.Official Signing Day thread

February 06, 2008

Drew Champlin

Here is all that has transpired
First off, I spoke with OL commitment Kyle Wilborn this morning as I was was headed to Troy.
Go ahead and count the 2007 grayshirts - OL Jacob Creech, DE Brandon Boudreaux, and CB KeJuan Phillips. They won’t be sending in new letters of intent.

• LETTER OF INTENT - Felton Payton of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. is in. He’s a wide receiver.
• LETTERS OF INTENT - The Garden City (Kan.) quartet is in. Defensive backs Daniel Sheffield, Jorrick Calvin, Demarcus Robertson and Kedric Manning are in. Sheffield has three years of eligibility left, meaning he’ll be a sophomore. Calvin, Robertson and Manning each have two years of eligibility left.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Dan Parker, a QUARTERBACK from Christopher Columbus HS in Miami is in. This one would be a surprise. Parker is 6’0, 210, a left-handed, athletic passer. He’s expected to be in the fall. He was 22-3 as a starter over two years, 12-1 this year as his team fell to No. 1 nationally Miami Northwestern. Described as a natural leader.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Gavin Ellis, the 6-foot-6 wide receiver from Cullman, is in the house. He’s expected to grayshirt and enroll in 2009. (It’s now 8:30 a.m. CST)
• LETTERS OF INTENT - Troy heard from the Perry, Ga. duo of Davis, as linebacker Kanorris Davis and defensive end Tony Davis are in. They aren’t brothers.
• LETTERS OF INTENT - Luverne defensive end Stoney Jackson is in the house. (8:34 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - NE Mississippi JUCO defensive end Mario Addison just sent in his letter (8:48 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Stone Mountain, Ga. wide receiver Charles “Chip” Reeves is in (8:55 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Newnan, Ga. defensive end James Searcy is in the house (9:04 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Michael Ricks, the highly-touted JUCO defensive back recruit, is in. I wrote about him a couple of days ago. Not sure if he’ll end up at CB or S for Troy, but he’ll be an impact player right away. (9:22 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Columbus, Ga. cornerback Bryan Willis sent in his letter (9:23 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Newnan, Ga. OL Kyle Wilborn is in. OL coach John Schlarman got to write that on the board because Wilborn is Schlarman’s first signee at Troy. If you remember, he didn’t get here until last summer.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Kentucky’s Mr. Football Corey Robinson, the record-setting quarterback, is in (9:29 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Defensive tackle Tim Lamb (Hargrave Military Academy via Tallahassee-Lincoln, Fla.) is in (9:32 a.m. CST)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Orlando athlete Chris Perry is in (9:47 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Calvin Francois, a DT from Miami, is in (9:48 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Garden City CC running back Maurice Greer is in (9:51 a.m.)
• LETTERS OF INTENT - The Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla) duo of RB TJ Mitchell and DT Chigozie Nwankwo are on (10:15 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Belle Glade, Fla. OL Jimbo Arnold has signed (10:28 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Defensive tackle DeAndre Dorn (Orlando) is in (10:41 a.m.) (11:20 update) - Letters aren’t coming in right now, but should pick up. It looks like DB Casey Hayward followed through with his original commitment to Vanderbilt, though Troy coaches tried their best. They’re still waiting on DE Cedric McKinley to decide between Troy and Minnesota, but admittedly spirits aren’t high in the war room. Nothing official yet there, though. Of note, schools along the gulf coast (think MS Gulf Coast JC (McKinley, Tebiarus Gill), Murphy High (Jacoby Thomas) are out of school today and Valley High School, home of commitment Johnny Thompson is closed because of the weather problems. However, Thomas’ letter is expected soon and Thompson is expected to sign. Most of the big names left include Tebiarus Gill, Chris Anderson and others. Wait, the fax machine is ringing. We’ll be back.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Finally, we’re back. Prattville linebacker Terrance Williams is in. (11:30 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Mobile linebacker Jacoby Thomas is in (11:56 a.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Valley linebacker Johnny Thompson is in (11:57 a.m.) It does appear Cedric McKinley has signed with Minnesota. Tough loss for Troy, but there’s still plenty of options left behind.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Fort Lauderdale running back Chris Anderson has signed (12:12 p.m.)
• LETTER OF INTENT - Milton, Fla. fullback Talris Brown has signed (12:13 p.m.) What’s left? - Of the qualified (or expected to qualify), Troy is waiting on the LOI from Tebiarus Gill, the WR. Troy is expected to get letters from two players who would be sign and place guys (and that’s been reported elsewhere so it’s not something I’m making up) in OL Teavis Durgin and Darius Morgan, a wide receiver from Ocala, Fla. I talked to Morgan last Thursday and he said he wanted to sign with Troy, but hadn’t made up his mind. He is expected to sign and be a sign and place guy. So, for the most part, it’s wrapped up, but I’m going to hold out on the LOI from Gill. Just had some nice talks with OC Neal Brown and DC Jeremy Rowell, came back to find out…
• LETTER OF INTENT - Tebiarus Gill, a WR from Jones JC in Mississippi is in.
• LETTER OF INTENT - Darius Morgan, a WR from Ocala, Fla, is in (1:17 p.m.) Just of note, that’s likely going to be it on this thread from me because all of the guys expected to qualify have signed. Some that have signed will not qualify. I’ll have some stuff later about the recruits from the coordinators, but to all that hit refresh and viewed, I much appreciate. Don’t leave now, though, it’s just the beginning of a new process
  
  
  
  Posted by Drew Champlin on 02/06 at 07:59 AM (13) Comments | Permalink

Kyle Wilborn picks Troy

Drew Champlin

Newnan, Ga. offensive lineman Kyle Wilborn will sign with Troy today. He returned my call around 6:45 a.m. when I was on the road to Troy.

