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[Fuquay-Varina, NC - FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW, the sports talk radio show that places major emphasis on HBCU Sports, releases its rankings of the top 10 HBCU football FCS recruiting classes for 2009. FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW first ranked the top classes in 2006 and 2007 but did not in 2008 and is now bringing the rankings back by popular demand.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=1c2c0fa2a68b4861acc36c26240252e2&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a1c2c0fa2a68b4861acc36c26240252e2Post%3a9b8fc836-824a-4e63-8bc8-872d68121c0e&sid=sitelife.clarionledger.com
The rankings are based on the evaluation of the talent that was brought in and research that FTPBTPR did, based upon school releases, recruiting boards etc.. Feedback is greatly appreciated at hbcu@boxtorow.com.
1. Tennessee Statesigned one of the sought after running backs in the country in Trabis Ward out of Dillard High School in Florida, who was a rivals.com four-star recruit. Ward was a late signee and should come in and play right away and help to fill the void left by pro prospect Javarris Williams. The Tigers also did a good job of filling their voids on the offensive line by signing three-star offensive lineman DeMadre Dean (Coahoma CC) and two-star offensive lineman James Lewter from Washington DC's Ballou. WR Devin Wilson of Pope John Paul II in Hendersonville, TN gives the Tigers good size and helps to fill the void left by Chris Johnson. Head coach James Webster and staff consistently have good recruiting classes and stole the show by signing a big time running back at their most needed position.
2. Florida A&M didn't have a whole lot of needs to fill and only lost four players from last year's team but Joe Taylor and staff still managed to add depth and some players who will come in and have an immediate impact. RB Corey Atkins is a rivals.com three-star recruit and while the Rattlers are pretty secure with Phillip Sylvester in the backfield, Atkins is an added bonus. Taylor has always been big on offensive linemen and the signing of Illinois transfer Brandon Davis helps to bolster that unit. Davis was a four-star recruit in high school. DE transfers Chris Atkins (East Carolina) and Jamil Paris (Kentucky) should be able to come in and have an immediate impact.
3. Prairie View A&M Head coach Henry Frazier continues to have great recruiting classes and the PVAMU classes from the past couple of years really came around last year as the Panthers went 9-1. A couple of players should be able to come in and play right away including OL Aneus Ruiz (North Forest), and LBs Marcus White (Jones High School) and Raheem Cardwell (Dematha High School). With the departure of the 2007 Boxtorow.com/BASN Defensive Player of the Year LB Zach East, the unit needed to be addressed. Another great recruit pulled in by the PVAMU staff was Western Kentucky transfer QB Kenneth Black, who was a starter the last two years. Safety Eric Moore (City College of San Francisco) was a rivals.com three-star recruit.
4. Grambling had quite a few two and three-star recruits. Athlete Curtis McGregor from Houston's Eisenhower was one of the gems of this class. He is a rivals.com three-star recruit and was ranked 33rd nationally amongst all-purpose backs. And while the Tigers' backfield is crowded with Cornelius Walker and Frank Warren, McGregor represents a receiving threat as well. Head coach Rod Broadway and staff also signed a talented crop of DBs to bolster one of their most talented units. Jordell McCoy (Woodlawn) was a Louisiana Class 5A first-team All-Stater, while Deonte Flemings out of Strong Vincent in Erie, PA, received interest from the University of Pittsburgh and turned down a scholarship to Ohio to sign with Grambling. He received a two-star rating by rivals.com and was ranked 89th nationally amongst CBs by scout.com. LB Jacarde Carter (Northside) was rated as one of the top LB in the state of Louisiana and WR Elon Grinstead (Tioga) rated as the 18th best prospect in the State of Louisiana.
5. South Carolina State and head coach Buddy Pough and his coaching staff had a very solid recruiting class and addressed some needs on the offensive and defensive lines, signing 11 OL/DL of the 22 recruits. Even more impressive is the list of talent Pough keeps in state. After signing two-time Palmetto Player of the Year in QB Malcolm Long a couple of years ago the Bulldogs signed three of the best in the state, including RB Rockarius King (Timberland) who rushed for over 5,000 career yards, WR LaQuan Gilliard (Pinewood Prep), who received interest from many SEC and ACC schools and could come in and add to the talented wide receiver corps and DB Pat Burris (South Pointe). Five of SC State's recruits played in the well-respected Shrine Bowl.
