GSU Football Signs Two During Early Signing Period

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling State University head football coach Broderick Fobbs and the Tiger program announced the addition of Cecil Cherry and Damien Crumitie during the early signing period on Wednesday.

Cherry comes to Grambling State from Coahoma Community College. Originally from Frostproof, Fla., Cherry starred on both sides of the ball at Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Fla. He was a 4-star recruit on rivals.com and was ranked as the No. 12 inside linebacker recruit nationally and as the no. 46 recruit at any position in the state of Florida as a senior. He was named the Small School Defensive Player of the Year by the Lakeland Ledger in 2014 and was offered by close to 40 colleges and universities out of high school, including national powerhouses Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and Clemson.

Cherry committed to the University of Texas out of high school and transferred to the University of South Florida shortly after beginning his fall semester at UT. After redshirting for the Bulls in 2015, Cherry accumulated 30 total tackles for a USF side that went 10-2 in 2016 and earned a berth in the Birmingham Bowl.

Crumitie, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., spent last season at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kan. He had one kickoff return during his freshman season at Dodge City CC. A defensive back coming out of Leon High School, Crumitie played in 10 games last season and was sixth on the team in tackles with 27, including 19 solo stops. He added 2.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards and eight pass breakups.

As a senior, Crumitie had offers from South Alabama, Troy, Western Kentucky, Kent State, Charlotte, Central Arkansas and Tennessee-Martin.

Both Cherry and Crumitie will be enrolled at Grambling State in January from their respective junior colleges.

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Tennessee State Early Signing Day 2018

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Tennessee State head coach Rod Reed announces the signing of players to join the Tigers for the 2018 fall season.

This is the first year players are able to sign a National Letter of Intent in December. Teams will also be able to sign players during the regular February signing period. The Tigers annual Signing Day Celebration introducing all signees, as well as midyear-transfers, will take place on Feb. 7.

DeMarco Corbin
Running Back 6-1 225
Euless, Texas (Pima CC)

• Carried the ball 42 times for 232 yards
• Scored two touchdowns on the ground
• Averaged 5.5 yards per carry
• Played 2016 season at Illinois State
• Led ISU with four rushing touchdowns
• Rushed for 494 yards on 96 carries
• Ranked as a two-Star recruit by Scout.com out of Colleyville Heritage HS
• Finished with 1,388 total yards with 18 touchdowns as a senior at CHHS

Reed's Take:"DeMarco Corbin is a change-of-pace back. He's a big back with small back athletic ability. He's a down-hill runner and is a kid we look forward to carrying the ball 15-20 times a game. We're excited to add him to our backfield."

10:39 a.m.

Josh Green
Cornerback 6-0 180
Orlando, Fla. (Olympia HS)

• Tallied 114 tackles, 67 solo, 8.0 for loss over final two seasons at OHS
• Averaged 6.0 tackles per game
• As a junior, earned 1.0 sacks, recovered two fumbles and picked off four passes
• Returned three kickoffs for a 21.3 yard average and five punts for 20 yards
• Offer from Florida Atlantic
• Brother of current Tiger, James Green

Reed's Take:"Josh Green was just named the MVP of the Central Florida All-Star game last week. He's the brother of James Green, a linebacker that we signed last year. He'll give us some depth and make a hard push for playing time as a true freshman. He's explosive and has great ball skills."

Te’kendrick Roberson
Running Back 6-0 180
Winter Haven, Fla. (Ellsworth CC)

• A 2017 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference All-Conference honoree
• Had 163 carries for 816 yards and five touchdowns
• Averaged 5.0 yards/carry and 74.2 yards/game in second season at ECC
• Rushed for 597 yards, scoring three touchdowns as a freshman
• Offers from Western Kentucky and Florida A&M
• Interest from Florida Atlantic, Florida International and South Alabama

Reed's Take:"He's an explosive back and a home-run hitter. He's a kid that we recruited out of high school, but it didn't work out. He ended up going to junior college and had a very productive junior college career rushing over 700 yards this last year. He's a home-run hitter, someone we need in our backfield. A really explosive kid."

Kalen Whitlow
Quarterback 6-1 190
Dothan, Ala. (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)

• Went 72-of-122 for 733 yards and six touchdowns in first season at MGCCC
• Spent the 2015 season as a redshirt at Western Carolina
• Passed for over 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior at Northview High School
• Earned All-State Honorable Mention honors
• Listed as a three-star recruit by 247sports.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com
• Brother Jalen played quarterback at Kentucky before transferring and holding the same position at Eastern Illinois

Reed's Take:"Whitlow is a kid who originally signed with Western Carolina out of high school. He's a quarterback that's very elusive in the pocket and can make all the throws. We expect him to come in and push hard for the spot at the QB position."

