2007 Review: 2008 Signing Class
Posted: February 9th, 2008, 10:30 am
The title is a bit of a misnomer, but now that National Signing Day has come and gone Im going to take a look at the 2008 signing class in my final 2007 review piece:
National Signing Day was a very good day to the Liberty University Flames football team. Coming off of the first Big South championship in school history and the most wins in a single season since the 1997 season, Head Coach Danny Rocco said that the Flames had three major needs they were looking at:
1. Big Bodies on the Offensive/Defensive Line
2. Talent at WR/DB
3. Kicker/Punter
When the clock struck 4 PM, Coach Rocco was able to introduce a recruiting class that met each one of those needs.
1. Big Bodies on the Offensive/Defensive Line
On the Offensive line, Liberty is losing a lot with the graduations of Eddie Pinigis, Marshall Ausberry, and Stephen Sene, all of whom contributed very heavily. The good news is that there are a number of linemen who will be returning for 2008. The better news is that Coach Rocco was able to sign two young men who filled his stated need for big bodies on the offensive line. First is Aaron Lundy. Lundy is 6'5" and 305 pounds and played his high school ball at Chilhowie High School, and an all-district honoree in 2007. The second is DJ Sellman, Sellman is definitely what you would call a big body as well at 6'6" and 320 pounds. He comes from the legendary DeMatha High School out of the Washington DC area and I speculate will certainly contribute admirably (whether beginning in 2008 or 2009). Also coming in is Alex Stadler, a 6'6" and 310 pound offensive lineman from Liberty High School in Bealeton, VA by way of the University of Alabama.
Moving to the Defensive Line, Coach Rocco wanted to continue to bring in linemen who could dominate in the trenches and make plays or allow the linebakers in their 3-4 scheme to be able to make plays in the backfield. Liberty signed three defensive linemen who should all be able to fulfill that purpose.
First is Stan Herring. Stan is 6'4" and 275 pounds out of Kell High School in Woodstock, GA. Stan is a big bruiser who could certainly play well at either of the positions in the 3-4. Second is a local product, Ryan Jackson from Brookville High School. Ryan is 6'3" and 280 pounds. Jackson is also a very successful heavyweight wrestler, having won a Group AA state championship in his class in 2007. Finally is Greg Schuster. Schuster is 6'2" and 275 pounds from CHarlotte Latin High School. All three of these players are big bodies, but have a chance to get even bigger even after they arrive this summer. All three have a chance to potentially contribute very well in the coming seasons
2. Talent at WR/DB
The second major need Coach Rocco wanted to fill was finding talent at the Wide Receiver and Defensive Back positions. First at Wide Receiver, Liberty is losing two very dangerous players in Wynton Jackson and Brandon Turner, who led the team in catches and yards in 2006 and 2007. Jackson also contributed very well in the area of special teams, earning multiple conference special teams honors. Both of the players brought in have shown themselves to not only be very good receivers, but also players that could help Liberty in the area of special teams.
First is Steven Crawford Jr. from South Fort Myers High School. Steven is a big body as wide receivers go at 6'2" and 190 pounds and could definitely be a player that will get the ball thrown his way a lot. Jimmy Eden from Landmark Christian School in Atlanta, GA is what you would call the opposite. He is 5'10" and 175 pounds. Eden is the kind of receiver who can find space and can net a lot of yards after the catch. These two could see a lot of time in the special teams as well as they both showed they could really help on kick and punt returns.
Also coming in is Stephen Wilkes a 6'6" 240 pound tight end from Alleghany High School in CLifton Forge, VA. Wiles is big enough that he can stay at home and block, but he also can spread out and give Liberty an additional receiver.
Moving to the Defensive Back position, Liberty was somewhat suspect in defending the passing game in 2007, and with Pat Dickerson and a number of other defensive back members graduating, Liberty needed to find some good players to fill in. Liberty brought in three players who could certainly do that.
