By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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The Georgia Southern football program announced Wednesday a football recruiting class composed of 27 student-athletes, rated by numerous scouting services as the tops in the Sun Belt Conference for the year.

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern football program announced Wednesday a football recruiting class composed of 27 student-athletes, rated by numerous scouting services as the tops in the Sun Belt Conference for the year.

“I’m really excited about the class that we signed today,” Summers said. “I do think that our staff did an exceptional job. We had less than three weeks to be able to put this class together, to be able to hold on to the committed guys that we wanted and be able to push forward and look for what we felt like were the best possible student-athletes in our recruiting area. We were able to go down the last three and four days, go down and win on the wire with three or four kids and for us to be able to close and finish the way we did, it is really a testament to the work and chemistry to that staff has together.

“I don’t think it was any one individual that necessarily signed anybody, I think it was a collective group effort from our entire staff that worked, certainly with the nine on-the-field coaches and all of our off-the-field staff, our graduate assistants, our student assistants and really the community of Statesboro and the big community and family-feel of Georgia Southern that they get from our dining hall, to our dorms, to our campus and everybody that is associated with Georgia Southern. They’re the reason that we’re able to have such an outstanding class.”

The Eagles added 24 student-athletes from the high school ranks along with one prep school player and two mid-year transfers in Darius Roper (ASA) and Alvin Ward, Jr. (Atlanta Sports Academy) to bolster the 2016 football roster.

GS welcomed 15 players from the state of Georgia, four from Florida, four from South Carolina and one apiece from New York, New Jersey, Texas and North Carolina.

The Eagles added three offensive linemen, five defensive backs, four wide receivers, four linebackers, two tight ends, one running back, five defensive linemen, two quarterbacks and a kicker.

“We were looking for guys, first and foremost, that obviously were high-character guys,” Summers said. “The second feature we were looking for were guys who were good students, and that was the piece we were looking for from an off-the-field perspective. ,”

GS will open the 2016 football season on Sept. 3 against Savannah State.

2016 Georgia Southern Football Newcomers

Name, Position, Ht., Wt., Hometown, Last School

Darion Anderson, WR, 6-0, 176, Warner Robins, Ga., Houston County HS
Chris Barrett, TE, 6-3, 230, Clearwater, Fla., Countryside HS
Todd Bradley, LB, 6-0, 215, Valdosta, Ga., Valdosta HS
Monquavion Brinson, DB, 5-11, 170, Atlanta, Ga., Mays HS
Rashad Byrd, LB, 6-0, 205, North Augusta, S.C., North Augusta HS
Deshon Cooper, DE, 6-3, 240, Atlanta, Ga., Columbia HS
Tori Delesline, LB, 6-1, 205, Hampton, S.C., Hillcrest HS
Lawrence Edwards, OL, 6-6, 258, Port Orange, Fla., Spruce Creek HS
Tanner Hall, WR, 6-1, 185, Suwanee, Ga., Lambert HS
Jermany Hawkins, RB, 5-10, 207, Sylvania, Ga., Screven County HS
Rakeem Hightower, DB, 6-0, 190, Moultrie, Ga., Colquitt Country HS
Michael Jackson, WR, 5-10, 169, Lake City, Fla., Columbia HS
Luis Martinez, K, 5-9, 194, Moultrie, Ga., Colquitt County HS
R.J. Merriweather, WR, 6-0, 180, Tift County, Ga., Tift County HS
Mark Michaud, TE, 6-4, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y., Avon Old Farms
Ty Phillips, DL, 6-3, 260, Moultrie, Ga., Colquitt County HS
Darius Roper *, DL, 6-3, 270, Jersey City, N.J., ASA
Seth Shuman, QB, 6-1, 195, Valdosta, Ga., Valdosta HS
Alex Smith, OL, 6-4, 290, Woodstock, Ga., Etowah HS
Amari Thompson, DB, 6-2, 180, Minneola, Fla., Lake Minneola HS
Kindle Vildor, DB, 5-11, 177, College Park, Ga., North Clayton HS
Traver Vliem, DE, 6-4, 237, Midland, Texas, Midland HS
Randy Wade, LB, 6-2, 230, Blakely, Ga., Early County HS
Alvin Ward, Jr. *, DE, 6-4, 235, Hertford, N.C., Atlanta Sports Academy
Martial Washington, DB, 6-3, 203, Hinesville, Ga., Liberty County HS
Shai Werts, QB, 5-11, 188, Clinton, S.C., Newberry HS
Drew Wilson, OL, 6-4, 300, Bamberg, S.C., Bamberg-Ehrhardt HS

* – already enrolled at Georgia Southern

Courtesy of Georgia Southern Sports Information