WKU Recruiting: February Signing Day Live Blog
Today is the first day of the traditional February signing period. This is now year three of there being two signing days in football. The…
Today is the first day of the traditional February signing period. This is now year three of there being two signing days in football. The majority of prospects signed in December as WKU announced 15 signees on December 18th. Since then three more players have been announced (will list below). The traditional February signing day is now a secondary event on the recruiting calendar as it usually is a mix late risers and players that waited to see if they could get bigger offers when schools are looking to fill out their class. WKU loses 13 seniors and has had 9 more players in the transfer portal since the start of the 2019 season. Today’s signing announcement should be light with anywhere from 2–7 players announced.
The players that will be announced today are mainly high school players that have been committed to WKU for a while or players that recently decided on WKU over the past few weeks. With that in mind here is the rundown of players to keep an eye on and should sign today. We’ll update the signees as they come in…
12:30 PM CT Update
Tyson Helton spoke to local media to discuss the class:
Here’s a recap and a few key takeaways below from what he said:
Any time we can get a good player in state that’s really important to us
We take guys in state they’ve got to a great fit for us
We hit a home run with Malachi (Corley)
We’re at a position with older guys at quarterback
We needed to sign two QB's. Darius Ocean already here, has been here for two weeks
Excited to see him in spring practice and see him compete
Still exploring adding graduate transfers
Has 3 or 4 spots left on team
Love our returning quarterbacks but I also love competition
Maybe a guy that has been in the fire at a high level
Ty Storey did a great job and is a good model for what we’re looking for
Love to find a guy of that caliber
Steven Duncan did a real great job for us early in the season but we love competition
Don’t know if we’ll find guy we’re looking for but we’ll leave a spot for him
Really like Will (Ignont), got to know him at Tennessee
Played a lot of football, older and mature guy
Got to be around him and see what he’s about. Think he’s a good fit here
A lot of guys in the room that he’ll have to compete with
Looking forward to our spring competition
Every season is a new season and everyone is going to have earn a job
Lost Jimmy Lindsey to Illinois, great opportunity to play for Lovie Smith
Added a good replacement in Keith Baker who actually played for Jimmy
Familiar with what we do here
Loves continuity on staff
Excited that we kept pretty much the entire staff intact
Plenty of coaches had opportunities after bowl game but they decided to stay here
Our guys love the culture we’ve built here
Georgia high school coaches trust us
We’ve built strong relationships in the state of Georgia
We were the first one that a lot of the high school coaches called
I love players out of the southeast whether it be Georgia, Alabama or Florida
The proximity of Atlanta and surrounding counties makes it easy for us
We really focused hard in that area
Elliott Pratt from the Bowling Green Daily News posted this rundown of the entire 2020 class
Here are my thoughts on what Helton had to say and where the class sits at the moment
Overall WKU announced 4 signees today with Leslie, Evans, Simpkins & Corley being officially announced.
2 of those four are from Georgia with three having several P5 offers
Great job by the staff closing on talented players, you can tell they’ve got something to see to recruits after the successful 2019 season
Georgia is the new Florida for WKU football and you can tell that with 7 of the 21 players from the Peach State.
With 3–4 spots remaining, I look for Dakota Thomas, BJ Wagner, Aaron Key and maybe Jamal Worthy to be announced later or gray shirted and announced next December.
Seeing that they’re still pursuing a grad transfer at QB tells me that someone will leave after spring practice. It will be fascinating to see how Duncan, Shanley & Thomas compete with the freshman Robison and Ocean getting their feet wet as well.
Signing Update 11:35 AM CT
Corley is WKU’s third instate signee including Mark Goode and Colt Jackson. He is another 3 star prospect according to 247 Sports that also held offers from EKU, Southeast Missouri State & Western Illinois. While that offer list leaves something to be desired he was rock solid as a 2-way player for Campbellsville. He played Wide Receiver, Running Back and Defensive back and finished with 541 yards rushing, 698 yards receiving, 38 tackles, 3 sacks and 21 total touchdowns for the Eagles. He is also a high level basketball player. WKU is listing him at receiver but he could also play defensive back if offense doesn’t work out. WKU’s track record with in-state player has been amazing over the last decade.