Antonio Zita
Kicker / Punter 5-9, 170
Fayetteville, Tenn. (Lincoln County HS)

• Scored 40 points as a senior
• Connected on 7-of-12 field goals and 19-of-20 PATs
• Booted a season long 49 yard field goal
• Registered 33 touchbacks while averaging 66.1 yards per kickoff
• Totaled 1,527 yards on 41 punts, averaging 37.2 yards per punt
• Had a season long of 58 and pinned 15 punts inside the 20

Reed's Take:"A kid from Lincoln County, Fayetteville, Tennessee. He's a kicker who has an extremely strong leg. 85-90 percent of his kicks in high school were touchbacks, and he's a very accurate field goal kicker. With the departure of Lane Clark, we are going to need some guys to come in and step up for that position. He's also playing in the All-American game in New Orleans next week."

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Delaware State Hornets Early Sign 4 Baseball Stars

DOVER, Delaware -- Delaware State head baseball coach J.P. Blandin has announced that four high school seniors have taken advantage of the early signing period to accept offers from DSU and compete for the Hornets beginning next Fall. The list includes three Delaware high school standouts and one from Maryland.

The future Hornets are: LHP/OF Austin Warrington of St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington; RHP C.J. Loper of Middletown (Del.) High School; RHP Jeremy Carrow of Smyrna (Del.) High School; and INF/C/RHP Amani Stevens of Randallstown (Md.) High School.

Warrington helped lead St. Mark’s to the 2017 state tournament championship game. His two-run double in extra innings propelled the Spartans past Appoquinimink in the state quarterfinals last season. He’s also expected to be a major contributor as a starti
ng pitcher for St. Mark’s this coming season.

Loper posted a 2.86 earned run average, struck out 19 batters and recorded one complete game in 22 innings as a junior at Middletown in 2017. He also threw 25 scoreless innings in summer ball following his junior season. As a hitter, he posted a .428 batting average with the Cavaliers last year.

Carrow was 2-2 with a 1.62 earned run average, while striking out 71 batters and walking just 16 as a junior at Smyrna last season.

Stevens was an All-Maryland Second Team selection as a junior in 2017. In 16 games, the left-handed hitter had a .479 batting average, .559 on-base percentage , 20 runs batted in, 25 runs scored and was perfect on 19 stolen base attempts. He also posted a 3-1 record on the mound with a 3.82 ERA and team leading .111 opponents’ batting average. In addition to being selected as Randallstown Player- of- the- Year, Stevens also earned All-Division First Team and All-Baltimore County First Team honors.

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Norfolk State Football Gets Jump on 2018 Recruiting Class, Signs 5 in Early Period

EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: DEC 20-22, 2017

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The NCAA added  a new mid-year signing day for football recruits for 2017-18. Norfolk State head football coach Latrell Scott and the Spartans took advantage of the early start to their signing class by adding five new recruits Wednesday, three of whom will enroll at the University in January for the spring semester.

"We're very fortunate to be able to add five high-caliber student-athletes in our first early signing period," Scott said. "Our coaching staff deserves a tremendous amount of credit for identifying talented players early in the process who wanted to be at NSU and were willing to commit to us early."

The Spartans received national letters of intent Wednesday from three players who will transfer to NSU mid-year: junior college running back Cameryn Brent (Atlanta, Ga./Holmes Community College), junior college linebacker Levi Shockley (Salem, N.J./Monroe College) and prep school quarterback D'Andre Thomas (Washington, D.C./Fork Union Military Academy). Also signing Wednesday were two standout prep seniors who will join the program next summer after graduating high school: linebacker Allen Boykins (Portsmouth, Va./Norcom HS) and defensive back Brandon Savage (Baltimore, Md./Milford Mill Academy).

2018 NSU Early Football Signees

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown / Previous School	Highlights
Allen Boykins	LB	6-1	200	Portsmouth, Va. / I.C. Norcom HS	Click Here
Cameryn Brent	RB	5-9	205	Atlanta, Ga. / Holmes (Miss.) Community College	Click Here
Levi Shockley	LB	6-2	210	Salem, N.J. / Monroe (N.Y.) College	Click Here
Brandon Savage	DB	5-10	170	Baltimore, Md. / Milford Mill Academy	Click Here
D'Andre Thomas	QB	6-4	210	Washington, D.C. / Fork Union Military Academy	Click Here

Brent was the leading junior college rusher in the nation this past fall, averaging 152.6 yards per game. His nine-game total of 1,373 yards ranked him third nationally in total yardage. He scored 15 touchdowns en route to first-team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) honors. Brent has two years of eligibility remaining and will enroll mid-year at NSU.

"Cameryn is a big-time player who should make an immediate impact at running back," Scott said. "In addition to leading the nation in rushing as a JC player, he also comes from a great high school program in the Atlanta area (Grayson). He is a welcome addition to our skill group."

Shockley was a first-team All-Northeast Football Conference selection as a sophomore at Monroe. He made 30 tackles, three for loss, and broke up for passes. As a freshman, Shockley earned second-team all-conference honors. Shockley was also a two-time first-team all-conference selection at Salem High School. He will also enroll at NSU next semester and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

"Levi is a big-play outside linebacker who runs well," Scott said. "We also liked how physical he is and feel like he should also make an immediate impact for us."

Thomas accounted for 20 touchdowns (12 passing, eight rushing) this past fall during his post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy. Thomas was named his conference's Offensive MVP as a junior at Briar Woods High in Northern Virginia before graduating from Ballou High in Washington, D.C. Thomas joins nine other current Spartans who played at Fork Union.

