MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones announced Friday that Marvin Shinn has enrolled in classes and will join the football program.

A native of Mobile and graduate of Vigor High, he returns home after spending the last two seasons with the program at Alabama.  He will be able to practice with the Jaguars this fall, and will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2014 campaign.

"We may have the best scout team receivers that we've ever had," Jag head coach Joey Jones stated.  "I've already seen Marvin jump over defensive backs three or four times to catch balls.  It's pretty obvious his height is an asset, which will give other defenses fits; when we watched him in high school I admired his athleticism.  He is an SEC-quality receiver, he is a great route-runner and has great hands, but his height advantage is going to bring us a dimension that we really haven't had in the last two to three years.

"Marvin is a great person with incredible ability, we are tickled to death that he will be able to get on the field for us next year."

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound wide receiver, Shinn appeared in all 14 contests last fall as the Crimson Tide collected their second straight BCS national championship.  He caught six passes for a total of 42 yards, with a season-high two receptions coming in the national title game against Notre Dame.  Shinn also caught a pass in contests with Arkansas, Louisiana State and Texas A&M.

He was an Under Armour and SuperPrep All-American and received four stars from every recruiting organization coming out of VHS, also earning first-team all-state accolades from the Alabama Sports Writers Association on two occasions.  Both ESPNU and Rivals.com had Shinn among the top 100 recruits in the country his senior year, and he was ranked a top-20 receiver by every organization.  Locally, he was third on the Mobile Press-Register's Elite 18 and No. 29 on its Super Southeast 120 ratings.

As a senior, Shinn caught 50 passes for 782 yards and nine scores, and he averaged 19 yards per reception after grabbing 46 passes for 872 yards and 17 touchdowns his sophomore season.  He played quarterback in between in 2009, accounting for more than 900 yards of total offense and 17 scores.

He was also recruited by Auburn, LSU, Florida State, Texas Tech and California coming out of Vigor High.

Shinn is the second former Crimson Tide player to join the Jaguar program this offseason — Danny Woodson enrolled in classes over the summer and will compete as a sophomore in the fall — and fourth to come from Alabama; B.J. Scott started at safety the last two years, while Charlie Higgenbotham was a starting inside linebacker the program's first two seasons of competition.

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).

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