JONESBORO, Ark.?Arkansas State head football coach Steve Roberts and his staff signed 23 players to scholarships on Wednesday, Feb.1, and said that this class was a continuation of the previous three recruiting classes.
“For the last three years the first Wednesday in February has been a great day for Arkansas State University, and in particular our program here, and I'm very excited to announce that this year is no exception, and maybe the best yet,” said Roberts at his press conference Wednesday afternoon. “I'm very excited to talk about the recruits that we have been able to sign today after a very extensive and intense and exhausting process of evaluation and recruiting, but I'm excited about who we've signed today.”
Overall, ASU inked eight players from the state of Arkansas on Wednesday, 11 players that are expected to be defensive players, seven that are expected to be offensive players, one special teams player and four that a position has yet to be determined because of skill on both sides of the ball. The focus for recruiting this season was talent and character more than filling needs, according to Roberts.
“We tried to, as always, find the best combination of athletic ability and academic success and character that we can find, and with this year's class there is no exception in that,” said Roberts. “We've seen with this year's class a group of young men that can really run, that are strong, physical football players that meet the athletic ability required for us to be successful on Saturday. We're signing a class with an average ACT score over 20, which will hopefully continue our success of the best academic football program in the Sun Belt Conference.”
Three of the players signed from Arkansas were members of the Associated Press Super Team (Kurt Delt, Drew Hilton and Marquette Williams), Williams was the State Farm Defensive Player of the Year, quarterback T.C. Jennings was finalist for Mr. Football in the state of Tennessee and several of the players were rated highly in the recruiting magazines.
With scholarship numbers finally nearing the maximum, the coaching staff moved away from signing junior college players and moved more toward building for the future by signing freshmen. In fact, ASU's only junior college signee this year was defensive end Rob Ramage, who is currently enrolled at ASU but counts as a signee for the 2006 class.
“We felt that this year it was more beneficial for us to sign more high school players,” said Roberts. “We've signed three or four junior college players every year, and we might need to do that again in the future, but we felt like in completing this class we wanted to do so with high school players.”
Two of ASU's 2006 signees, Jeremy Wallace and Gregory Hardy, originally signed with the Indians last season and sat out the 2005 year to concentrate on academics, and have been at ASU since the fall of 2005. Both players will count on the 2006 recruiting class and are expected to be eligible for the fall.
Arkansas State Football Recruiting Class for 2006
1. Tom Castilaw : OL / 6-4 / 270 / Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound)
2. Kurt Delt : LB / 6-2 / 228 / Fort Smith, Ark. (Northside)
3. Chris Diggs : RB / 5-10 / 175 / Hamburg, Ark. (Hamburg)
4. Marlon Douglas : DB / 5-10 / 170 / Memphis, Tenn. (White Station)
5. Darious Glover : S-LB / 6-2 / 210 / Bossier City, La. (Airline)
6. Bryan Hall : DL / 6-2 / 260 / Paducah, Ky. (Tilghman)
7. Gregory Hardy : LB / 6-0 / 215 / Memphis, Tenn. (Melrose)*
8. Rudy Harrell : OL-DL / 6-6 / 280 / Monticello, Ark. (Monticello)
9. Drew Hilton : OL / 6-4 / 295 / Batesville, Ark. (Batesville)
10. Tyson Holligan : OL / 6-2 / 315 / Carrollton, Texas (Newman Smith)
11. M.D. Jennings : DB / 6-0 / 165 / Calhoun City, Miss. (Calhoun City)
12. T.C. Jennings : QB / 6-2 / 185 / Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood)
13. Maurice Langston : DB / 5-10 / 180 / Meridian, Miss. (Northeast Lauderdale)
14. Alfred Louis : OL-DL / 6-3 / 280 / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Fort Lauderdale)
15. Dean Madison : DE / 6-3 / 230 / Colleyville, Texas (Harvest Christian Academy)
16. Javon McKinnon : LB / 6-0 / 205 / Memphis, Tenn. (Melrose)
17. Danny McNeal : FB / 6-1 / 227 / Osceloa, Ark. (Osceola)
18. Rob Ramage : DE / 6-4 / 230 / Hernando, Miss. (Hernando)(NW Mississippi CC)#
19. Erick Stone : S-WR / 6-3 / 198 / Little Rock, Ark. (Parkview)
20. Brian Sheffield : K / 6-2 / 180 / Plano, Texs (Plano)
21. Levi Thompson : DL / 6-4 / 245 / Peculiar, Mo. (Raymore-Peculiar)
22. Jeremy Wallace : DL / 6-5 / 225 / West Memphis, Ark. (West Memphis)*
23. Jonathan White : WR / 5-11 / 175 / Franklin, Tenn. (Battle Ground Academy)
24. Marquette Williams : DB / 6-0 / 185 / West Memphis, Ark. (West Memphis)
*- Player originally signed with ASU in 2005 and sat out for a year to concentrate on academics
# - Mid-term junior college signee and is available for spring practice
Bios on Arkansas State 2006 football signees
Tom Castilaw : OL / 6-4 / 270 / Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound)?Four-year letterman ... starter as a junior and senior ... born 9-21-87 in Alexandria, La. ... undecided major at ASU ... enjoys weight lifting, church choir and playing bass guitar in the church band ... son of Tim Castilaw.