6. Jackson State signed 28 players to national letters of intent. Seven of its players were from the Atlanta metro area and two of them were high school teammates at Banneker High School. RB Alfred Moreland, who at one time had committed to Mississippi, totaled almost 1,900 yards his senior season (1,213) of those rushing with 15 TDs. LB Milton Patterson was rated a three-star athlete by rivals.com and received interest from Mississippi State. Two other in-state players that really excite the JSU staff are WR Rico Richardson (Natchez High School), who totaled 3,500 career receiving yards and tackle Jonathan Billups (Picayune High School).
7. Delaware State usually has one of the smaller recruiting classes, but tends to bring in some top talent. As is Coach Al Lavan's style he brought in a couple of I-A transfers that should play right away. QB Chris Johnson, who transferred from Boston College redshirted in 2007 and did not play in 2008. Throw into the mix Cincinnati transfer Tahree McQueen who also redshirted in 2007 and did not play in 2008. With Lavan being a former running backs coach in the NFL, McQueen should succeed in the DSU system. The Hornets also received three two-star rivals.com commitments in DTs Jadira Green (Oxon Hill High School) and Ernest Robinson (Hargrave Military Academy), and OL Danzel Manley (Eleanor Roosevelt).
8. Southern signed DT Trae Tiller (Canal Winchester (OH) Harvest Prep) late as he was not part of the Jaguars original recruiting class. Tiller played on a small team but has big time talent and received high interest from Ohio State. Helena High School star RB Darin Self could make an immediate impact as the Jaguars running game could use a boost. Safety Adonis Armstrong (Clinton (MS) High School) was rated as one of the top DBs in the state of Mississippi.
9. Alabama State's signing class consisted of 29 two-star rated rivals.com players. OLB Justin Marable (Lithia Springs), LB Leland Baker (E.B. Erwin), and WR Raphael Poellnitz were probably the top three recruits. Marable and Poellnitz received high interest from programs in the SEC. Poellnitz played in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game. Baker was an all-state performer and finished his high school career with 67 sacks.
10. North Carolina A&T under new head coach Alonzo Lee already had a solid recruiting class, but the late signing of athlete Larry Raper has put the Aggies in our top 10. Raper is ranked as the no. 52 athlete in the country and 15th in the state of North Carolina. The Aggies initial recruiting class saw them stay in their own backyard and sign QB Rickie Lewis, Jr., who led Dudley to back-to-back Class 3-AA titles and was the News and Record's All-area Player of the Year and first team All-State and was 22-0 as a starter. Teammate DE Chris Neal could also come in and contribute.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=1c2c0fa2a68b4861acc36c26240252e2&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a1c2c0fa2a68b4861acc36c26240252e2Post%3a9b8fc836-824a-4e63-8bc8-872d68121c0e&sid=sitelife.clarionledger.com
The rankings are based on the evaluation of the talent that was brought in and research that FTPBTPR did, based upon school releases, recruiting boards etc.. Feedback is greatly appreciated at hbcu@boxtorow.com.
1. Tennessee Statesigned one of the sought after running backs in the country in Trabis Ward out of Dillard High School in Florida, who was a rivals.com four-star recruit. Ward was a late signee and should come in and play right away and help to fill the void left by pro prospect Javarris Williams. The Tigers also did a good job of filling their voids on the offensive line by signing three-star offensive lineman DeMadre Dean (Coahoma CC) and two-star offensive lineman James Lewter from Washington DC's Ballou. WR Devin Wilson of Pope John Paul II in Hendersonville, TN gives the Tigers good size and helps to fill the void left by Chris Johnson. Head coach James Webster and staff consistently have good recruiting classes and stole the show by signing a big time running back at their most needed position.
2. Florida A&M didn't have a whole lot of needs to fill and only lost four players from last year's team but Joe Taylor and staff still managed to add depth and some players who will come in and have an immediate impact. RB Corey Atkins is a rivals.com three-star recruit and while the Rattlers are pretty secure with Phillip Sylvester in the backfield, Atkins is an added bonus. Taylor has always been big on offensive linemen and the signing of Illinois transfer Brandon Davis helps to bolster that unit. Davis was a four-star recruit in high school. DE transfers Chris Atkins (East Carolina) and Jamil Paris (Kentucky) should be able to come in and have an immediate impact.
3. Prairie View A&M Head coach Henry Frazier continues to have great recruiting classes and the PVAMU classes from the past couple of years really came around last year as the Panthers went 9-1. A couple of players should be able to come in and play right away including OL Aneus Ruiz (North Forest), and LBs Marcus White (Jones High School) and Raheem Cardwell (Dematha High School). With the departure of the 2007 Boxtorow.com/BASN Defensive Player of the Year LB Zach East, the unit needed to be addressed. Another great recruit pulled in by the PVAMU staff was Western Kentucky transfer QB Kenneth Black, who was a starter the last two years. Safety Eric Moore (City College of San Francisco) was a rivals.com three-star recruit.
