MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program completed its 2018 recruiting class — the first for new head coach Steve Campbell — on Wednesday with the announcement that 13 individuals have signed National Letters-of-Intent or accepted admission to the school.
Set to join the program in the fall are
Ben Becker (Riverside, Mo.),
Tony Brown (Hurley, Miss.),
Charles Coleman (Huntsville, Ala.),
Carlos Davis (Muscle Shoals, Ala.),
Mo Edwards Jr. (Alabaster, Ala.),
Will Eiland (Mobile),
Tyrone Hall (Theodore, Ala.),
Wyatt Green (Hurley, Miss.),
Tyler Jernigan (Bay Minette, Ala.),
Josh McCulloch (Houston, Texas),
John Miller (Panama City, Fla.),
Desmond Trotter (Birmingham, Ala.) and
Jared Wilson (Troy, Ala.).
Signing with the Jags in December were junior-college transfers
Jordan Beaton (Saucier, Miss.),
Travis Reed (Meridian, Miss.) and
Roy Yancey (Opelika, Ala.), Mobile natives
Keith Gallmon (Mobile Christian School) and
Jamall Hickbottam (Williamson High),
Tyrone Legette (River Ridge, La.),
Kade Koler (Madison, Ala.),
Braden Moody (Vicksburg, Miss.),
Maurice Strong (Lake Butler, Fla.) and
Keon Voisin (Crestview, Fla.), bringing South's 2018 signing class to a total of 23 recruits. The group includes nine prospects who have received three stars from at least one organization with 11 others considered two-star recruits.
Click here for bios on South Alabama's 2018 football recruiting class
"The big thing we did after the first signing day in December was reevaluate where we were at, who we had on board and what we needed to do in order to fill some immediate needs," said Campbell. "We needed to address depth at running back — last year the roster got decimated by injury — and we needed to get some good, young offensive linemen. With three senior quarterbacks, which is not a situation that you see very often, we felt like we needed to help ourselves with a dynamic, young quarterback, and we wanted to keep adding overall depth. If everything works out like we hope it will, we have addressed a lot of needs not only for the upcoming fall but hopefully set ourselves up for a good situation in the future."
Eleven of the 13 individuals signing with South on Wednesday are on the offensive side of the ball. Trotter, a three-star 247Sports.com quarterback recruit, was chosen second-team all-state in the fall after accounting for more than 4,000 yards of total offense and 40 touchdowns while helping Shades Valley High to an 8-4 mark and a win in the opening round of the state 6A playoffs. Joining him in the backfield are running backs Brown and Davis, with the former named Mississippi's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 after gaining 2,687 yards and scoring 47 touchdowns for a 13-1 East Central HS team that advanced to the state 4A championship game for the first time in school history and the latter supplying 1,693 yards and 16 scores on the ground in leading Muscle Shoals HS to a victory in the first round of the state 6A playoffs en route to a 9-3 finish. At wide receiver Edwards Jr. comes to the program from Thompson High, where he caught 67 passes for 1,118 yards and 12 touchdowns to be named honorable mention all-state after the Warriors ended up 12-1 following an appearance in the semifinals of the state 7A playoffs.
Becker, an offensive lineman, received all-state accolades as well as three stars from 247Sports.com after helping Park Hill South HS to a berth in the state 5A playoffs as a senior while McCulloch — also considered a three-star prospect by the organization — did not allow a sack on the line in earning all-district honors in leading Aldine Benjamin Davis High to an appearance in the University Interscholastic League Division 1 6A playoffs.
Hall recorded 55 tackles, five interceptions and nine other passes defensed his final year as a safety at Theodore High, earning two stars from 247Sports.com after helping the Bobcats qualify for the state 7A playoffs in 2017. Coleman is also considered a two-star recruit after posting 63 tackles — including 13 behind the line of scrimmage — and a forced fumble for a Mae Jemison High squad that went 10-2, won the region championship and advanced to the second round of the state 5A playoffs.
Miller and Wilson are running backs as well, while Eiland, Green and Jernigan all play on the line. Miller was invited to play in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic after rushing for 2,194 yards and 21 touchdowns at Mosley High in the fall, and Wilson earned three stars from 247Sports.com following a season during which he posted 1,212 yards and 13 scores while helping Charles Henderson HS to a berth in the state 5A playoffs. A two-star prospect, Eiland was a four-year letterwinner — starting the last two — for a St. Paul's Episcopal School team that went 51-7 during that stretch while claiming three state 5A titles. Green was an all-state selection after grading out at 92 percent and recording 71 pancakes for East Central HS last season, and Jernigan was an honorable mention all-state choice as a junior before helping Baldwin County HS to a 7-3 finish his senior year.
USA will open the 2018 campaign with a home contest against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 1.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22
—USA—