First is Brandon Robinson. Robinson played for Charlotte Christian High School and is from the same town as defensive line signee Greg Schuster. Robinson is the son fo former NFL standout Eugene Robinson, so he does have a very good pedigree. He also has good size at 6'1" and 175 pounds. He is someone that could certainly help when dealing with some fairly tall receivers, but also is quick enough to be able to help in run support and some blitz packages.
Second is Brandon Saunders. Saunders comes to Liberty from Painted Branch High school in Maryland by way of Northeastern University. Saunders is 6 feet tall even and could come in and contribute very well in the defensive backfield (He may have to sit out 2008 due to transfer rules but stay tuned on that one)
Finally is Reginald Matthews. Matthews is a 6 foot tall DB from Miami-Northeast High School in Florida. Miami-Northeast spent much of the 2007 season ranked at the top of the ESPN Power 25 among high school programs.
Before moving to the third area, it should also be noted that Liberty also signed two very big and very good linebackers as a part of this year's class and with the departure of Stevie Ray Lloyd, Vince Redd and Brandon Duke, these two could come right in and battle for time. First is Jamal Giddens. Giddens is 6'2" and 210 pounds out of Maury High School in Norfolk, VA. Giddens could see time at the outside linebacker position. Second is Doncel Bolt. Bolt comes to Libery from Long Beach Poly High School by way of Cerritos Junior College. Bolt is a very good middle linebacker and should come in and be able to battle right away for a starting spot.
3. Kicker/Punter
Libery's issues with the kicking game are very well documented. 2007 was a very good year though in that department as Noah Greenbaum came in and hit just about everything given to him. Zac Kolegue found a resurgence in 2007 as the #1 punter. Both of them are graduating and so there was a need to be filled. Matt Bevins out of Warwick High School filled that need. He was a money kicker for Warwick, hitting 11 of his 13 field goals, all of his PATs, averaging 40 yards on his punts and even helped on kickoffs as opponent's AFP (average field position) start was the 10 yard line.
One more player that Liberty brought in that could certainly contribute is Tyler Brennan. Brennan is a 6'3" 200 pound quarterback out of South Carolina. Brennan is a big guy with a very quick release to his throws and definitely is someone who will be considered when Brock Smith graduates after 2008.
National Signing Day was a very good day to the Liberty University Flames football team. Coming off of the first Big South championship in school history and the most wins in a single season since the 1997 season, Head Coach Danny Rocco said that the Flames had three major needs they were looking at:
1. Big Bodies on the Offensive/Defensive Line
2. Talent at WR/DB
3. Kicker/Punter
When the clock struck 4 PM, Coach Rocco was able to introduce a recruiting class that met each one of those needs.
1. Big Bodies on the Offensive/Defensive Line
On the Offensive line, Liberty is losing a lot with the graduations of Eddie Pinigis, Marshall Ausberry, and Stephen Sene, all of whom contributed very heavily. The good news is that there are a number of linemen who will be returning for 2008. The better news is that Coach Rocco was able to sign two young men who filled his stated need for big bodies on the offensive line. First is Aaron Lundy. Lundy is 6'5" and 305 pounds and played his high school ball at Chilhowie High School, and an all-district honoree in 2007. The second is DJ Sellman, Sellman is definitely what you would call a big body as well at 6'6" and 320 pounds. He comes from the legendary DeMatha High School out of the Washington DC area and I speculate will certainly contribute admirably (whether beginning in 2008 or 2009). Also coming in is Alex Stadler, a 6'6" and 310 pound offensive lineman from Liberty High School in Bealeton, VA by way of the University of Alabama.
Moving to the Defensive Line, Coach Rocco wanted to continue to bring in linemen who could dominate in the trenches and make plays or allow the linebakers in their 3-4 scheme to be able to make plays in the backfield. Liberty signed three defensive linemen who should all be able to fulfill that purpose.