4. Grambling had quite a few two and three-star recruits. Athlete Curtis McGregor from Houston's Eisenhower was one of the gems of this class. He is a rivals.com three-star recruit and was ranked 33rd nationally amongst all-purpose backs. And while the Tigers' backfield is crowded with Cornelius Walker and Frank Warren, McGregor represents a receiving threat as well. Head coach Rod Broadway and staff also signed a talented crop of DBs to bolster one of their most talented units. Jordell McCoy (Woodlawn) was a Louisiana Class 5A first-team All-Stater, while Deonte Flemings out of Strong Vincent in Erie, PA, received interest from the University of Pittsburgh and turned down a scholarship to Ohio to sign with Grambling. He received a two-star rating by rivals.com and was ranked 89th nationally amongst CBs by scout.com. LB Jacarde Carter (Northside) was rated as one of the top LB in the state of Louisiana and WR Elon Grinstead (Tioga) rated as the 18th best prospect in the State of Louisiana.
5. South Carolina State and head coach Buddy Pough and his coaching staff had a very solid recruiting class and addressed some needs on the offensive and defensive lines, signing 11 OL/DL of the 22 recruits. Even more impressive is the list of talent Pough keeps in state. After signing two-time Palmetto Player of the Year in QB Malcolm Long a couple of years ago the Bulldogs signed three of the best in the state, including RB Rockarius King (Timberland) who rushed for over 5,000 career yards, WR LaQuan Gilliard (Pinewood Prep), who received interest from many SEC and ACC schools and could come in and add to the talented wide receiver corps and DB Pat Burris (South Pointe). Five of SC State's recruits played in the well-respected Shrine Bowl.
6. Jackson State signed 28 players to national letters of intent. Seven of its players were from the Atlanta metro area and two of them were high school teammates at Banneker High School. RB Alfred Moreland, who at one time had committed to Mississippi, totaled almost 1,900 yards his senior season (1,213) of those rushing with 15 TDs. LB Milton Patterson was rated a three-star athlete by rivals.com and received interest from Mississippi State. Two other in-state players that really excite the JSU staff are WR Rico Richardson (Natchez High School), who totaled 3,500 career receiving yards and tackle Jonathan Billups (Picayune High School).
7. Delaware State usually has one of the smaller recruiting classes, but tends to bring in some top talent. As is Coach Al Lavan's style he brought in a couple of I-A transfers that should play right away. QB Chris Johnson, who transferred from Boston College redshirted in 2007 and did not play in 2008. Throw into the mix Cincinnati transfer Tahree McQueen who also redshirted in 2007 and did not play in 2008. With Lavan being a former running backs coach in the NFL, McQueen should succeed in the DSU system. The Hornets also received three two-star rivals.com commitments in DTs Jadira Green (Oxon Hill High School) and Ernest Robinson (Hargrave Military Academy), and OL Danzel Manley (Eleanor Roosevelt).
8. Southern signed DT Trae Tiller (Canal Winchester (OH) Harvest Prep) late as he was not part of the Jaguars original recruiting class. Tiller played on a small team but has big time talent and received high interest from Ohio State. Helena High School star RB Darin Self could make an immediate impact as the Jaguars running game could use a boost. Safety Adonis Armstrong (Clinton (MS) High School) was rated as one of the top DBs in the state of Mississippi.
9. Alabama State's signing class consisted of 29 two-star rated rivals.com players. OLB Justin Marable (Lithia Springs), LB Leland Baker (E.B. Erwin), and WR Raphael Poellnitz were probably the top three recruits. Marable and Poellnitz received high interest from programs in the SEC. Poellnitz played in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game. Baker was an all-state performer and finished his high school career with 67 sacks.
10. North Carolina A&T under new head coach Alonzo Lee already had a solid recruiting class, but the late signing of athlete Larry Raper has put the Aggies in our top 10. Raper is ranked as the no. 52 athlete in the country and 15th in the state of North Carolina. The Aggies initial recruiting class saw them stay in their own backyard and sign QB Rickie Lewis, Jr., who led Dudley to back-to-back Class 3-AA titles and was the News and Record's All-area Player of the Year and first team All-State and was 22-0 as a starter. Teammate DE Chris Neal could also come in and contribute.
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