2013 South Alabama football recruiting class highlight video
Joey Jones signing day press conference video
2013 South Alabama football recruiting class capsules
MOBILE, Ala. – For the first time ever, University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones and his staff were able to offer prospective recruits an opportunity no other Jaguar has had the chance to experience — the ability to compete for a Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in a bowl game.
The results can be seen as part of the 2013 recruiting class Jones announced at a 3 p.m. press conference at the football field house on National Signing Day. The group totaled 25 individuals after 17 returned National Letters-of-Intent and two more signed grants-in-aid with the school 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,” said Jones. “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; 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.”
USA’s 2013 signing class included six junior-college transfers who inked papers with the program in December. The Jags added five more individuals from junior colleges on Wednesday, with 14 high school prospects signing as well. Thirteen of those prep athletes received at least two stars from at least one national recruiting service, including six who were rated three-star prospects and one who garnered four stars.
The group included individuals who received offers from or were recruited by Alabama, Florida State, South Carolina, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Kansas State, Boise State, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Utah State, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Colorado State, Southern Mississippi, Georgia Tech, Troy, Georgia State, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Memphis, UAB, Tulane, Ohio, Toledo, Marshall, Bowling Green and Massachusetts.
Up front, the Jaguars added four junior-college defensive linemen as well as one from the high school ranks. Akeem Lewis (Abbeville, La.) ranked among the leaders in the Southern California Football Association Central Division in both tackles for loss and sacks after posting 47 total stops with 14½ behind the line of scrimmage and nine sacks last fall at Los Angeles Harbor C.C. Jerome McClain (Pensacola, Fla.) helped lead Northwest Mississippi C.C. to a final National Junior College Association rank of No. 9 with 51 tackles including 10 for loss, while Theo Rich (Portal, Ga.) recorded 11½ tackles for loss among his 33 total stops at Itawamba (Miss.) C.C. in 2012.
DeMarion Harper (McComb, Miss.) sat out as a redshirt at Fort Scott (Kan.) C.C. in the fall, but had 38 tackles in seven contests the previous year at Highland (Kan.) C.C. Jacob Chaffin (Birmingham, Ala.) was a three-star recruit and among the top 50 prospects in Alabama according to ESPN.com after helping lead Spain Park H.S. to its first-ever region championship and a berth in the state 6A quarterfinals as a senior.
“We felt like we needed players on the defensive line; we answered that in a great way with the individuals we signed out of junior college,” explained Jones. “We signed three inside and one outside guy, all very, very good football players. These guys will step in and make a big difference on our team. Teams with good defensive lines always seem to have a good record, so if we can solidify that position — and I think we have done that — we can help ourselves there.”
Also signing on the defensive side of the ball on Wednesday were linebacker Tony Johnson (Sulligent, Ala.), and defensive backs Roman Buchanan (Daleville, Ala.), Devon Earl (Hoover, Ala.) and DeVonta Staples (Lanett, Ala.). Johnson led Southwest Mississippi C.C. in tackles last year, while during his prep career he helped Sulligent High to a state 2A championship. Earl was also a member of a state-title winning squad after helping Hoover H.S. claim the state 6A championship in the fall — he was named the Hoover area Athlete of the Year by the Birmingham News — while Buchanan posted 68 stops and forced eight fumbles in leading Daleville High to an undefeated regular season as a senior. Staples was a first-team all-state selection by the Alabama Sports Writers Association his final season at Valley High.
In December, the Jags inked defensive backs Steffon and Steven Fuller (Sccoba, Miss.) and Montell Garner (Euless, Texas), as well as linebacker Desmond Lavelle (Decatur, Ala.) from the junior-college ranks.
USA added a quartet in the offensive backfield, with high school seniors Kaleb Blanchard (Denham Springs, La.) and Xavier Johnson (Tampa, Fla.) joining junior-college transfers Cristobal Dinham (Lithonia, Ga.) and Jay Jones (Horn Lake, Miss.). Blanchard earned four stars from Rivals.com after ending a three-year career at Denham Springs H.S. with 3,079 yards rushing — the second-highest total in school history — and 41 touchdowns, while Johnson was named honorable mention all-state in the fall after recording 1,100 yards and 12 scores despite missing two games with an injury. Dinham and Jones ran for 1,012 and 504 yards, respectively, during the 2012 campaign as well.
At wide receiver, the Jaguars added Caleb Alves (Melbourne, Fla.) and Dejon Funderburk (Pensacola, Fla.). The former was a third-team all-state selection in the fall after leading Palm Beach Bay Senior H.S. in receptions and punt returns, while the latter was named honorable mention all-state following his senior season at Washington High; both earned three stars from ESPN.com.
“Offensively we felt like we needed more skill players, guys who have the ball in their hands,” stated Jones. “We signed four really good running backs — one being a hybrid who can also play receiver — who can make things happen. We also got a few good receivers including a couple of speed guys.”
The Jags added three other individuals on the offensive side of the ball, with Brett Sheehan (Collins Hill, Ga.), Caleb Hayman (Gainesville, Ga.) and Noah Armstrong (Moulton, Ala.) joining the program. Sheehan was rated the sixth-best quarterback in the state by ESPN.com after completing 185-of-276 passes for 2,351 yards and 22 scores as a senior at Collins Hill H.S., adding 268 yards and three touchdowns rushing. Hayman, a tight end, posted 11 receptions for 139 yards in the state AAAAA championship game last year for Gainesville H.S. — he would go on to earn all-state accolades from the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association — while Armstrong received three stars and ranked among the top 100 offensive tackles nationally by Rivals.com after starting for three years at Lawrence County High.
Also signing was PK Brandon McKee (Cumming, Ga.), who was named first-team all-state, all-region and all-county following his senior season at South Forsyth High.
The school also received grants-in-aid from Tevaris McCormick (Biloxi, Miss.) and Jalen Wells (Dublin, Ga.). McCormick, a wide receiver at Biloxi High, made three catches in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic in December, while Wells was credited with 41 stops including 11 tackles for loss as a senior at Dublin H.S. to be named first-team all-region and all-Middle Georgia.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
—USA—
