Mills announces 14 signings in football

CSu head coach and 2005 Big South Coach of the Year - Jay Mills

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern head football coach Jay Mills announced the signing of 14 players to a national letter-of-intent on Wednesday, adding a solid recruiting class to the fold of the 2005 Big South Conference Co-Champions.

After inking 36 players in last year’s class, the numbers for the 2006 class were limited. Mills sees that as a positive in the overall outlook for the program.

“We signed 77 players during our first three years here so this is a class that brings us the balance, by position, and puts our numbers in alignment with I-AA football programs,” said Mills, the 2005 Big South Conference Coach of the Year. “This could be the last year that junior college signees are included in our classes because of where we are in the development of the younger players in our program.”

The 2006 signing class is heavy on defense as the coaching staff went after depth along the defensive front and at linebacker. Ten of the 14 signees will come into camp next August as defensive players.

“We have placed heavy emphasis on offensive linemen and skill people in the previous two years so this was a year where we felt an emphasis on defense was in order,” said Mills. “We have really improved our depth at linebacker with this class and we’re excited about the linemen that we are bringing in. Putting the last two classes together, we have reached a pretty good balance in terms of having quality players and depth at every position.”

Of special note in this year’s class is the signing of two area high school players, the first time that has happened in Mills’ four seasons as head coach. Wando offensive lineman Jack Singleton and West Ashley linebacker David Jackson inked with the program on Wednesday.

“I think we’re starting to see a positive reception to our program here in the Lowcountry,” said Mills. “We love to have local players in our program and we hope to continue that trend in the future.”

Charleston Southern is coming off their best season in school history, setting a school record with seven wins. The Buccaneers went 3-1 in Big South Conference play, including a 34-27 double overtime win over Coastal Carolina to claim a share of the Big South title.

2006 FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS

Chris Patrick – LB - 6-0, 216 – Clermont, FL (East Ridge HS) – Three-year starter for a program that posted a 32-3 record over the last three seasons … named first-team All-Central Florida, All-Area, All-District and All-State … County Defensive Player of the Year … nephew of former NFL linebacker Jack Youngblood.

Dorein Perkins – DE – 6-3, 200 – McDonough, GA (Union Grove HS) – Voted best defensive lineman on team as a junior … All-Region pick as a senior and voted team captain … also performs in basketball and track …

Jack Singleton – OL – 6-3, 278 – Mt. Pleasant, SC (Wando HS) – Three-year starter for successful AAAA program in Lowcountry … 2005 All-Region selection … Named Wando High Most Valuable OL in 2005.

Marco Ramirez – DE – 6-3, 245 – Los Angeles, CA (Glendale Community College) – Spent two seasons at Glendale Community College … named team Defensive Linemen of the Year … second-team All-Conference selection … prepped at Glendale High School, earning first-team All-Area and All-Conference honors.

Josh Anderson – DL – 6-3, 276 – Lexington, SC (Lexington HS) – Named All-Region in 2005 … earned All-State honors from the High School Sports Report newspaper … rated one of state’s top 100 prospects as a senior by High School Sports Report … state champion heavyweight wrestler.

Dontavan Bowden – FS – 6-3, 180 – Atlanta, GA (Martin Luther King HS) - Recorded 75 tackles, three interceptions and three forced fumbles in 2005 … All-County selection as a senior … Named Defensive team captain for 2005.

Kosi Bradley – LB - 6-0, 228 – Atlanta, GA (South Atlanta HS) – Named to All-City defensive team in 2004 … team defensive MVP and named Best Tackler on team … honorable mention All-City defense in 2003 … voted team captain in 2005.

Wesley Brown – TE – 6-6, 210 – Port Orange, FL (Spruce Creek HS) – Second-team All-Conference selection … voted team captain and received team leadership award.

Abiyd Coleman – LB – 6-1, 218 – Fairburn, GA (Sandy Creek HS) – Three-year starter on varsity … helped lead team to region championships in 2003 and 2004 … named All-County and All-Region in 2005 … also excels in track as 400 meter performer.

David Jackson – LB – 6-1, 193 – North Charleston, SC (West Ashley HS) – Three-year varsity starter … 2005 All-Region selection and named team defensive back of the year.

Tim Jones – WR – 6-4, 210 - Townville, SC (Hargrave Academy) – Starting QB at Pendleton High School before spending a semester at Hargrave Military Academy … 21-4 record as starting quarterback, guiding Bulldogs to a pair of region titles … passed for more than 1,400 yards and named all-state as a senior … named Region Player of the Year as a senior and voted team MVP.

Dennis Justiniani – DE – 6-3, 230 – Huntington Beach, CA (Golden West Community College) – Graduated with honors from Golden West CC … named team captain … led team in sacks in both seasons … 2001 graduate of Marina High School.

Jordan Lancaster – DE – 6-3, 245 – Ocean Isle Beach, NC (West Brunswick HS) – Three-year starter on both sides of the ball … two-time All-County and All-Conference performer … graded 85 percent as OL and led team with 46 pancake blocks.

Zachary Mitchell – OL – 6-3, 300 - Jacksonville, FL (Fletcher HS) - Brother of current CSU linebacker Josh Mitchell … named first-team at OG in the Gateway Conference … named All-District and All-First Coast … ranked in the Florida Times-Union Super 24.