Red Wolves haul in solid signing class for 2018
BLAKE ANDERSON BREAKS DOWN 2018 SIGNING CLASS
2018 RECRUITING CLASS SUPERLATIVES
PULASKI ACADEMY HEAD COACH KEVIN KELLEY ON LAYNE HATCHER
Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson and his staff added five solid athletes to an already impressive signing class on Wednesday’s National Signing Day. Wednesday’s group of players was led by four in-state prospects and capped off with an All-Conference JUCO pick up.
In-state athletes who signed include three-star Star City offensive lineman Jax Gasaway, three-star El Dorado defensive lineman Terry Hampton, three-star Pulaski Robinson ATH Nathan Page, and two-star and record setting QB Layne Hatcher. Joining the group of in-state athletes was College of the Canyons (California) two-star DE Noel Iwuchukwu.
The Red Wolves originally signed 22 student-athletes during the December early signing period. The 27 athletes combined very well may be the best signing class Anderson and his staff have signed in five years at Arkansas State.
The signing class top the Rivals.com Sun Belt Conference recruiting rankings, with the Red Wolves signing 22, and the class averaged 2.36 stars per athlete, pulling in 1080 overall points. Georgia Southern finished second, signing 28 athletes to finish with 1020 total points. Troy finishes in third place with 19 signees and 840 points. Texas State and Louisiana-Monroe round out the Top Five with 825 and 735 points respectively.
The 2018 signing class includes 28 athletes overall, including 17 defensive players, 10 offensive players, and one special teams player.22 of the 28 signees were named All-State or All-Conference. Seven of the 22 are rated three-stars by Rivals.com, while the rest all hold two-star ratings. JUCO athletes Thomas Toki and Kirk Merrit were both four-star prospects on Rivals.com when they came out of high school. Merrit is a mid-year transfer from East Mississippi Community College.
Arkansas State also picked up a solid athlete in Ball State transfer Kevin Thurmon, a 6-3, 288-pound junior defensive lineman.
Overall, Arkansas State signed six in-state players, followed by four players from California, three players from Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas, two players from Louisiana, and one player from Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Everyone listed will count towards the Class of 2018.
BY POSITION
QB (1): Layne Hatcher
RB (2): Donovan Marshall, Marcel Murray
OL (2): Jax Gasaway, Christian Hoz
TE (2): Ross Painter, Reed Tyler
WR (3): Dahu Green, Kirk Merritt, Bubba Ogbebor
DE: (1): Noel Iwuchukwu
DL (7): Tukua Ahoia, Terry Hampton, Christian Howard, Hunter Moreton, Ryan Taylor, Thomas Toki, Kevin Thurmon
LB (2): Derrick Bean, Kevin Powers
DB (6): Triston Anderson, Antonio Fletcher, Detravion Green, Jaden Harris, Jevon Jones, Demari Medley
P (1): Cody Grace
2018 ARKANSAS STATE FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS (Feb. 7 signees in bold)
1. Tukua Ahoia: 6-0, 310, So., DL, Mountain View, Calif. (College of San Mateo)*
2. Triston Anderson: 6-0, 167, Fr., CB, Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall)
3. Derrick Bean: 6-2, 195, Fr., LB, Pinson, Ala. (Clay-Chalkville)
4. Antonio Fletcher: 6-0, 183, Fr., S, Lithonia, Ga. (Martin Luther King)
5. Jax Gasaway: 6-7, 265, Fr., OL, Star City, Ark. (Star City)
6. Cody Grace: 6-2, 223, Jr.-R, P, Perth, Western Australia (Warwick Senior)***
7. Dahu Green: 6-5, 193, Jr.-R, WR, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Oklahoma)**
8. Detravion Green: 6-0, 175, Fr., S, Ashdown, Ark. (Ashdown)
9. Terry Hampton: 6-0, 254, Fr., DL, El Dorado, Ark. (El Dorado)
10. Jaden Harris: 6-2, 190, Fr., DB, Monroe, La. (Ouachita Parish)
11. Layne Hatcher: 6-1, 204, Fr., QB, Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy)
12. Christian Howard: 6-2, 281, Sr.-R, DL, Indianapolis, Ind. (Independence (Kan.) CC)***
13. Christian Hoz: 6-5, 308, Fr., OL, Covington, La. (Archbishop Hannan)
14. Noel Iwuchukwu: 6-2, 220, Jr., DE, Los Angeles, Calif. (College of the Canyons (Calif.)
15. Jevon Jones: 6-0, 160, Fr., CB, Allen, Texas (Allen)
16. Donovan Marshall: 5-11, 179, Fr., RB, St. Louis, Mo. (Lutheran North)
17. Demari Medley: 5-10, 175, So., S, Gainesville, Fla. (Gainesville)***
18. Kirk Merritt: 5-11, 205, Jr., WR, Destrehan, La. (East Mississippi Community College)*
19. Hunter Moreton: 6-1, 293, So., DL, Fort Smith, Ark. (Southside)***
20. Marcel Murray: 5-10, 200, Fr., RB, Hiram, Ga. (Hiram)
21. Bubba Ogbebor: 6-0, 189, So.-R, WR, Frisco, Texas (Boise State)**
22. Nathan Page: 6-0, 175, Fr., CB, Roland, Ark. (Robinson)
23. Ross Painter: 6-4, 225, Jr., TE, Hernando, Miss. (Northeast Mississippi Community College)*
24. Kevin Powers: 6-0, 213, Jr.-R, LB, Sacramento, Calif. (College of San Mateo (Calif.))***
25. Ryan Taylor: 6-2, 311, Fr., DL, Loganville, Ga. (Grayson)
26. Kevin Thurmon: 6-3, 288, Jr.-R, DL, Chicago, Ill. (Ball State)**
27. Thomas Toki: 6-1, 290, So., DL, Mountain View, Calif. (College of San Mateo (Calif.))
28. Reed Tyler: 6-3, 236, Fr., TE, Brandon, Miss. (Brandon)*
*midyear signee available for spring camp
**already enrolled and sat out 2017 season due to NCAA transferring rules
***enrolled fall 2017 and participated in the 2017 season, but counted toward the 2018 signing class
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