Kurt Delt : LB / 6-2 / 228 / Fort Smith, Ark. (Northside)?Two-time All-State pick at linebacker for Northside ... Associated Press Super Team as a senior ... had 164 total tackles as a senior, including 116 solo tackles ... produced 24 tackles in a game as a senior, a school record ... recorded over 100 tackles in each of his last three seasons ... four-year letterman and three-year starter ... three-time all AAAAA-West selection ... graded by ESPN recruiting at 3.0 (All-Region) ... All-Region pick by Rivals.com ... three-time all-area performer ... never missed a start in high school ... Hooten's Arkansas Football AAAAA Super Team member at linebacker ... member of the “watch list” for the State Farm class AAAAA player of the year ... born 11-27-87 in Fort Smith, Ark. ... plans to major in accounting ... recruited by Iowa and Oklahoma State.
Chris Diggs : RB / 5-10 / 175 / Hamburg, Ark. (Hamburg)?Rushed for 1,988 yards and 30 touchdowns during his senior year at Hamburg on a team that finished 7-5 ... named the outstanding back in 8AAA ... averaged 150 yards per game in the playoffs ... has been timed at 4.4-seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Marlon Douglas : DB / 5-10 / 170 / Memphis, Tenn. (White Station)?Four-year letterman and three-year starter for White Station ... tabbed “Best of Preps” as a senior ... had 29 receptions for 419 yards and eight touchdowns ... rushed 20 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns ... returned 16 punts for 189 yards and two touchdowns and had 23 kick returns for 577 yards (25.1 yards per return) and a touchdown ... as a defensive back, had 41 tackles, six pass deflections, two interceptions and one sack ... owns a 41-inch vertical, 11-foot broad jump and has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... played receiver and defensive back while returning kicks ... named to the Liberty Bowl All-Star game as a senior ... all-Shelby Metro and first-team all-region as a junior ... member of school honor roll ... born 5-6-87 in Memphis, Tenn. ... undecided major ... son of Derrick and Dorothy Douglas ... recruited by Memphis.
Darious Glover : S-LB / 6-2 / 210 / Bossier City, La. (Airline)?Four-year letterman, three-year starter ... first-team all-district 1-5A as a senior after racking up 111 tackles at the linebacker position ... honorable-mention All-State ... also had three interceptions and recovered two fumbles ... had a 93-yard interception return for a touchdown as a junior ... timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... played basketball as a freshman ... born 2-1-88 in Bossier City, La. ... enjoys watching and playing football ... son of Felicia Glover ... recruited by Southern Miss, Louisiana-Monroe, Mississippi, Louisiana Tech and Northwestern (La.) State.
Bryan Hall : DL / 6-2 / 260 / Paducah, Ky. (Tilghman)?Four-year letterman at Tilghman High ... played linebacker as a junior and senior but is projected as a defensive end for ASU ... three-year starter ... benches 350 pounds and squats 450 ... timed at 4.7-seconds in the 40-yard dash ... spot-started as a freshman on the offensive line then was moved to full-time starter as a sophomore on the line ... two-time all-conference pick and honorable-mention All-State as a senior ... placed 7th in state wrestling tournament and received the sportsmanship award ... also participated in track and field ... born 9-12-88 in Carbondale, Ill. ... enjoys playing video games and playing basketball ... son of Phillip and Delma Hall ... plans to major in accounting at ASU ... recruited by Louisville, Murray State and James Madison.