"D'Andre is an incredible athlete at the quarterback position," Scott said. "We look for him to come in and compete for playing time and make us that much stronger at that position."

Boykins was a first-team all-district and all-region performer as a senior at Norcom, the same school that produced two-time All-MEAC linebacker and graduating senior Kyle Archie. Boykins was in on 96 tackles, 21 for a loss last season. He also notched six sacks, six fumble recoveries and four pass deflections on defense and scored twice on offense (once rushing, once receiving).

"Allen played multiple positions in high school and is very athletic. He's also a two-sport athlete," Scott said. "We feel he will grow into a strong inside linebacker in our defense."

Savage was a Super 22 selection as a defensive back as a senior who was selected to play in the Crab Bowl and Baltimore Touchdown Club all-star games. In addition to cornerback, he also played quarterback, receiver and punt returner for state runner-up Milford Mill, scoring 28 total touchdowns. Defensively, he intercepted seven passes and broke up 14 others. He is the younger brother of Spartan running back Aaron Savage.

"Brandon is a shut-down cornerback who has a nose for the ball," Scott said. "He's also extremely athletic and was a great two-way player in high school."

This group of five is just the beginning of NSU's 2018 recruiting class, which figures to focus more on quality than quantity. The Spartans lost just 14 seniors from last year's team.

Added Scott: "Over the next few week weeks, we'll continue to identify players who fit our needs and look forward to more additions on the next signing day in February."

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NCAA: Morgan State Athletics lacked institutional control

Download the Dec. 2017 Morgan State Public Infractions Decision

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- Morgan State lacked institutional control due its failure to manage the eligibility certification and financial aid processes, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. For four years, the university improperly certified the eligibility of 94 student-athletes in 10 sports. Over the same period, the university improperly provided financial aid to student-athletes in nine sports.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort in which the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff, university and involved parties must agree to the facts and overall level of the case to use this process instead of a formal in-person hearing.

Due to the university’s lack of monitoring and control, student-athletes practiced and competed while ineligible. This included those who had not yet received their eligibility certification or met the eligibility standards. Other student-athletes competed while enrolled less than full-time, without meeting their progress-toward-degree requirements or after their eligibility was exhausted.

The panel noted the substantial advantage the university and student-athlete received when ineligible student-athletes were able to compete and receive tens of thousands of dollars in financial aid and expenses.

Penalties in the case include:

• Four years of probation through Dec. 18, 2021.
• One-year postseason ban for softball, tennis and football.
• A $5,000 financial penalty plus one percent of the 2017-18 budgets of football, softball and women’s tennis programs.
• During the 2018-19 academic year, scholarship reductions of five percent in the ten sports where violations occurred.
• Recruiting restrictions in the ten sports, including a seven-week ban on unofficial visits and off-campus recruiting, official visit reductions, communications restrictions.

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Bobby Cremins, former head basketball coach at Georgia Tech; Thomas Hill, senior vice president for student affairs at Iowa State University; Stephen A. Madva, retired attorney; Gary L. Miller, chancellor at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; David M. Roberts, chief hearing officer for the panel and special advisor to the president at Southern California; and Sankar Suryanarayan, university counsel, Princeton.

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Grambling’s Dooley makes case for top UAPB job

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff took another step in their head football coaching search on Tuesday morning as Grambling State University offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Eric Dooley addressed a crowd of Golden Lions faithful during his meet and greet session.

Dooley followed Henderson State University head coach Scott Maxfield and Alcorn State University defensive coordinator Cedric Thomas, both of whom spoke at UAPB last week. Maxfield has since bowed out of consideration after HSU offered him a contract extension to stay in Arkadelphia. UAPB began its coaching search a few weeks ago after firing Monte Coleman following a string of losing seasons.

As a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dooley is highly familiar with the Southwestern Athletic Conference due to the fact that he’s been coaching in the league since 1997.

Dooley earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern University, and he later earned a master’s degree from Grambling.

Dooley said that football has always been a part of his life, and he has had a long-time passion for the game. Getting to play on the highest level of football was Dooley’s goal as young high school, college, and professional wide-receiver. After his high school playing career, Dooley went on to play at Grambling.

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UAPB coaching search narrowed to 2 hopefuls

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff athletic department said Tuesday it expects its search for a head football coach to end within "the next few days."

UAPB Athletic Director Lonza Hardy Jr. said through a spokesman that a decision could be made as soon as today. The search is down to two candidates.

The athletic department named three finalists last week, and each candidate spoke and answered questions before an open audience at a "meet and greet" on campus.

Henderson State University Coach Scott Maxfield and Alcorn State defensive coordinator Cedric Thomas spoke Dec. 12, and Grambling State offensive coordinator Eric Dooley spoke Monday.

Dooley, whose scoring offense (31.2 points per game) ranked 25th in the Football Championship Subdivision, coached in the Tigers' 21-14 loss to North Carolina A&T State on Saturday in the Celebration Bowl.

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