Georgia State football signs 24 in Signing Day class

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State announced a class of 24 student-athletes on National Signing Day, including seven high school players who signed Wednesday to go along with 17 mid-year enrollees who are already on campus.

The 2015 class is comprised of eight junior college players, six transfers from UAB who are eligible immediately and three mid-year freshmen who originally signed in 2014 in addition to the seven high school signees.

Head coach Trent Miles and his staff have added six linemen, five linebackers, four defensive backs, four receivers, two running backs, one tight end, one quarterback and one athlete.

“We only signed seven players today because of the 17 mid-year guys who are already here. About 95 percent of our football team is already here to go through winter conditioning and spring practice, and that’s very exciting to us as coaches,” Miles said.

“Our coaches and staff did a great job in recruiting, and it shows in the caliber of people that we are bringing in – high character, smart, tough and love the game. That’s what we want.”

Although there are new additions at every position, defense was an emphasis for the Panthers. In particular, Georgia State added two junior college defensive linemen with excellent size in 6-4, 315-pound Julien Laurent and 6-0, 285-pound Dequeszman Kelley, two experienced linebacker in UAB transfer Alonzo McGee and Kaleb Ringer from the junior college ranks, two veteran safeties in junior college transfer Cloves Campbell and UAB transfer Bobby Baker, and UAB transfer Demarco Davis at cornerback.

“We had to bring in a few more guys on defense, and I think we did a good job of doing that,” Miles said.

Another area of need is at running back, where the Panthers welcome junior college transfer Kendrick Dorn and UAB transfer Demarcus Kirk.

Because of these additions, Miles announced that rising senior Marcus Caffey will return to cornerback after moving to running back for the second half of last season when injuries decimated the position.

Along with Laurent and Kelley to bolster the defensive front, GSU also added size and experience on the offensive, in particular from 6-6, 350-pound Dom Roldan and 6-4, 310-pound Tyler Simonsen, both junior college transfers; and 6-3, 305-pound UAB transfer Kelepi Folau.

The UAB contingent consists of safety Bobby Baker, a former junior college teammate of GSU quarterback Nick Arbuckle, linebacker Alonzo McGee, offensive lineman Kelepi Folau and receiver Nyiakki Height, all of whom played significant roles for the Blazers, as well as two players who redshirted for UAB last fall in running back Demarcus Kirk and cornerback Demarco Davis.

“They’ve done a great job of blending in with the team, and the chemistry that they are developing with the rest of our players has been great so far,” Miles said. “They all fit our mold.”

Among the high school signees, the Panthers added a two-time all-state quarterback in Aaron Winchester from Mount Pisgah Christian School, a prolific all-around athlete in Penny Hart from King’s Ridge Christian School, one of the state’s leading tacklers in Brookwood linebacker Chase Middleton and another linebacker, Charlie Patrick, from state runnerup Mays High School.

Three additional freshmen have joined the program from the high school ranks in linebacker Ed Curney, tight end Ari Werts and offensive lineman Lucas Johnson; all three originally signed in 2014 but did not enroll until this semester.

Six of the seven high school signees are from Georgia, but with the transfers, the class includes players from California, Arizona, Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida and Canada.

“Because our program is only five years old, we are still a work in progress, but we are closer than we’ve ever been to where we want to be,” Miles said. “I’m excited about our group of players and coaches, and I’m excited to have Charlie Cobb as our athletic director. Better days are ahead for Georgia State football.”