Signing Update 11:10 AM CT
The former FAU Commit Simpkins makes it 3/3 on three star players today for WKU coaching staff. The 6'0 190 pound Montgomery native canceled his pledge with the Owls after Lane Kiffin left for Ole Miss. He had previous offers from Tennessee, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas among his P5 offers. He’ll definitely compete for the starting corner jobs that are set to open in 2021 after Roger Cray, Trae Meadows & Dionte Ruffin all exhaust their eligibility after the 2020 season.
Signing Update 10:25 AM CT
JaQues Evans- Defensive End- Dublin (GA)
Tyson Helton is now 2 for 2 with high level 3-star prospects today as 3-star defensive End JaQues Evans is the second signee of the day. The 6'2 225 Georgia was announced as a defensive end and should be able to work his way into the rotation quickly. The two sport star played both offense and defense for Dublin High School and rushed for 2531 yards in 2019. He held offers from Miami, Tennessee and Arizona State. This is yet another great job by Helton’s staff in getting the talented Evans services.
Signing Update 8:00 AM CT
Quantavious Leslie- Offensive Lineman- Rome (GA)
A surprise signing started off the day as the Hilltoppers announced 3-Star offensive lineman Leslie. The 6–4 285 pound Georgian has a nice frame and is WKU’s highest-rated prospect in the 2020 class according to 247 Sports. He held early offers from Florida, Michigan State, Tennessee, Mississippi State & Virginia Tech. He is a high three-star prospect that should be able to add weight to his frame and compete for a starting job in 2021 as WKU losses 4 starters after the 2020 season.
Committed Since December
WKU’s third Peach State signee today is yet another 3-star with some big offers. Thomas is another mid 3 star that was previously committed to Minnesota. He also held offers from Penn State, Cincinnati and Temple and caught 34 passes for 501 yards and 7 touchdowns for Shiloah High School in Georgia. His mix of production and talent should have him in the mix to compete for immediate playing time with the graduations of Quin Jerhighan and Lucky Jackson. WKU’s Peach Pipeline continues to be amazing. Thomas hasn’t been announced by WKU yet and it might take a few days to officially add him to the class.
WKU has been recruiting Wagner for a long time. The 3-Star Safety out of Orlando came full circle with the Hilltoppers as he committed yesterday. He had several P5 offers including West Virginia, Missouri, and Rutgers but kept his recruitment open until the spring signing period. No idea if those P5 classes filled up or he liked the WKU situation better. He’s got solid size for defensive back 5'11 and 182 pounds and probably will redshirt this season before stepping up when WKU loses a talented senior class of db’s including Devon Key, Trae Meadows, Antwon Kincade, Roger Cray & Dionte Ruffin after 2020. He wasn’t announced today so WKU could be waiting on grades or paperwork and should probably announce at a later date.
The Brentwood Tennesse native Bowman is a 5-Star Longsnapper by Rubio Longsnapping. That means he’s division 1 quality per their ranking system. He’s got solid size for a long snapper (6'0 220 lbs) and should compete with redshirt freshman Mitchell Harrellson for departed long snapper Jared Nash’s job. We’ll see if he’s announced as specialists are usually nonscholarship walk-ons until they win the starting job.
Ta’Corian Darden’s cousin Devvan just announced yesterday that he’d be following his cousin’s shoes and start off his career on the Hill as a walk-on. The younger Darden is a 5'10 175 pound cornerback that played in metro Nashville at Pope John Paul II. He had some offers in the past from Air Force, Duke, and Georgetown (DC)but decided to stay close to home and try to follow his cousins past. That worked out for Ta’Corian as he went from walkon to ace nickelback for the Tops and was rewarded a scholarship prior to his sophomore year. Hopefully, Devvan can follow his footsteps and become a contributor on the Hill. Don’t look for him to be announced as walk-ons usually aren’t included in signing day festivities.
One thing you can’t have too many of is kickers. Despite the fact that First Responder Bowl Hero Cory Munson is only going to be a sophomore, WKU added the Clarksville native Langford to the fold to add depth and competition as well. He is a 4 1/2 star prospect according to Kohl’s Professional Camps and was the TSSAA Region 7 Kicker of the year. Look for Langford to be a walkon for the Tops as well.
