central MS. CC. He was named to the second-team All-MACJC after posting 39 total tackles and 3 pass break-ups. He will plays defensive back.
  • E.J. May from McGill-Toolen HS in Mobile, AL stands 5’11” and weighs 175lbs. May is ranked 85th nationally as a cornerback and is among the top 5 in the state of Alabama at the same position by ESPN. Rivals has him listed as running a 4.47 40 and a 4.29 shuttle. He decommited from Kentucky and chose South Alabama.
  • Dionte McDuffy from Shreveport, LA stands 5’10” and weighs 190lbs. He helped Evangel Christian Academy to win a 2A state championship in his senior year. He is listed as a 2* recruit by Scout. He is listed as a defensive back.
  • Kolt Peavey from Molivar, MO stands 6’2” and weighs 180lbs. He helped Bolivar HS to a berth in the state playoffs his senior year with a 9-2 record. Scout has him listed as running the 40 in 4.7 seconds as a quarterback.
  • Devin Robinson from East Limestone HS in Athens, AL stands 6’3” and weighs 220lbs. He is listed as a 3* prospect by Rivals and is among the top 50 recruits in the state of Alabama according to ESPN. He is listed as running the 40 in 4.5 seconds. Devin received offers from Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, MTSU, Southern Miss, Troy and UAB but decided on South Alabama.
  • B.J. Scott from Vigor HS in Prichard, AL and a transfer from the University of Alabama stands 5’11” and weighs 205lbs. B.J. is already on campus and in classes. He is a top-10 recruit by position according to ESPN, Rivals and Scout.
  • Damond Smith trasfers from Western Michigan and hails from Ecorse, MI. He stands 6′ and weighs 185lbs and transfers in as a sophomore. He was listed as a cornerback and a wide receiver out of HS but is listed as a defensive back by South Alabama.
  • Robert Terrell from Russellville, AL and Russellville HS stands 6’1” and weighs 245lbs. Robert is listed as a 3* recruit by both Rivals and Scout but is listed as a 2* from ESPN. He is listed as an inside linebacker by Rivals. He is also listed as running the 40 in 4.6 seconds. He was offered by Louisville but chose South Alabama
  • Carl Williams from Jacksonville, FL stands 6′ and weighs 180lbs. Rivals has him listed as running the 40 in 4.5 seconds, benching a 325 max, squatting a 455 max, a 4.2 second shuttle, a 36” vertical, a 3.0 GPA and an 18 ACT. He is a 3* recruit according to Rivals, Scout and ESPN. He also has an extensive list of offers: Arkansas, Cincinnati, Uconn, FIU, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, MTSU, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, South Florida, Texas Tech, Troy, UCF and UCLA but chose South Alabama. He played Safety and is listed as a defensive back for the Jags.

This is a solid recruiting class for Coach Jones and his staff. They picked up some players who were offered scholarships to SEC schools in addition to two transfers from SEC schools. Seven of the Jags players are rated as 3* talent and six players were rated as 2* players by recruiting services. B.J. Scott was a 4* talent when he was signed by Alabama as part of the 2008 class. Among the 26 players, seven enrolled in school last month and one more intends to join the program in the fall. Of the 26 players, nine of them are from within the state of Alabama, five are from Florida and three are from Mississippi.

As mentioned in the breakdown of the players, South Alabama recruited against several FBS schools. Some of the schools they recruited against are: Tennessee, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, TCU, Boise State, Stanford, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, NC State, Maryland, Texas Tech, Illinois, Iowa, South Flordia, Connecticut, Louisville, Washington State, Southern Miss, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, UAB, Troy and Middle Tennessee. Coach Jones said that the quote around the Field House is, “If we can just get them to Mobile, we will have a great shot.” Obviously, kids have been impressed by our facilities, the city of Mobile and the campus.

South Alabama definitely shored up their secondary by signing 10 players in the secondary. Unfortunately they lost a couple recruiting battles for some defensive lineman according to Coach Jones. Being out-weighed by NC State, it would have been nice to see a couple Offensive Linemen signed but Coach Jones seemed to be content with what they have.

On the offensive linemen note, several players will take some time in spring practice at center. After an injury last year left them very thin at that position, they do not want to repeat that. Actually Coach Turner remarked that he was on a team that had, I believe he said, six centers go down with injuries.

As of 7pm, Scout has Western Kentucky as the top class in the Sun Belt and number 81 overall. Earlier it looked as though FIU was going to have another year on top of the conference. However, a glace at WKU’s recruits according to Scout looks to be on par or slightly lower than South Alabama. But ultimately the true test is how they fit with the rest of the team and how well their talent is developed by the coaching staff.

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