MOBILE – Five three-star recruits were among the group of 11 individuals who signed National Letters-of-Intent on Wednesday and will join the University of South Alabama football team in 2019, with the Jaguars' recruiting class for next season up to 13 members after two others signed grants-in-aid with the school.

Joining the Jags on the initial day prospects could sign were three junior-college transfers with two years of eligibility remaining — Tylan Morton (Griffin, Ga.), Jacob Shoemaker (Gulfport, Miss.) and Nick Thompson (Madison, Miss.) — as well as three others who can compete for three seasons at South: Conner Estes (Moss Point, Miss.), Gi'Narious Johnson (Gulfport, Miss.) and Kelvin Johnson (Griffin, Ga.).

Five individuals who just completed their senior seasons at the high-school level and will come to USA with four years of eligibility include Dallas Gamble (Booneville, Miss.), Brock Higdon (Pelham, Ala.), Ryan Melton (West Point, Miss.), Dajon Richard (Patterson, La.) and Wykevious Thomas (Riverdale, Ga.).

Devin Rockette (Oxford, Miss.) and Tanner McGee (Randleman, N.C.) also inked with the Jaguars and will join the junior-college transfers on campus when the spring semester begins in January with two and four seasons of eligibility, respectively.

Click here for bios on South Alabama's 2018-19 football recruiting class

"We're very excited about the group of young men we were able to recruit in the early signing period, a lot of the 13 guys we have are going to be able to come in provide some immediate help," Campbell said.  "In this first phase of recruiting we were trying to meet a lot of needs that we had, and I think we were able to do that.  We have two good quarterbacks coming in, one young and one with some playing experience; both are dual-threat guys.  We felt like we needed to beef up on the offensive line and signed two 320-pound linemen who have played college football and will be able to come in and help immediately.  With the graduation of Bull Barge we needed some immediate help and were able to sign the No. 4 junior-college linebacker in the country, and we needed some more speed in the secondary and got two of the top high school cornerbacks in the state of Mississippi along with the return of Devin Rockette, who was a three-star recruit out of high school.

"There are still some things we need to do after the break, we have a couple of positions we still need to fill.  But I really like where we have positioned ourselves heading into the February signing period."

A three-star recruit who is rated among the top 12 guards nationally by 247Sports.com, Shoemaker earned second-team all-Mississippi Association Of Community & Junior Colleges honors in the fall at Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C., where he and Estes helped the Bulldogs rank among the top 10 in the country in rushing, total and scoring offense while also ending the season 12th in the final National Junior College Athletic Association rankings.  The two also were named all-state as seniors at East Central (Miss.) High after helping the Hornets average 453.1 yards per contest while winning their first-round state 4A playoff game that year.  Thompson was credited with 72 knockdown blocks in nine outings as part of a Holmes (Miss.) C.C. offensive line that helped the team stand third nationally after recording 261.1 yards per outing on the ground; as a senior at St. Joseph Catholic HS, he was credited with 50 stops — including 18 for loss — as a defensive lineman while helping the Bruins go 9-4 after picking up a first-round state 2A playoff victory.

Kelvin Johnson is the fourth-rated junior-college inside linebacker according to 247Sports.com, receiving three stars from the organization as well.  In his only season at Independence (Kan.) C.C., he led the team with 55 total tackles and seven stops behind the line of scrimmage.  Gi'Narious Johnson earned two stars and is considered among the top 25 junior-college defensive tackles in the country by 247Sports.com after posting 46 stops — with 3½ of those behind the line — and three passes defensed as a freshman at Pearl River (Miss.) C.C. this year.

Higdon earned three stars from 247.Sports.com after recording 54 tackles his senior season at Pelham High; he was credited with 13 stops for loss including eight sacks, 15 quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles while helping the Panthers go 7-4 after reaching the state 6A playoffs.  A four-year all-region selection at Riverside HS, Thomas received two stars from 247Sports.com after posting 48 stops with 13 of those behind the line of scrimmage as a senior; his efforts helped the Raiders advance to the state 5A playoffs on the way to an 8-4 finish.  Gamble and Melton were both selected to participate in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Football Game this year, with the former earning first-team all-state honors after posting 76 stops and two interceptions for a Booneville High team that went 11-1 after making it to the second round of the state 3A playoffs and the latter a part of three state 5A championship teams at West Point HS as he made 46 tackles and picked off three passes in the fall.  Richard, a two-time all-state selection at Patterson High, was considered a three-star 247Sports.com prospect after recording more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and scoring 24 touchdowns a senior; that total included 1,783 yards and 22 scores on the ground.

Rockette — who made seven tackles and broke up a pass as a true freshman for the Jags in 2017 — returns to the program after spending this season at Northwest Mississippi C.C., where he posted 21 tackles and four passes defensed for a Ranger team that ended up seventh in the final NJCAA poll after posting an 8-2 record.  McGee was a three-year letterwinner at Randleman High, where he was named the county offensive player of the year as a senior in 2017 after posting 3,604 yards of total offense and accounting for 41 touchdowns in helping the Tigers advance to the quarterfinals of the state 2AA playoffs en route to an 11-2 mark.

South, which just completed its first season under the direction of Campbell, will be able to round out the 2019 recruiting class on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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