FEBRUARY 6, 2008

STATESMEN FOOTBALL INKS 19 ON SIGNING DAY

CLEVELAND – Delta State University head football coach Ron Roberts announced the signings of 19 high school and junior college transfers on Wednesday, Feb. 6. The class features several of the top student-athletes in Mississippi and a mix of the nation’s elite junior college talents.

“We wanted to hit Mississippi hard this year,” stated Roberts. “There was a great crop of talent in the state, and we were able to sign several standouts that many people thought would end up at larger schools. We’re not finished by any means. We still have several offers out there and we expect to add to the list over the coming days.”

The class includes one of the nation’s top athletes in Baldwyn High’s Dominique Davenport. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound receiver/defensive back ranked in the top 50 in ESPN’s Top 100 athlete recruits. He also ranked in the top 50 on Scout.com’s list of cornerbacks. Over the past four years, Davenport has racked up over 198 tackles and 19 interceptions.

“Like many of our signees, Dominique is a special player. He’s got the makeup to help us on both sides of the ball with his speed and big-play ability,” said Roberts.

Several local standouts headline the class including Ray Brooks’ Tim Graham of Benoit, J.F. Kennedy High stars Darnell Taylor and Kendall Hunter of Mound Bayou, and Mississippi Delta Community College transfers Eric Harmon and Eric Nelson of Greenville.

The 19 signees are joined by 15 players inked by the Statesmen in January. All 14 enrolled in class at the semester break.

A complete list of signees is below.

Name	Pos	Hgt	Wgt	Hometown/ Previous School
Jourdan Arcilla	SS	6-1	205	Pinole, CA/ Diablo Valley CC
Clifford Brown	WR	5-7	160	Holly Springs
Jonathan Cameron	FS	6-2	190	Puckett HS/ Puckett
Dominique Davenport	CB/WR	5-10	180	Baldwyn/ Baldwyn HS
Matt Esquivel	OL	6-5	315	Legrande, CA/ Merced CC
Reed Falkner	HB	6-2	225	Oxford/ Oxford HS
Timothy Graham	FS	6-2	210	Benoit/ Ray Brooks HS
Eric Harmon	OL	6-3	280	Greenville/ MS Delta CC
Robert Hogan	LB	6-1	215	J.J. McClain HS/ Lexington
James Holley	DE	6-2	255	Riverside, CA/ Riverside CC
Kendall Hunter	OL	6-5	320	Mound Bayou/ J.F. Kennedy HS
Bruce Laviolette	CB	6-0	190	Visalia, CA/ Col. of Sequoias
Eric Nelson	WR	6-3	195	Greenville/ MS Delta CC
Rodney Picou	OL	6-6	350	Riverside, CA/ Riverside CC
James Sagapolutele	DL	6-2	255	Pasadena, CA/ Pasadena City
Kamron Scroggins	CB	6-0	180	Phoenix, Ariz./ Phoenix College
Jacob Sesma	LB	6-3	225	Walnut/ Walnut HS
Darnell Taylor	SB	5-9	185	Mound Bayou/ J.F. Kennedy HS
Pete Vaesau	OL	6-3	305	Pinole, CA/ Diablo Valley CC
Matthew Willis	WR	5-11	190	Puckett HS/ Puckett

DECEMBER ENROLLMENTS

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Blake Barnes	QB	6-3	225	Georgia
Neil Broussard	OL	6-3	285	MS Gulf Coast CC
Justin Wraggs	OL	6-3	320	MS Gulf Coast CC
Matt Conner	OL	6-1	290	Itawamba CC
Tagameon Cole	OL	6-3	320	MS Gulf Coast CC
Katlan French	WR	5-9	185	East Central CC
Steven Belford	DT	6-4	315	Holmes CC
Kenneth Whitfield	DL	6-1	255	East Central CC
Mark Hoskins	DL	6-1	290	East Central CC
Chris Favors	DE	6-1	275	Grand Valley State
Jesse Pedyfoot	DE	6-2	255	Hinds CC
Marcus Watson	DT	6-6	275	MS Delta CC
Hollan Fiu	LB	6-1	215	New Mexico Military
Cedric Okoi	CB	6-1	185	Rochester (MN) CC
Rolando Oliver	CB	5-11	180	San Mateo (CA) College