2015 South Alabama football recruiting class highlight video
Joey Jones press conference video
2015 South Alabama football recruiting class capsules

MOBILE, Ala. – With the number of transfers who enrolled in school at the University of South Alabama in January, Jaguar head football coach Joey Jones and his staff had a limited number of scholarships available for members of the 2015 recruiting class.  But of the 11 high school seniors who signed National Letters-of-Intent on Wednesday, six earned three stars from at least one of the four major recruiting sites while 10 helped lead their teams to the state playoffs last fall.

"We feel that this is an excellent class," said Jones.  "With the combination of extremely good high school players and the group of players who transferred from UAB — guys who were [NCAA] Division I starters who will fill immediate needs — this is a unique year, and we feel real good about it."

In-state signees included Troy Thingstad and Jalen Thompson from St. Paul's Episcopal School as well as Nigel Lawrence (Smiths Station), JarMarkus Sims (Dothan) and Jeffrey Whatley (Midland City).  Roy Albritton (Pensacola), Tavon Cox (Kissimmee), Sean Grayer (Green Cove Springs) and Rashaan Watson (Largo) hail from Florida, while the group also includes De'Themeyus "Bull" Barge (Moultrie) and Tyree Turner (Stockbridge) from Georgia.

The Jaguars also received National Letters-of-Intent from a pair of junior-college transfers who play on the offensive line, Curtis Williams (Miami, Fla.) and De'Arius Young (Cincinnati, Ohio).  Williams was a second-team all-Northeast Football Conference selection at ASA (N.Y.) CC in 2013, and Young picked up first-team all-region and all-Mountain Conference accolades in the fall at San Bernadino Valley (Calif.) CC.

The class also includes 11 transfers — seven from UAB, four from junior colleges — who enrolled in school for the spring semester.  Former Blazers who arrived in Mobile in January include quarterbacks Cody Clements (Whittier, Calif.) and Austin Chipoletti (Jacksonville, Fla.), running back D.J. Vinson (Pinson, Ala.), tight end Gerald Everett (Decatur, Ga.), offensive linemen Cameron Blankenship (Alexander City, Ala.) and Lee Dufour (Saraland, Ala.) as well as linebacker Kalen Jackson (Magee, Miss.).  Junior-college transfers with two seasons of eligibility remaining are running back Dami Ayoola (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), tight end James Bynes (Miami, Fla.), wide receiver Tyrone Williams (Kiln, Miss.) and cornerback Quinton Lane (Ackerman, Miss.).

Thingstad and Thompson were part of a St. Paul's squad that went 15-0 and won the state 5A championship this season, with the former grading out at 83 percent on the offensive line and the latter posting 40 tackles, five interceptions and another five passes broken up; both were selected first-team all-state as well as to participate in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.  Sims was also part of the Alabama team that earned a 36-30 victory in December — he had an interception and a fumble recovery in the contest — after being named first-team all-state as a senior as he posted 71 tackles, five interceptions and 13 passes defended as a safety for Dothan High, which advanced to the state 6A playoffs.

The trio, along with Barge, Cox, Lawrence and McGhee, are considered three-star prospects according to at least one of the four main recruiting services: Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com.

Barge, a linebacker, was credited with 185 total stops in the fall, helping lead Colquitt County HS to the state AAAAAA title while Cox recorded 71 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble his final year at Haines City HS to be considered among the top 10 outside linebackers in Florida by Scout.com.  Lawrence earned second-team all-state accolades as a senior at Smiths Station High after posting 91 stops, five passes broken up and a pair of interceptions.

Grayer made 81 stops last season to go along with eight sacks and five forced fumbles to help Clay High advance to the second round of the state 5A playoffs, while the defensive end/outside linebacker had 22 tackles for loss and was a second-team all-state selection as a junior after leading the Blue Devils to the state championship game.  Albritton and Turner, both defensive linemen, helped their schools qualify for postseason play in 2014, with the former earning second-team all-state honors after helping Pensacola High reach the state 6A playoffs and the latter garnering all-region accolades by posting seven sacks as Stockbridge HS finished 11-3 after making the semifinals of the state AAAAA playoffs.

Whatley was chosen first-team all-state each of the last two seasons, recording 105 tackles with 33 for loss including 13 sacks from his defensive end position in the fall as Dale County HS went 14-1 and reached the state 3A title contest for the first time in school history.  Watson, who plays cornerback, helped Pinellas Park High advance to the state 7A playoffs and was a first-team all-district, all-county and all-conference honoree as a senior.

"We didn't target a certain position because of all the older players we signed, we filled in around them," explained Jones.  "We have a lot of offensive players coming in from UAB, so with the high-school prospects we focused more on the defensive side of the ball.  We feel great about the class, not only because we believe they are great athletes but because they are competitors with good character who are great in the classroom."

Last fall, USA became the fastest NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision program to participate in a bowl game after earning an invitation to the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and has been eligible for postseason action two years in a row after winning six contests in 2013 as well.

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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