Jackson State cleans up, signing 34 players

Jackson State coach Tony Hughes had several goals he wanted to accomplish with his 2017 recruiting class, and he said Wednesday he feels like he can put a checkmark in all those boxes.

“We’re extremely excited about the class and the potential of the class,” Hughes said. “But we also realize the recruiting process doesn’t end until the kids are enrolled, on campus and lining up in uniform for the Tigers.”

First, and most important, he filled his needs.

After losing quarterback Juwan Adams to a transfer to Southwest Miss. Community College, Hughes needed a quarterback. He signed two – a 6-foot-6, 230-pound giant from Niceville, Fla. named Jeff Toney and a crafty, 6-2 scrambler from Harrison Central Tavis Williams – for good measure.

“They are both definitely guys who are going to come in and compete for the starting job,” Hughes said. “I don’t tell anyone we recruit that we are just bringing them in so we can redshirt then and bring them along slowly. I recruited these two guys because I think they can help us right away.”

He only had two running backs on the roster headed into spring football. He signed four, and would have signed a fifth if Greenwood’s Rico Owens III hadn’t changed his mind and decided to go the junior college route.

Hughes needed wide receivers who can make plays and find the end zone and tight ends that could block and run routes. He got Mississippi’s touchdown king, D.J. Clayton, the Kemper County standout who scored on nearly a third of his 93 catches last year, plus three other wideouts. He signed four tight ends, including 247sports 3-star recruit Kyland Richie, who until Wednesday morning was committed to Alcorn State.

The staff identified a need on the offensive line, and went out and signed three high school offensive linemen and brought in two junior college guys they think can contribute right away.

They shored up a defense that ranked right at the top of the SWAC rankings last year with several players who will compete for a starting spot this fall. Arguably their best recruit is three-star safety Kendrick Paul from Livonia, La., and they fought off several FBS suitors to get him. Kevin Berthey, another Louisiana safety, is rated as a two star prospect.

They also hauled in a pair of linebackers, including West Point’s Keontae Hampton, a state champion who recorded 83 tackles with a couple of sacks.

They signed a slew of defensive linemen to compliment early-enrollee Brandon Frazier, a defensive end/outside linebacker out of John Curtis in New Orleans rated as a two-star prospect. He's believed to be the first freshman in school history who will go through spring practice with the team.

But almost as important was the recruiting footprint that JSU laid out for future classes. Every player that Hughes and his staff signed are from high schools within an eight-hour drive of Jackson. He signed 15 kids from Mississippi, five from Louisiana, four from Louisiana, three from Texas and one from Florida.

“One thing I talked about when I took over here is that I wanted to do a good job of recruiting locally,” Hughes said. “Well today we’ve signed two kids from Callaway, one kid from Wingfield, a kid from Germantown, a kid from Murrah and one defensive back from Warren Central.”

They signed a complete football team, aside from special teams, a feat that if repeated would mean the cupboard would never be bare at any one position.

Hughes said his class was the culmination of a year of hard work from his staff, and said their evaluation process and relentless pursuit was the reason for their success.

“We have a blue print for what we want to do,” he said. “We just want to get these young men in school and continue to build a winning program.”

ContactTyler Clevelandat 601-961-7371 ortcleveland@gannett.com. Follow him onTwitter.