SSU Signs 28 Players in 2014 Class

SAVANNAH, Georgia  -- Savannah State head football coach Earnest Wilson III announced that 28 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play football with the Tigers, joining nine players who were enrolled at SSU in January and will compete in spring practice later this semester.

Staying true to his promise, Wilson made it a point to recruit local players for the program. Of the signees, 11 hail from Savannah.

Ellison Burns (Benedictine), Keynnard Campbell (Bible Baptist), Willie Cooper (Beach), Traynearious Dillard (Savannah), Sean Fogarty (Benedictine), Rodheem Greene (Memorial), Quaron Hilliard (Savannah), Derek Kirkland (Calvary), Marlin Latson (Memorial), Johvonte Singleton (Memorial) and Deric Wright (Memorial).

From the coastal empire are Taylor Gordon (Bluffton), Tyler Hagan (South Effingham) and Bradley Stophel (Brunswick).

The 28 players hail from five states – Georgia (22), South Carolina (3), Florida (1), Tennessee (1) and Virginia (1).

Others inking national letters of intent were Nicholas Bentley (RB), Damien Campbell (OL), Conner Christian (DT), David Crowley (DB), Jamal Earls (OL), Rohan Francis (OL), Anquavius Fuller (OL), Blake Gerido (OL), Christian Guinn (DE), Michael Knox (QB), K'Lon Lovett (DB), Leonard Miller (OL), Aaron Redmond II (DL) and Stephen Reynolds (DB).

As listed by position, the Tigers added nine offensive linemen, six defensive linemen, four wide receivers, four defensive backs, one running back, one tight end, one quarterback, one linebacker and one athlete.

Nine players –Brandon Bailey (CB), Josh Berry (DB), Marcus Collins (LB), Edward Goubadia (DE), Jaylen McGriff  (WR),  Daniel McKoy (OL), Leonardo Myers (LB),  Tino Smith (QB) and Kersean Wilson (QB) – are already attending classes at the university. They all enrolled in January, began taking classes for the spring 2014 semester and will be able to participate in SSU's spring football practices.

Gerido, McGriff and Lovett are legacy Tigers, following in the footsteps of their fathers. Steve Gerido and Wesley McGriff played with current SSU assistant Michael Wallace in the late 1980s under Bill Davis. Neely Lovett also played for Davis and was a member of the 1992 team that went to the Division II playoffs. Gerido currently works with the FBI, McGriff is an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints while Lovett is an assistant coach at Evans High School near Augusta.

Greene is also continuing a family tradition of attending the College By the Sea. His mother and grandmother along with other relatives attended Savannah State.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Damien Campbell and Francis both played at Hapeville Charter in College Park where former SSU defensive lineman Winston Gordon is the head coach as well as assistant principal.

Hagan and Wright are both 6-foot-7 and are the tallest signees but Redmond II, a defensive lineman from Tucker, Georgia is the largest at 360-pounds. Latson is the smallest at 5-foot-7, 158-pounds.

2014 Full Recruiting Class List (Click Here)

	Full Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown / Highschool
	Brandon Bailey	CB	6-1	185	Duncan, S.C. / Fork Union Military Academy
	Nicholas Bentley	RB	5-10	225	Decatur, Ga. / Decatur
	Josh Berry	DB	5-11	210	Fort Pierce, Fla. / Long County
	Ellison Burns	TE	6-3	205	Savannah, Ga. / Benedictine
	Damien Campbell	OL	6-3	250	College Park, Ga. / Hapeville Charter
	Keynnard Campbell	ATH	5-11	185	Savannah, Ga. / Bible Baptist
	Conner Christian	DT	6-3	250	Dallas, Ga. / East Paulding
	Marcus Collins	LB	6-0	230	Philadelphia, Pa. / University of Iowa
	Willie Cooper	DL	6-1	266	Savannah, Ga. / Beach
	David Crowley	DB	5-10	180	Jacksonville, Fla. / Trinity Christian
	Traynearious Dillard	SS	5-10	190	Savannah, Ga. / Savannah High
	Jamal Earls	OL	6-3	275	Hampton, Va. / Phoebus
	Sean Fogarty	OL	6-4	265	Savannah, Ga. / Benedictine
	Rohan Francis	OL	6-3	240	College Park, Ga. / Hapeville Charter
	Anquavius Fuller	OL	6-2	290	Sharpsburg, Ga. / East Coweta
	Blake Gerido	OL	6-4	305	Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood
	Taylor Gordon	OL	6-4	275	Bluffton, S.C. / Bluffton HS
	Edward Goubadia	DE	6-2	228	Union, N.J. / Union HS
	Rodheem Greene	DE	6-3	260	Savannah, Ga. / Memorial Day School
	Christian Guinn	DE	6-3	220	Dallas, Ga. / East Paulding
	Steven "Tyler" Hagan	WR	6-7	205	Guyton, Ga. / South Effingham
	Quaron Hilliard	DE	6-6	240	Savannah, Ga. / Savannah High
	Derek Kirkland	WR	6-2	180	Savannah, Ga. / Calvary Day
	Michael Knox	QB	6-3	205	Columbia, S.C. / C.A. Johnson
	Marlin Latson	WR	5-7	158	Savannah, Ga. / Memorial Day School
	K'Lon Lovett	DB	6-1	190	Evans, Ga. / Evans
	Jaylen McGriff	WR	6-2	190	Savannah, Ga. / Fork Union Military Academy
	Daniel McKoy	OL	6-4	310	Newark, N.J. / ASA Junior College
	Leonard Miller	OL	6-4	290	Augusta, Ga. / Union Military Academy
	Leonardo Myers	LB	6-1	225	Augusta, Ga. / Monroe Junior College
	Aaron Redmond II	DL	6-1	360	Columbia, S.C. / Ridgeville
	Stephen Reynolds	DB	5-11	175	Tucker, Ga. / Tucker HS
	Johvonte Singleton	LB	5-11	190	Savannah, Ga. / Memorial Day School
	Tino Smith	QB	6-2	215	Noblesville, Ind. / Fork Union Military Academy
	Bradley Stophel	OL	6-4	260	Brunswick, Ga. / Brunswick
	Kersean Wilson	QB	6-2	195	Columbia, S.C. / Eastern Arizona Community College
	Deric Wright	WR	6-7	199	Savannah, Ga. / Memorial Day School

2014 Full Recruiting Class List (Click Here)


COURTESY SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION