MOBILE, Ala. – Among the group of 19 individuals who signed National Letters-of-Intent on Wednesday and will join the University of South Alabama football team in 2020 are 13 three-star recruits and three individuals who just won a junior college national title.

Joining the program on the initial day prospects could sign were eight junior-college transfers with two years of eligibility remaining — Dewayne Betts Jr. (Memphis, Tenn.), Hayden Burton (Bogue Chitto, Miss.), Zeke Chapman (Lake, Miss.), Chance Lovertich (Brandon, Miss.), Darrell Luter Jr. (Hattiesburg, Miss.), Jamie Sheriff (Terry, Miss.), CJ Thompson (Tulsa, Okla.) and Quentin Wilfawn (Oxford, Miss.).

The larger portion of the class is comprised of 11 individuals who just completed their senior seasons at the high-school level and will come to Mobile with four years of eligibility: Yamarus Banks (Ridgeland, Miss.), Nae'Saan Dickerson (Ellenwood, Ga.), Latarius "Kado" Carr (Olive Branch, Miss.), Elijah Gainey (Flowery Branch, Ga.), Jacob Hopper (Boaz, Ala.), Carlos Johnson (Spanish Fort, Ala.), Caullin Lacy (Mobile, Ala.), Andrew McMillan (Long Beach, Miss.), Christian Sapp (Kiln, Miss.), Zyon Walker (Memphis, Tenn.) and Christian Wortham (Grenada, Miss.).

All eight JUCO signees — Betts Jr., Burton, Chapman, Lovertitch, Luter, Sheriff, Thompson and Wilfawn — will join the program in January. McMillan will also enroll and begin classes next semester as an early graduate.

Click here for bios on South Alabama's 2020 recruiting class

"We approached this signing class from a couple of different angles with the first being that we had a couple of positions that we needed to have some guys come in and give us immediate help," said head coach Steve Campbell about the construction of the class. "We felt like we definitely addressed needs along the defensive line where we lost some guys to graduation; we feel like we definitely shored ourselves up there with some size, athleticism and in our pass rush. I also felt like we needed to bring in some players with experience in the secondary, and I feel we addressed those needs as well. We added a junior-college All-American with speed and size to help us in the secondary.

"Offensively, we signed a 6-foot-5 tackle that played on a national championship team who will be able to come in and give us some immediate help. We also added some really good young talent along the offensive line to give that group a chance to develop. At quarterback, we signed an older guy and a younger guy, both of who we are excited about. [Lovertitch] was an All-American who has won championships in high school and a national championship in junior college, the other [Gainey] is a big, physical and very talented player that we are excited about getting into our program and watching him develop and compete. We felt like we needed to get some good, young receivers in our program. We have some good receivers coming back in Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Wayne and Kawaan Baker, so we really wanted to bring in some good, young talent in at that position."

Chapman earned three stars and was included among the top 20 junior-college recruits at defensive tackles by 247Sports.com, after posting 35 total tackles with six behind the line of scrimmage his sophomore season at Pearl River (Miss.) CC.
Johnson was four-year letterwinner at Spanish Fort High, where he helped the Toros to a 41-12 record and a berth in the state 6A playoffs each year. Johnson was selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game following the conclusion of his prep career, and recorded 85 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, eight sacks and 15 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble as a junior as SFHS. Walker was a three-year letterwinner at Whitehaven High School in Memphis, Tenn., where he earned all-state, all-region and all-metro honors as a senior after posting 27 total tackles including 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage and two fumble recoveries in eight contests.

Thompson — a 6-foot-1 safety — earned second-team All-American honors as a sophomore at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M JC with 62 total tackles, five interceptions and three fumble recoveries. He is considered the top junior-college recruit in Oklahoma and the 13th-rated safety in the country by 247Sports.com, receiving three stars from the organization.

Also in the defensive backfield in the incoming class are Betts Jr., who was chosen first-team all-Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges his sophomore year at Coahoma (Miss.) CC after posting 32 total stops, a fumble recovery and a pass break up. Luter Jr., was selected second-team all-MACJC following his sophomore season at Pearl River CC and Banks recorded 52 tackles, four interceptions — which he returned for a total of 302 yards and three touchdowns — and 10 other passes broken up for Ridgeland High.

At the linebacker position, Wilfawn earned three stars from 247Sports.com coming out of Northwest Mississippi CC, and was rated by the organization as the eighth-best inside linebacker prospect. He was a first-team all-MACJC selection as a sophomore after recording team-high totals with 70 tackles, 5½ stops behind the line of scrimmage and 2½ sacks. Carr was credited with 248 tackles including 37 behind the line of scrimmage his final three years at Olive Branch High, helping the school to a 33-8 overall mark and a berth in the state 6A playoffs each fall.

Lovertitch, Burton and Sheriff led Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to the program's fifth National Junior College Athletic Association title this past fall. Lovertitch was named second-team NJCAA All-American after completing 236-of-366 passes for 2,794 yards and 24 touchdowns, while Burton — a 6-foot-5 offensive lineman — helped MGCCC finish in the top 10 nationally in rushing (202.2) and total (440.6) yards per game. Sheriff ranked among the top 20 strongside defensive ends as a three-star prospect coming out of junior college by 247Sports.com after recording 50 total stops — with 12 tackles for loss including eight sacks — four passes broken up and a fumble recovery.

Also signed on the offensive side of the ball at one of the skill positions was a trio of three-star-rated receivers who will have four years. Dickerson posted 12 catches for 270 yards (22.5 yards per catch) and three touchdowns in just five games, while Wortham was among the top 50 recruits in Mississippi according to 247Sports.com. Lacey, who played running back at Faith Academy — where he carried the ball 228 times for 1, 842 yards and 23 touchdowns in his final season — will see time at the slot receiver position when he arrives on campus.

Gainey — a 6-foot-3 quarterback — sat out his senior season at Flowery Branch HS after suffering a knee injury but finished his junior season with 20 touchdown passes and 2,005 yards. Gainey also had a scholarship offer from Troy and was recruited by Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, among others.

Hopper, considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com at the tight end position, was recruited by Arkansas, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic and Charlotte. Along the offensive line, McMillan was also received three-stars by 247Sports.com and was rated as the fifth-best offensive tackle in Mississippi by the organization. McMillan earned a grade of 83 percent and was credited with 73 knockdown blocks his senior season. Sapp — considered the fifth-best offensive tackle in Mississippi — started 33 games at Hancock High and was a participant in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game at the end of his senior season.

South will be able to round out the 2020 recruiting class on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

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