Greg Hardy : LB / 6-0 / 215 / Memphis, Tenn. (Melrose)?Signed originally with ASU in 2005 and sat out to concentrate on academics ... Class 4-A Mr. Football Lineman of thte Year in the state of Tennessee as a senior ... named team's Most Valuable Player on defense ... first-team All-State ... registered 150 tackled as a senior ... team finished as state runners-up as a senior ... born 12-23-86 ... son of Sybil Jones.
Rudy Harrell : DL-OL / 6-6 / 280 / Monticello, Ark. (Monticello)?Two-way starter for Monticello (OL and DL) ... rated a 3.0 player on ESPN.com's recruiting website ... ranked a three-star recruit by SportingNews.com with a grade of 5.5, ranking 10th in the state among every prospect ... ranked by Rivals.com as a preseason Arkansas top-20 (10th) and was picked in the same position in the postseason ... tabbed as an All-Region performer by Rivals.com ... all-conference as a senior ... plays basketball for Monticello ... born 10-6-87 in Monticello, Ark. ... undecided major at ASU ... son of Kimberly Franklin ... given name is Herschel, but prefers Rudy ... recruited by Arkansas
Drew Hilton : OL / 6-4 / 295 / Batesville, Ark. (Batesville)?SportingNews.com ranks Hilton as 13th top prospect in Arkansas ... ESPN.com rates Hilton as 81st guard nationally ... ranked 11th in the state in the postseason edition of SuperPrep recruiting magazine ... picked as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and was rated a 5.3 ... picked as the Offensive Lineman of the Year for his district (4A East) at the conclusion of his senior season ... picked as a member of the KAIT Channel 8 Super Team ... All-State and all-district as a senior in 4A ... member of the Associated Press Super Team ... Max Emfinger All-American ... selected for the Arkansas High School All-Star game ... Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine Super Team member ... born 8-20-87 in Flowood, Miss. ... plans to major in physical therapy ... son of Tom and Jennye Hilton ... also recruited by Oklahoma State, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Mississippi and Tulsa.
Tyson Holligan : OL / 6-2 / 315 / Carrollton, Texas (Newman Smith)?Ranked a 6.0 by ESPN.com's recruiting website ... also tabbed as the 77th-ranked offensive guard nationally by the site ... three-year letterman, two-year starter for Newman Smith ... first-team all-district as a senior and second-team all-district at a junior ... picked as the Offensive Lineman of the Year in his district as a senior ... also academic all-district twice ... a finalist in the state powerlifting tournament ... regional qualifier in the shot put ... born 5-5-88 in Amarillo, Texas ... will be a pre-med major at ASU ... son of Steve and Laurie Newman ... enjoys fly fishing and playing golf ... recruited by Texas Tech, Alabama, Southern Methodist and Texas-El Paso.
M.D. Jennings : DB / 6-0 / 165 / Calhoun City, Miss. (Calhoun City)?Played receiver and defensive back at Calhoun City ... broke up 15 passes and had five interceptions as a senior ... registered 70 tackles as a senior ... team went 12-1 during senior season and reached Mississippi's Class 2A third round of the playoffs ... also had 16 receptions for 363 yards and four scores ... returned two punts for touchdowns ... received a grade of 3.0 from ESPN.com's recruiting website ... timed at 4.42 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... recorded 70 tackles and eight picks as a junior ... first-team All-State as a senior and second-team All-State as a junior ... ended career with 13 interceptions ... honor roll student and is ranked fifth in his class ... recipient of the United States National Minority Leadership Award in 2005 ... born 7-25-88 in Grenada, Miss. ... plans to major in physical education ... son of Wesley and Nanette Jennings ... recruited by Mississippi, Southern Miss and Mississippi State.
