Former Ole Miss quarterback DeVante Kincade, Texas wide receiver Montrel Meander and Texas Tech safety Derrick Dixon — are the stars of Grambling's 24-member class for 2016.
GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- The smell of coffee wafted through the Grambling State University football offices early Wednesday morning as Coach Broderick Fobbs and his coaching staff paced patiently, and with anticipation, back and forth from the fax machine to the printer as national letters of intent started coming in one by one.
The G-Men had great successful last season, and they were intent on building an even stronger foundation, one that would make them a bigger, faster, stronger championship-focused team. It was clear that Fobbs is excited about GSU's 24-member National Signing Day success and what's ahead this spring and summer as he prepares for another great season after a 9-3 overall, 9-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference record and the SWAC Western Division title.
"I can tell you, and I can reassure you, that it has been a great day for us coaches," head football coach Broderick Fobbs said after numerous faxes had arrived. "These guys are difference makers. These guys come in and things change immediately."
Grambling State landed 24 players in its 2016 class, including previously committed mid-year transfers from larger FBS school programs and high school prospects Among them were five mid-year transfers: quarterback Devante Kincade, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound player who transferred from Ole Miss earlier this year; Darius Christmas, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound middle linebacker from East Mississippi Community College; Derrick Dixon, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound safety from Texas Tech University; Darrell Clark, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver from the University of Arizona, and Montreal Meander, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound wide receiver from the University of Texas.
GSU landed several linemen, especially offensive lineman, beefing up the front line to protect any Grambling State quarterback following the success of QB Jonathan Williams. The team also beefed up with more linebackers, and got commitments from several Louisiana players.
Overall, in addition to the transfers, Grambling State landed players from near and far, including nearby Louisiana players, four players from Texas, four players from Alabama, eight players from Louisiana and one each from Arkansas, Florida and California.
"We are very pleased with the guys that we have that we are adding to the mix," added Fobbs.
Fobbs said a lot of the young players are filling areas of need after a large number of players graduated.
"We wanted to get bigger. We feel that we are probably one of the most athletic bunches in college football," said Fobbs. "I felt we needed to get bigger so that's why you see a lot of offensive lineman and defensive lineman."
Fobbs said he and his coaches set a high threshold for recruits because they wanted to bring in only players who are already better than the best players or those who have the potential to be better than the best players.
The coach said the rapid team athletic success in two years and a focus on discipline and strong academics has brought more attention to the program. He noted that 40 out of his 85 student-athletes had a 3.0 GPA or higher and 23 players had a 2.5 GPA or better. "This speaks volumes for our program and what we have been able to accomplish," said Fobbs.
GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
No comments:
Post a Comment