Georgia Southern coach Chris Hatcher optimistically brought in 36 new Eagles Wednesday with hopes many will contribute right away.
He officially announced his second recruiting class on National Signing Day, the first day high school seniors can ink national letters of intent for football. As expected, the Eagles signed a huge group to help fill numerous holes on both sides of the ball after losing 21 seniors from last year’s seven-win team.
“We had a lot of areas we needed to improve in, and overall I’m real pleased with the class,” Hatcher said. “I think at every position we got some help. You’ll know when I know if these guys are as good on the football field as they are on paper, and that’s on Saturday afternoons at Paulson Stadium.”
Twenty-five of the commits came from Georgia, seven out of Florida, three from Southern Carolina and one from Alabama.
“We tried to sign as many as we could and still leave a little leeway in case we found some sleepers down the road, maybe some late qualifiers or things of that nature,” Hatcher said. “Plus they’re some guys who played as walk-ons this season that we need to take care of.”
Hatcher spoke highly of Irmo, S.C., quarterback Leander Barney, comparing him with 2007 Walter Payton Award winner Jayson Foster. With major needs in other areas and three young quarterbacks already on the roster, Barney was the only quarterback the Eagles signed.
“What a tremendous talent he is,” Hatcher said. “An all-purpose player — he has a tremendous arm, great moves, great vision. He’s the closest thing I saw out there to Jayson Foster. That’s a hard guy to emulate.”
The Eagles signed five offensive linemen and one who plays both ways in hopes of addressing major needs up front. Georgia Southern lost seven of their top 10 offensive linemen from last season, including all five starters. Hatcher considers the position one of the hardest to adjust to at the college level, but he hopes several will be ready immediately, specifically 6-foot-2, 305-pound Jerome Bibbins from Northside-Warner Robbins.
With a lack of depth last year, Hatcher’s top priority was signing players capable of contributing instantly. He started in his own backyard, looking to sign as many local players as possible. Pinewood Christian offensive lineman Gordon Warnell, Savannah Christian receiver/athlete Tyler Sumner and Jenkins running back Franklin Green, who originally planned to go to the Florida Gators.
“We felt like we had a good chance of getting Franklin all along, even with his verbal commitment (to Florida),” Hatcher said. “He felt like this was the right place for him.”
Five of the 36 new players enrolled in January, including two Football Bowl Subdivision transfers — South Florida running back Ricky Ponton and University of Alabama-Birmingham receiver/athlete Darell Norman.
Ware County defensive back Victor Daniels and Coffee County defensive lineman Fred Moore both “dual signed”, meaning they’ll attend junior colleges this fall with intentions to play for Georgia Southern at a later date.
Hatcher was glad to have the benefit of a full recruiting period to line up this year’s class. He had just 10 days to assemble his first group. The additional time allowed Hatcher to sign a larger class and be more selective without feeling rushed.
“I think all the guys are Division I-A players,” he said. “You just have to take the same player that may be an inch too short, maybe 10 pounds lighter than the ‘standard BCS-type player’ — that’s what we go after.
“We went out and got the kind of guys we want to coach — that are excited about being a Georgia Southern Eagle. If they’ll continue to work hard and continue to develop like we saw them do during their high-school careers, we think they all have a chance to be fine players for us.”
Spring practice begins March 10 and culminates with the Blue-White game April 12.
Notes: Starting cornerback Brandon Jackson (NFL draft), defensive lineman Jerry Barker, running back Sean Gray and quarterback/running back Travis Clark (all graduation) won't return this fall. Running back Mike Hamilton is also no longer on the team, Hatcher said.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
He officially announced his second recruiting class on National Signing Day, the first day high school seniors can ink national letters of intent for football. As expected, the Eagles signed a huge group to help fill numerous holes on both sides of the ball after losing 21 seniors from last year’s seven-win team.
“We had a lot of areas we needed to improve in, and overall I’m real pleased with the class,” Hatcher said. “I think at every position we got some help. You’ll know when I know if these guys are as good on the football field as they are on paper, and that’s on Saturday afternoons at Paulson Stadium.”
Twenty-five of the commits came from Georgia, seven out of Florida, three from Southern Carolina and one from Alabama.
“We tried to sign as many as we could and still leave a little leeway in case we found some sleepers down the road, maybe some late qualifiers or things of that nature,” Hatcher said. “Plus they’re some guys who played as walk-ons this season that we need to take care of.”
Hatcher spoke highly of Irmo, S.C., quarterback Leander Barney, comparing him with 2007 Walter Payton Award winner Jayson Foster. With major needs in other areas and three young quarterbacks already on the roster, Barney was the only quarterback the Eagles signed.
“What a tremendous talent he is,” Hatcher said. “An all-purpose player — he has a tremendous arm, great moves, great vision. He’s the closest thing I saw out there to Jayson Foster. That’s a hard guy to emulate.”
The Eagles signed five offensive linemen and one who plays both ways in hopes of addressing major needs up front. Georgia Southern lost seven of their top 10 offensive linemen from last season, including all five starters. Hatcher considers the position one of the hardest to adjust to at the college level, but he hopes several will be ready immediately, specifically 6-foot-2, 305-pound Jerome Bibbins from Northside-Warner Robbins.
With a lack of depth last year, Hatcher’s top priority was signing players capable of contributing instantly. He started in his own backyard, looking to sign as many local players as possible. Pinewood Christian offensive lineman Gordon Warnell, Savannah Christian receiver/athlete Tyler Sumner and Jenkins running back Franklin Green, who originally planned to go to the Florida Gators.
“We felt like we had a good chance of getting Franklin all along, even with his verbal commitment (to Florida),” Hatcher said. “He felt like this was the right place for him.”
Five of the 36 new players enrolled in January, including two Football Bowl Subdivision transfers — South Florida running back Ricky Ponton and University of Alabama-Birmingham receiver/athlete Darell Norman.
Ware County defensive back Victor Daniels and Coffee County defensive lineman Fred Moore both “dual signed”, meaning they’ll attend junior colleges this fall with intentions to play for Georgia Southern at a later date.
Hatcher was glad to have the benefit of a full recruiting period to line up this year’s class. He had just 10 days to assemble his first group. The additional time allowed Hatcher to sign a larger class and be more selective without feeling rushed.
“I think all the guys are Division I-A players,” he said. “You just have to take the same player that may be an inch too short, maybe 10 pounds lighter than the ‘standard BCS-type player’ — that’s what we go after.
“We went out and got the kind of guys we want to coach — that are excited about being a Georgia Southern Eagle. If they’ll continue to work hard and continue to develop like we saw them do during their high-school careers, we think they all have a chance to be fine players for us.”
Spring practice begins March 10 and culminates with the Blue-White game April 12.
Notes: Starting cornerback Brandon Jackson (NFL draft), defensive lineman Jerry Barker, running back Sean Gray and quarterback/running back Travis Clark (all graduation) won't return this fall. Running back Mike Hamilton is also no longer on the team, Hatcher said.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