T.C. Jennings : QB / 6-2 / 185 / Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood)?A finalist for Tennessee's “Mr. Football” award as a senior ... guided Ravenwood to a 14-1 season as a senior and a state title in the 5A class in the school's fourth season of existence ... passed for 2,204 yards and 25 touchdowns with 14 interceptions ... also rushed for 701 yards and another six scores on 176 attempts ... punted for a 39.2 average ... All-State performer as a senior ... received a scout's grade of 5.0 on ESPN.com's recruiting website ... ranked #150 among all quarterbacks nationally by the website ... rated 5.3 by Rivals.com recruiting website ... all-region as a junior ... team's leading scorer on the basketball team as a junior and led the team to the district finals ... recruited by Vanderbilt, Troy, Middle Tennessee and others.
Maurice Langston : DB / 5-10 / 180 / Meridian, Miss. (Northeast Lauderdale)?Two-way starter at quarterback and defensive back ... threw for 1,765 yards and 17 touchdowns on 108-of-175 passing while rushing 182 times for 1,179 yards and another 15 touchdowns ... returned punts 77 and 71 yards for touchdowns ... averaged 25 yards per punt return and 27 yards per kick return ... tossed just four interceptions as a senior ... timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash ... ran 10.7 seconds in the 100-meter dash and qualified for the state meet in the triple jump while helping to break the school record in the 4x400 relay (3:32) ... earned two stars from Rivals.com recruiting website and a score of 4.9 ... pegged with a scouting grade of 3.0 on ESPN.com's recruiting website ... nominated for the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year ... helped guide team to a 7-4 record and a spot in the Class 4A playoffs ... named an All-State pick by the Mississippi Association of Coaches and by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger ... tabbed all-area by the Meridian Star ... as a junior passed for 1,200 yards and rushed for just over 1,000 and 12 touchdowns ... plays basketball, averaging over 20 ppg ... honor student that was being recruited by Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Rice along with Mississippi, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
Alfred Louis : OL-DL / 6-3 / 280 / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Fort Lauderdale)?Two-way, two-year starter and three-year letterman ... participated in two postseason all-star games, playing left tackle in each ... also plays on the basketball team and participates in track and field ...
Dean Madison : DE / 6-3 / 230 / Colleyville, Texas (Harvest Christian Academy)?Started at defensive end ... also played on special teams, even returning kicks.
Javon McKinnon : LB / 6-0 / 205 / Memphis, Tenn. (Melrose)?Four-year letterman ... started two years at Melrose ... as a senior compiled 139 tackles (51 solo), three sacks and three interceptions ... also ran track ... born 2-22-88 in Memphis, Tenn. ... named to Who's Who American Honor Society ... enjoys working out ... son of Carol McKinnon ... undecided major.
Danny McNeal : FB / 6-1 / 227 / Osceola, Ark. (Osceola)?Started two ways as a senior, as a fullback and tight end on offense and as a linebacker and defensive end on defense ... considered the top fullback prospect in Arkansas ... will join current Osceola standouts Jamarrow James, Chris James and Chris Littleton on the ASU roster.
Rob Ramage : DE / 6-4 / 230 / Hernando, Miss. (Hernando) (Northwest Mississippi Community College)?Mid-term signee that joined ASU at the start of the spring semester ... two-year starter at Northwest Mississippi Community College ... second-team All-State as a sophomore ... twice named conference's defensive player of the week as a freshman and once as a sophomore ... picked for the Mississippi All-Star game for junior colleges ... finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles (29 solo) and led team with six sacks ... four-year letterman at Hernando High ... co-captain as a senior and was second-team all-region as a tight end ... born 7-5-95 in Memphis, Tenn. ... enjoys boating and weight lifting ... son of Mike and Jennine Ramage ... plans to major in mechanical engineering ... recruited by North Carolina State, Mississippi, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss and Mississippi State.
Brian Sheffield : K / 6-2 / 180 / Plano, Texas (Plano)?Kicked and punted for Plano High ... connected on all 57 PAT's ... hit field goals of 51 and 50 yards as a senior ... booted 15 kickoffs through the upright ... also played soccer.
