The 2008 football signing class has a definite California feel to it.
Head Coach Rodney Allison received 22 National Letters of Intent Wednesday on the first day of National Signing Day, five of which are from players from the State of California.
Following the 2006 season, Allison sent two assistant coaches to the West Coast to evaluate talent from the highly-regarded California Junior College system. He was pleased with the results, as the Mocs landed a defensive back, a linebacker and three teammates from Glendale College.
“We decided as a staff to give the California route a try,” Allison said. “We received permission from the Athletics Director. There is certainly more to recruiting that area than having them drive up from Atlanta. We were committed to go out there and do it right. And it was very successful for us. It was really worth the efforts.”
The Glendale trio includes running back Shaun Kermah (6-1, 220), receiver Christopher Marshall (6-1, 185) and quarterback Mike McDonald (6-1, 210). McDonald's father, Mike Sr., was a quarterback for Southern California in the 1980s and played for the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams.
Chris Blanson (6-1, 180) and Doug Faatiliga (6-3, 258) should fill immediate needs in the secondary and at inside linebacker respectively. Especially with the graduation of four defensive backs and leading tackler Chris Johnson at linebacker. Blanson played cornerback for Laney Community College, and Faatiliga patrolled the defense as a middle linebacker at Sacramento City College.
The Mocs found success from the State of California in 2006 and 2007. Safety Chris Camacho, a Los Angeles native who played two years at Citrus College, led the Southern Conference in tackles last season and earned First-Team All-SoCon and Second-Team All-America status.
Allison dipped into the junior college ranks for more recruits than in previous years, signing a total of nine. Other than the five California signees, the Mocs signed outside linebacker Josh Beard (6-1, 250) and tight end Patrick Wilkinson (6-7, 255) of Georgia Military College, receiver Justin Buckhalter (6-3, 198) of Jones County Community College in Mississippi, and quarterback Jare Gault (6-3, 220) of East Mississippi Community College.
Wilkinson was a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, and Buckhalter has two brothers who have spent time in the NFL, including current Philadelphia Eagles' running back Correll Buckhalter.
Gault and McDonald will battle for the quarterback job during spring practice as both were December signees who enrolled at UTC in January. Also in the mix for the starting signal caller position are returnees Tony Pastore, a junior, sophomore Cody Romans and redshirt freshman Sloan Allison.
“I felt strongly that our quarterback issue had to be addressed,” Allison said. “We are still going to give Tony, Cody and Sloan chances to play. They are going to have to perform. We felt like there were some deficiencies in what we did offensively and felt like we needed to address that.
“The two new guys are not like Antonio (Miller, a three-year starter). They are a little different. They can make plays, can throw the ball down the field, can hold the ball a second longer, dump it down, can make all the plays in the passing game. That was something that we were not good at last year. We needed to address that. We are bringing in some competition for these quarterbacks, and may the best man win.”
Thirteen talented high school players also turned in their paperwork to the Chattanooga program. Allison landed a trio of teammates from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., and a pair of teammates from nearby Northwest Whitfield High School across the border in Georgia.
Offensive lineman Nick Gipson (6-2, 285), defensive back Robert Harrison (5-9, 160) and running back J.J. Jackson (5-9, 190) helped lead Walton to the Georgia state semifinals in 2007. Northwest Whitfield offensive linemen Adam Miller (6-4, 260) and Dustin Tate (6-5, 240) could be pressed into action in their first years after the Mocs' offensive line was thinned by the graduation of four regulars.
Also joining the fold are linebackers Arsenio Clemmons (6-1, 205) of Atlanta's New Schools of Carver and Shane Heatherly (6-3, 210) of Tuscola High School in Waynesville, N.C.; defensive lineman Nick Craig (6-2, 295), Carrollton High School, Georgia; tight ends Louis Gibson (6-4, 245), Huntsville High School, Alabama, and Austin Wilson (6-3, 260) Mill Creek High School, Dacula, Ga.; offensive lineman Will Hewitt (6-4, 290), Sevier County High School, Sevierville, Tenn.; defensive back Jordan Tippit (6-0, 180), Buckhorn High School, Huntsville, Ala., and punter/placekicker Mike Hammons (5-10, 165), Polk County High School, Benton, Tenn.
Craig was also rated with two stars by Rivals.com and was recently named the Defensive Player of the Year in the State of Georgia.
“This possibly could have been our best class,” Allison said. “I thought our coaches worked extremely hard in our recruiting. We tried some new things, tried the California avenue, and I think we came out of there very successfully. We came up with a very balanced class and signed someone at every position.”
Five junior college signees ? Blanson, Buckhalter and Wilkinson joined Gault and McDonald as December junior college signees. All five enrolled at UTC in time for the spring semester which started in January. They will be eligible to participate in spring practice beginning in March.
(Click here for signee bios, highlight videos and Coach Allison comments)