First is Stan Herring. Stan is 6'4" and 275 pounds out of Kell High School in Woodstock, GA. Stan is a big bruiser who could certainly play well at either of the positions in the 3-4. Second is a local product, Ryan Jackson from Brookville High School. Ryan is 6'3" and 280 pounds. Jackson is also a very successful heavyweight wrestler, having won a Group AA state championship in his class in 2007. Finally is Greg Schuster. Schuster is 6'2" and 275 pounds from CHarlotte Latin High School. All three of these players are big bodies, but have a chance to get even bigger even after they arrive this summer. All three have a chance to potentially contribute very well in the coming seasons
2. Talent at WR/DB
The second major need Coach Rocco wanted to fill was finding talent at the Wide Receiver and Defensive Back positions. First at Wide Receiver, Liberty is losing two very dangerous players in Wynton Jackson and Brandon Turner, who led the team in catches and yards in 2006 and 2007. Jackson also contributed very well in the area of special teams, earning multiple conference special teams honors. Both of the players brought in have shown themselves to not only be very good receivers, but also players that could help Liberty in the area of special teams.
First is Steven Crawford Jr. from South Fort Myers High School. Steven is a big body as wide receivers go at 6'2" and 190 pounds and could definitely be a player that will get the ball thrown his way a lot. Jimmy Eden from Landmark Christian School in Atlanta, GA is what you would call the opposite. He is 5'10" and 175 pounds. Eden is the kind of receiver who can find space and can net a lot of yards after the catch. These two could see a lot of time in the special teams as well as they both showed they could really help on kick and punt returns.
Also coming in is Stephen Wilkes a 6'6" 240 pound tight end from Alleghany High School in CLifton Forge, VA. Wiles is big enough that he can stay at home and block, but he also can spread out and give Liberty an additional receiver.
Moving to the Defensive Back position, Liberty was somewhat suspect in defending the passing game in 2007, and with Pat Dickerson and a number of other defensive back members graduating, Liberty needed to find some good players to fill in. Liberty brought in three players who could certainly do that.
First is Brandon Robinson. Robinson played for Charlotte Christian High School and is from the same town as defensive line signee Greg Schuster. Robinson is the son fo former NFL standout Eugene Robinson, so he does have a very good pedigree. He also has good size at 6'1" and 175 pounds. He is someone that could certainly help when dealing with some fairly tall receivers, but also is quick enough to be able to help in run support and some blitz packages.
Second is Brandon Saunders. Saunders comes to Liberty from Painted Branch High school in Maryland by way of Northeastern University. Saunders is 6 feet tall even and could come in and contribute very well in the defensive backfield (He may have to sit out 2008 due to transfer rules but stay tuned on that one)
Finally is Reginald Matthews. Matthews is a 6 foot tall DB from Miami-Northeast High School in Florida. Miami-Northeast spent much of the 2007 season ranked at the top of the ESPN Power 25 among high school programs.
Before moving to the third area, it should also be noted that Liberty also signed two very big and very good linebackers as a part of this year's class and with the departure of Stevie Ray Lloyd, Vince Redd and Brandon Duke, these two could come right in and battle for time. First is Jamal Giddens. Giddens is 6'2" and 210 pounds out of Maury High School in Norfolk, VA. Giddens could see time at the outside linebacker position. Second is Doncel Bolt. Bolt comes to Libery from Long Beach Poly High School by way of Cerritos Junior College. Bolt is a very good middle linebacker and should come in and be able to battle right away for a starting spot.
3. Kicker/Punter
Libery's issues with the kicking game are very well documented. 2007 was a very good year though in that department as Noah Greenbaum came in and hit just about everything given to him. Zac Kolegue found a resurgence in 2007 as the #1 punter. Both of them are graduating and so there was a need to be filled. Matt Bevins out of Warwick High School filled that need. He was a money kicker for Warwick, hitting 11 of his 13 field goals, all of his PATs, averaging 40 yards on his punts and even helped on kickoffs as opponent's AFP (average field position) start was the 10 yard line.
One more player that Liberty brought in that could certainly contribute is Tyler Brennan. Brennan is a 6'3" 200 pound quarterback out of South Carolina. Brennan is a big guy with a very quick release to his throws and definitely is someone who will be considered when Brock Smith graduates after 2008.