Eric Stone : S-WR / 6-3 / 198 / Little Rock, Ark. (Parkview)?Three-year starter and letterman at Parkview ... split duty as a starter at wide receiver and safety ... set Parkview records with 47 receptions, 800 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior ... ended his career with 17 receiving touchdowns, another school record ... recorded 68 tackles this season ... returned a kickoff for 98 yards and a punt for 65 yards, both for touchdowns, in the state playoffs as a senior ... named All-State by the Associated Press ... rated Rivals.com postseason top-15 performer and received a two-star rating ... a top-20 performer in the state by Rivals.com during the preseason ... ranked 12th in Arkansas in the preseason SuperPrep recruiting guide ... timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.52 seconds ... tallied four interceptions in his career ... rated as an All-Region performer by PrepStar recruiting magazine ... rated a 3.0 player by ESPN.com's recruiting website ... ranked ninth among all prospects in the state and received three stars (All-Region) by SportingNews.com ... tabbed as an “Unheralded Star” by Hooten's Arkansas Football recruiting annual ... picked by the Democrat-Gazette as a top-30 junior at the conclusion of his junior season ... born 6-18-88 in Los Angeles, Calif. ... enjoys playing all types of sports ... undecided major at ASU ... recruited by Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, TCU, Memphis and Tulsa.
Levi Thompson : DL / 6-4 / 245 / Peculiar, Mo. (Raymore-Peculiar)?Two-year starter and letterman ... tallied 240 tackles in two seasons as a starter and finished as the school's all-time leading tackler, 173 of those were solo tackles ... ended his senior season with 129 tackles as the schools went 14-0 and won the Class 5A state championship ... named Class 5A All-State performer as a senior and junior ... Suburban Conference “Defensive Player of the Year” ... played linebacker at Ray-Pec but is expected to move to defensive line at ASU ... two-time all-conference, all-district, all-metro as well ... selected as team's captain as a senior by his teammates ... also was a star high school wrestler in the heavy-weight class, making it to the state tournament two straight years ... three-year letterman in wrestling ... rated by ESPN.com's recruiting tracker at 3.0 on their grading system ... born 11-11-87 ... plans to major in sports management ... son of John Thompson and Karis Thompson ... initially recruited by Kansas State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Missouri.
Jeremy Wallace : DL / 6-5 / 225 / West Memphis, Ark. (West Memphis)?Originally signed with ASU in 2005 but sat out to concentrate on academics ... tabbed as fourth-best prospect in Arkansas by SuperPrep magazine ... tallied 19 tackles-for-loss and had 8.5 sacks as a senior ... All-State as a senior ... two-time all-conference pick ... first-team Democrat-Gazette defense member ... named Best of Preps ... received Steve Jones Award for best defensive lineman ... recruited by Arkansas and several other schools.
Jonathan White : WR / 5-11 / 175 / Franklin, Tenn. (Battle Ground Academy)?Three-year letterman, two-year starter at BGA ... clocked electronically in the 40-yard dash at 4.35 seconds ... named most improved receiver at the Ron Zook Florida Gator Football Camp ... team captain as a senior ... participated in track and field and basketball ... honor roll student ... born 2-9-88 in Jacksonville, Fla. ... will major in information technology at ASU ... son of Ray and Jayne White ... enjoys cars and music ... recruited by Virginia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
Marquette Williams : DB / 6-0 / 185 / West Memphis, Ark. (West Memphis)?Named the State Farm Class AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year ... All-State selection as a senior and junior by the Associated Press as well as a member of its Super Team as a senior ... tabbed “Best of Preps” ... Hooten's Arkansas Football-State Farm Defensive Player of the Year in Arkansas ... three-year starter at defensive back ... as a senior, recorded 63 tackles, broke up 16 passes and had three interceptions for the Blue Devils ... missed four games during his senior year but still rushed for 1,236-yards on 122 carries with 12 touchdowns and averaged 10 yards per carry ... rushed for 288 yards and three scores on just 16 carries in playoffs vs. Fayetteville ... rated as a two-star player by Rivals.com ... in the preseason was picked as the 17th-best player in the state of Arkansas by Rivals.com ... rated a 3.0 player on ESPN.com's recruiting website ... tabbed as an “Unheralded Star” by Hooten's Arkansas Football recruiting annual ... as a junior rushed for 918-yards and nine touchdowns on just 60 carries ... recorded four interceptions ... timed at 4.4-seconds in the 40-yard dash ... participated in track and field and basketball ... born 11-26-87 in Memphis, Tenn. ... undecided major at ASU ... son of Melanie Williams ... recruited by Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan and Memphis.
