PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Prairie View A&M head football coach
Willie Simmons put down a solid foundation to his inaugural season guiding the Panthers, as he and his coaching staff announced the addition of 10 prep athletes who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday to open the 2015 football signing period.
"We're very excited," Simmons said at the conclusion of day one, also known as National Signing Day. "Our goal was to recruit guys that wanted to be Panthers, and after visiting with them and bringing them to campus, I know guys that we have signed will fit in well."
Simmons and his staff succeeded in signing several local prospects to National Letters of Intent on the first day; eight of the 10 players are from Texas – five from the greater Houston area and three more from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the surrounding areas.
"The bulk of guys thus far are from Texas," Simmons said. "That was one of our goals, which was to bring in local players and establish a strong recruiting base locally."
The Panthers also addressed one of their bigger needs – the defensive line. Of the 10 players who signed Wednesday, four are defensive lineman. "We were able to fill one of our needs and get bigger on the defensive line," Simmons said.
The following are the 10 players who signed on the first day of the signing period.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (Previous School) |
| Sekendric Biddines | CB | 6-0 | 175 | St. Petersburg, Fla. (Lakewood) |
Two-star recruit by
Rivals.com and
Scout.com … Named to the Tampa Bay Times' All-Pinellas County second team as a punt returner … Averaged 26.5 yards per kickoff return … Finished with 28 tackles and one interception … Also caught 18 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns … Played in the Blue-Grey All-American game.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Stevan Blaylock | LB | 6-0 | 210 | Missouri City, Texas (Ridge Point) |
Accumulated 106 tackles during his senior season … Recorded 3.5 sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble … Led team to a 12-1 mark as a senior and a district championship … Named to the All-District 23-5A First Team at inside linebacker.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Derek Brown | OL | 6-4 | 320 | Katy, Texas (Katy) |
Two-star recruit by
Rivals.com,
247Sports.com and
Scout.com … Named to the
Houston Chronicle Top 100 recruiting list … VYPE 2014 Big Man of the Year … Selected to the All-District 19-6A First Team … Played for one of the most successful high school programs in the history of the state of Texas in Katy High School; the team played for three consecutive Class 6A State Championships … Played on the defensive line before moving to the offensive side of the ball as a senior.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Willie Butler | NG | 6-0 | 265 | League City, Texas (Clear Springs) |
An agile addition to defensive line with good speed ... Recorded 126 tackles during his senior season in 2014, including 78 solo tackles ... Registered four quarterback sacks and three fumbles during the season.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Jontre Epps | TE | 6-3 | 230 | Houston, Texas (Madison) |
Named to the H-Town Hot 100 for Class of 2015 … Caught 10 receptions for 190 yards and four touchdowns … Played a key role on a Madison team that won the district championship and finished with nearly 4,000 yards of total offense … Was the top blocker on an offense which accumulated more than 2,000 rushing yards during the season.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Key'andre Hearvey | WR | 6-2 | 185 | Denton, Texas (Denton) |
Named to the Texas Associated Press' Class 5A First team … Earned District 5-A honors, All-Denton First team honors and All-VYPE DFW Football: Denton County honors … Caught 86 passes for 1,265 yards and 17 touchdowns receptions as a senior.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Malachi Jean | DT | 6-0 | 330 | Lake City, Fla. (Columbia) |
Strong defensive player with great size … Played on one of the top teams in the Jacksonville, Fla. area … Team finished with an overall record of 8-3 … Played nose guard in high school.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Jordyn Johnson | DT | 6-5 | 308 | Garland, Texas (Lakeview Centennial) |
Named a two-star recruit by Rivals.com … Ranked as one top defensive line prospects by Elite Scouting Services … Also played fullback in high school.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Jalen Morton | QB | 6-4 | 200 | Arlington, Texas (Seguin) |
Passed for 1,014 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior … Rushed for 490 yards and five touchdowns … Earned All-District 14-5A second team honors.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (High School) |
| Stephen Scott | DL | 6-3 | 295 | Pearland, Texas (Manvel) |
Finished the 2014 season with 60 tackles, five forced fumbles, two blocked passes and a sack … Starter on one of the top teams in the Houston area and in the state of Texas … Named to the All-District 22-6A second team as a defensive tackle.
COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Prairie View A&M head football coach Willie Simmons put down a solid foundation to his inaugural season guiding the Panthers, as he and his coaching staff announced the addition of 10 prep athletes who signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday to open the 2015 football signing period.
No comments:
Post a Comment