National Signing Day Recap
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The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers added 15 players on National Signing Day this past Wednesday. The class is highlighted by a trio of Rivals 3-star players in Bowling Green (Ky) wide receiver Nacarius Fant, Collins (Ky) versatile athlete DeAndre Farris, and the powerful, bruising Ensworth (Tn) running back D'Andre Ferby.
The additions of Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Masai Whyte, and Ryan Duvall were key additions in adding depth at the linebacker position with the departures of Andrew Jackson and Xavius Boyd.
Also, they added a pair of playmakers at defensive back in the tall, lengthy Martavius Mims from Muscle Shoals (Ala) and a speedy corner in Joe Brown of Butler (Ky).
They will join the nine junior college mid-year enrollees who signed in December to bring the total to 24 for this signing period.
Here is a recap of the entire class:
2014 Signing Class
Dennis Edwards, OL, 6-1, 310 lbs, South Gwinnett (Ga)
Nick True, TE, 6-5, 255 lbs, Highlands (Ky)
Evan Sayner, DE, 6-3, 265 lbs, McCracken County (Ky)
DeAndre Farris, ATH, 5-10, 180 lbs, Collins (Ky)
Martavius Mims, DB, 6-1, 180 lbs, Muscle Shoals (Ala)
Joe Brown, DB, 5-10, 180 lbs, Butler (Ky)
Will Bush, WR, 5-11, 190 lbs, Ballard (Ky)
Derik Overstreet, DL, 6-2, 250 lbs, Paducah Tilghman (Ky)
Nacarius Fant, WR, 5-9, 170 lbs, Bowling Green (Ky)
Masai Whyte, LB, 6-0, 210 lbs, Collins (Ky)
Joel Iyiegbuniwe, LB, 6-2, 210 lbs, South Warren (Ky)
Julien Lewis, DL, 6-3, 270 lbs, Bob Jones (Ala)
Ryan Duvall, LB, 6-5, 230 lbs, Apollo (Ky)
D'Andre Ferby, RB, 6-1, 240 lbs, Ensworth (Tn)
R.J. Scaife, OL, 6-5, 265 lbs, Pasco (Fla)
Quotes
"I think our assistant coaches did a great job in staying in touch with these kids and keeping them informed of any changes that have happened or things that took place throughout the recruiting process and did a great job of sticking with these individuals. With that being said, I think our recruits also never wavered in their commitment to us and that really displays the character of them and the character of their high school coaches. I'm happy to say that we were able to sign 10 guys from the state of Kentucky which is exciting for us and we like all 10 of them. That includes Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky. This is a big statement for us and the fact that we believe in the talent pool in Kentucky. We believe in the outstanding high school coaches that coach these guys and we definitely have a lot of connections with our staff to a lot of coaches and players in this state and we're happy to get these guys and we think they'll be excellent players for us. Four of those 10 actually won a state championship or competed in one and that's an exciting thing as well. We want winners." - Jeff Brohm on recruiting prospects that know how to win
"The class we have this year includes nine junior college student-athletes that are already enrolled in school here. They are already in classes and working out with our team and will be able to compete for a starting job with guys this spring, which is a huge benefit. We did a very good job in that state of Kentucky but we were also able to get down into Nashville, Florida, Alabama and Georgia to get players we felt fit out program. We not only got a Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky but a Mr. Football in the state of Tennessee. Those are huge gets as well. Our goal is to get the best players in the state and we have a lot to sell here. We are not going to back down from anybody. This state has a lot to offer and we are going to continue to recruit it hard." - Brohm on getting two Mr. Football winners
"There wasn't a plan to get so many I think we just have a lot of connections in this state. For a long time I was an assistant before I got the head job here so I was able to get into homes and recruit a lot of people in this state.Mike Cassity does a great job in the western part of the state. We were able to hire Greg Nord recently and he is going to take over my area of the state of Kentucky. We really just have a lot of connections to coaches. We obviously know information about the players but it is a lot easier for us to get information provided to us. We are really on top of talent in this state. We are able to get a lot of guys on our campus, to our camps in the summer and we feel like we were able to get a great groups of kids from this state and we are happy with every one of them." - Brohm on emphasis of in-state prospects
"I think it is definitely going to help us, especially in the future. Being able to go into that conference, be in a lot more national exposure with more bowl tie ins, guys are excited to compete against new teams in new venues. It is going to continue to help us in recruiting without question." - Brohm on move to Conference USA affecting recruiting
"We are definitely going to try to hit Florida hard. Some of our junior college guys took up some spots this year and some of those guys are from Florida. We want to make sure we have that area surrounded and do a great job there. Without question we are still going to hit Kentucky hard, Tennessee hard and anywhere within a three hour radius but Florida, Alabama and Georgia will all be a big part of it." - Brohm on recruiting Florida in the future
"I could not be happier with what we have. We have a tremendous amount of experience that has coached a long time at high levels, won a lot of championships. Our previous staff had around 55 bowl games between us and our current staff has 88 bowl games between us. That's a lot more experience. I'm excited to have them. They are proven coaches. They have done a great job. They are great people and they are excited to be here. That is one thing I wanted to make sure when I hired anyone new, I wanted them to be excited to be here. I think we got that." - Brohm on new coaches