Drake Alsup- Wide Receiver- Cross Plains (TN)
Another walk-on that won’t be announced today. Alsup was a multi position athlete at East Robertson High School in nearby Tennessee. The 6'1 190 lb Alsup played Quarterback, Wide Receiver and Safety for the 5–6 Indians. Getting a versatile athlete as a walk-on is a great get for Tyson Helton’s staff.
Previous Commitments that Should Sign
Three Star linebacker that didn’t sign during early signing period. Recently visited WKU and seems to still be in the fold. He wasn’t announced today so WKU could be waiting on grades or paperwork and should probably announce at a later date.
Worthy is a 6'2 210 pound 2-star running back out of North Carolina that committed on twitter in December. He’s listed on 247 Sports and Rivals commitment lists so it will be interesting to see if he comes into the fold today. He wasn’t announced today so WKU could be waiting on grades or paperwork and should probably announce at a later date.
Recent Offers That haven’t signed elsewhere
Announced Signing in January
2-star quarterback that had been committed to WKU since July. Ocean stuck with his commitment despite WKU also adding Grady Robison. He’ll probably redshirt in 2020 and compete with Robison and maybe Kavaris Thomas after Steven Duncan (and possible grad transfer) exhaust their eligibility.
A 3-star corner that arrived in Bowling Green after graduating Junior College in early January. He held offers from Utah and Utep and should immediately compete for minutes at the nickle and backup cornerback positions.
Former 4 Star recruit and part-time starter at linebacker for the Vols should join a deep and talented linebacking corps that includes Kyle Bailey, Eli Brown, Clay Davis, Jaden Hunter, Malik Staples, and Damon Lowe. Will probably apply for hardship waiver to play immediately in 2020.
2020 Signing Class — Early Signing Period Roster (Listed Alphabetically)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School
1. Talique Allen* S 6–1 200 Fort Valley, Ga. Peach County HS
2. John Blunt, Jr. CB 6–1 185 Arlington, Texas Cisco College / Mansfield Timberview HS
3. Craig Burt, Jr. WR 6–4 190 Columbus, Ohio Hutchinson CC / Centennial HS
4. Travis Collier CB 6–1 190 Douglasville, Ga. Douglas County HS
5. Nicholas Days* LB 6–3 220 Miami, Fla. Independence CC / North Miami HS
6. Mark Goode OL 6–6 270 Hodgenville, Ky. LaRue County HS
7. Wesley Horton OL 6–3 250 Atlanta, Ga. North Atlanta HS
8. Colt Jackson* OL 6–3 280 Bowling Green, Ky. South Warren HS
9. David Ndukwe* DT 6–6 250 Lithonia, Ga. Arabia Mountain HS
10. Spencer Owens* TE 6–4 250 Lakewood, Calif. Fullerton College / Lakewood HS
11. Dezmion Roberson* LB 6–2 200 Elba, Ala. Elba HS
12. Grady Robison QB 6–1 190 Sammamish, Wash. Eastlake HS
13. Darius Shipp* DT 6–1 290 Olive Branch, Miss. Northeast Mississippi CC / Lewisburg HS
14. Mitchell Tinsley* WR 6–1 185 Lee’s Summit, Mo. Hutchinson CC / Lee’s Summit HS
15. Noah Whittington* RB 5–10 195 Fort Valley, Ga. Peach County HS
* indicates signee is anticipated to enroll early and join WKU in the spring
Former Commitments Off the Board
2-star Wide Receiver that decommitted from WKU after signing day. Appears WKU backed off and how he’s headed to FCS Chattanooga
Another longtime commitment that WKU seemed to back off of before December signing period. The Florida speedster is headed to FCS Rhode Island
Higgs had been committed to WKU since the fourth of July but decommited before early signing day. He must have seen the writing on the wall as WKU now has added two junior college DB’s to go along with Collier and Allen grades could have also been a factor as he’s now headed to Junior college. He committed to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to start his college career
Robinson had been committed since late July but stealthily re-opened his recruitment on September 28th. No idea if the staff stopped recruiting him or there were other factors. No real updates since December live blog
Stay tuned for tons of recruiting coverage throughout the day and beyond. We’ll be providing updates on twitter as they come in and a recap on the final class when it’s announced later today. Helton had a great debut season, hopefully, he can build on it on the recruiting trail and set WKU for 2020 and beyond.