Wilborn was noticed by OL coach John Schlarman a couple of weeks ago and he visited Troy over the weekend. Troy was his only D-1A offer.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Wilborn said he would grayshirt and enroll in 2009.

“Being from a smaller school, that would be best for me,“ Wilborn said.

Signing Day 2008

February 05, 2008

Drew Champlin

Hopefully you will make this blog your one and only stop for information related to Troy on National Signing Day. Here is what you can expect from me, plus some information.

• Live blogging from here as the signees come in (you’ll have to keep hitting refresh). I will be on site in Troy. If the gods are with me, they’ll all be in by 8:30 a.m. and I can go home and go to sleep. Or play video games, as my XBOX 360 is supposed to arrive. Yes, I’m 26 and I still play video games. Get over it. Just sports games, not HALO or Guitar Hero. I’ll also have a little bit of commentary about some of the signees.
• Some decisions regarding prospects will come down to the wire. Defensive end Cedric McKinley is still on the fence with Troy and Minnesota. Cornerback Casey Hayward once visited Troy. He committed to Vanderbilt not long after, but he’s a guy that could make the switch to Troy. I think McKinley’s got a 50-50 chance with Troy, though Hayward’s would be lower although not impossible.
• Some new names will be listed that I haven’t reported. Those are for various reasons or another - guys that don’t have a chance of qualifying, or guys that I just simply have not been able to track down. One such recruit is OL Kyle Wilborn of Newnan, Ga. He is expected to sign with Troy on Wednesday. I fully expect for another prospect or two, especially on the offensive side of the ball, to be listed.
• Some guys have committed to Troy in the past, but will not sign with Troy. DL Jack Hayes and WR Jarvis Kinchen were once thought to be coming back to Troy from JUCO, but they won’t. S Marcus Lott (Union, S.C.) committed earlier but he won’t sign with Troy as I’ve been told he’ll sign closer to home. He’s still showing up on a ton of recruiting lists (except mine). OL Rafael Vasquez (Orlando, Fla.) committed earlier but he won’t sign. RB/ATH Albert Gary committed to Troy briefly, but it’s not looking like he will sign either.
• Expect Troy to sign/announce more than 30 prospects. Three are grayshirts from last year, some will grayshirt this year (probably 4-5. The only confirmed one i have is WR Gavin Ellis, but if coaches release more of that, you’ll have it). Some won’t qualify academically but they’ll be listed.
• I will have some exclusive blog quotes from different Troy coaches regarding the prospects. I’ll just have the one main story for the print and online edition of the Dothan Eagle. The “extras” or stuff I don’t have room for but I know you want to see will end up here. Also in the Dothan Eagle will be a complete list of information/accolades about each prospect that Troy media relations student guru Taylor Bryan, a faithful blog reader, has put together.
• Sorry, I do not have a star system, but I’m not also selling you my services. I just tell you who does what, when, where, how and if it’s on the record, why.
  
  
  
  Posted by Drew Champlin on 02/05 at 07:59 PM (5) Comments | Permalink

Michael Ricks to sign with Troy

February 04, 2008

Drew Champlin

Defensive back Michael Ricks was highly coveted when he signed with Alabama out of R.A. Hubbard (formerly Courtland High School in north Alabama) in 2005. His stock soared even more when grades forced him to go to junior college for the next two seasons.

Ricks, listed as a four-star recruit by some services last year, was set to go to Alabama again, but couldn’t get his grades up. The two parted ways, and the loss is Troy’s gain.

Ricks spent last semester in junior college at Northeast Mississippi, where he played his first year for Benjy Parker, who is now Troy’s linebackers coach. That connection got Ricks to Troy. He’s paying his own way as a strudent this semester and will be on scholarship in the fall with two years to play two. He will be listed among the signees.

Ricks will not be participating in spring practice, but the 6-foot-2, 195 cornerback says he’ll be good to go even after a year layoff.

“It will affect me a little,“ Ricks said. “I’ll just need to get used to game speed again. Once I get used to the game speed, I’ll be fine.“

Ricks says he’ll play corner for Troy, but could also play safety. Right now, he’s enjoying getting adjusted to college life in Troy.

“It’s a good environment for a college student,“ Ricks said.

Finally, some real attribution on Cedric McKinley

Drew Champlin

Defensive end Cedric McKinley might still be on the fence between Minnesota and Troy, but the UM rivals site has an update. With that, I’m going to remove him but I still don’t think it will be over until Signing Day.

“I did commit to Minnesota late last week. I am really excited to join the team in the summer and get to work. I was comfortable with Minnesota and I felt that it was the best place for me to go,“ McKinley told Minnesota’s rivals.com site.

According to McKinley there was one big reason why Minnesota stood out.

“The people, I really liked the people at Minnesota. From the coaches to the all of the players everyone was really great there. Coach Everett Withers and Coach Tim Cross told me that they really like the way I play and can use me right away. Coach Tim Brewster is a great guy who has big plans for Minnesota and I am excited to be part of what he is building.“