MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama announced its 2016 football signing class on National Signing Day on Wednesday afternoon in the John Counts Room at the Mitchell Center, adding a group that includes players who had been committed to or recruited by Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
The event also included a broadcasting announcement from Jaguar Sports Properties and iHeartMedia.
New Home for Jaguar Sports on Radio
Jaguar Sports Properties and iHeartMedia announced a partnership that will launch 99.5 FM The Jag on April 2. The station will carry South Alabama sports and coaches’ shows and a simulcast of The Uncle Henry Show. It will also be a Fox Sports affiliate, carrying programs hosted by Rich Eisen and Colin Cowherd.
Football broadcasts will remain on Lite Mix 99.9, a 100,000-watt FM station. The Jag, at 4,100 watts, will cover the greater Mobile area and will be available worldwide through the iHeartRadio app.
High School Signees
- Riley Cole, LB, 6-3, 220, Oneonta High School, Oneonta, Ala. Rated a three-star prospect by all four national recruiting services and ranked the No. 3 outside linebacker in Alabama by Scout.com. Cole had been committed to Alabama but decommitted after reports surfaced that he had been asked to grayshirt.
- Jalin Buie, RB, 5-7, 165, Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Fla. A former Auburn commitment, Buie was rated a three-star prospect by all four services and ranked 12th nationally among all-purpose athletes by Rivals.com and 14th by 247Sports.com.
- Chris Henderson, DL, 6-4, 232, Lovejoy High School, Hampton, Ga. Rated three stars by Scout.com and ESPN.com, Henderson helped Lovejoy go 4-1 in region play and reach the Class 6A playoffs as a senior. He recently decommitted from Indiana and also held offers from Louisville, Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion.
- Bobby Flott, CB, 6-2, 160, Baker High School, Mobile. Flott drew interest from Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma but had been committed to South Alabama for some time.
- Jared Stewart, CB, 5-10, 165, Fultondale High School, Birmingham, Ala. A varsity player since the eighth grade, Stewart was rated two stars by Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com. He is the brother of Alabama receiver ArDarius Stewart. He is recovering from a torn ACL and will miss spring drills but is expected to be ready for fall camp. He is already enrolled at South Alabama.
- Sean Brown, OL, 6-3, 285, Pleasant Grove High School, Pleasant Grove, Ala. Rated three stars by Scout.com and 247Sports.com and regarded as the top center prospect in Alabama, Brown was listed by South Alabama as a defensive lineman. He had offers from Arkansas State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss and Troy.
- Jay Woods, CB, 5-11, 180, Pinson Valley High School, Pinson, Ala. Rated three stars by Rivals.com and Scout.com, with Scout ranking him the state’s No. 4 cornerback. Woods held offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Army, Jacksonville State, Marshall, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Pitt, Southern Miss, UAB and Wake Forest, among others.
- Zac Crosby, TE, 6-4, 210, The Bolles School, Jacksonville, Fla. Rated two stars by Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com, Crosby caught 30 passes for 750 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. He had offers from Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Middle Tennessee, among others. South Alabama coaches compared him to former Jaguars tight ends Wes Saxton and Gerald Everett.
- Nick Fields, DL, 6-1, 275, Dothan High School, Dothan, Ala. Rated two stars by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Fields played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. He held offers from Jacksonville State, Nevada and Alabama A&M and was timed at 4.97 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 5.0 in the shuttle, with a 30-inch vertical leap.
- Taji Stewart, LB, 6-3, 210, Walton High School, Marietta, Ga. Rated two stars by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Stewart recorded 79 tackles, including six for loss, in high school.
Junior College and Prep School Signees
- Clay Burt, OL, 6-5, 310, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. An honorable mention All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference pick as a sophomore, Burt can play center, guard and tackle.
- Jahmmir Taylor, WR, 5-11, 170, Hinds (Miss.) Community College. Taylor had offers from Memphis, Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss.
- Darrell Songy, OLB, 6-1, 225, Garden City Community College. Songy originally signed with Oregon State and played there as a freshman in 2013 before moving to Garden City, where he recorded 68 tackles, 11.5 of them for loss.
- D’Tavieus Taylor, OL, 6-5, 280, Hinds (Miss.) Community College, from Pearl High School. Taylor was an honorable mention NJCAA All-American and a first-team MACJC all-state and all-region selection as a sophomore. He had offers from Houston, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, North Texas and UTSA, and canceled a planned official visit to West Virginia after committing to South Alabama.
- Diantae Thomas, S, 5-11, 218, Butler (Kan.) Community College, from Dothan High School. Thomas played mostly on offense last season, catching 23 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns and rushing 11 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. Coaches project him as a fit on defense.
- Konnor Houston, LB, 6-4, 225, Army Prep. Houston made 171 tackles and 15 quarterback hurries in his high school career, helping Buford High School win three consecutive state titles. He signed in December.
- Andrew Reinkemeyer, TE, 6-4, 265, Butler (Kan.) Community College. Reinkemeyer caught 15 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns in 2014 for a Butler team that went 8-3 and finished 15th in the final NJCAA rankings. He signed in December.
- Neiko Robinson, DB, 6-0, 175, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. As a sophomore, Robinson made 44 tackles and broke up six passes, second-most on the team, for a squad that finished eighth in the final NJCAA poll.
- Zach Befort, DL, 6-3, 280, Butler (Kan.). A second-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection, Befort made 50 tackles, 8.5 of them for loss. He signed in December and held offers from Idaho, Louisiana-Monroe, Tulsa and Ball State, among others.
- Romello Riley, DE, 6-3, 245, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Riley made 30 tackles in nine games as a sophomore, including five for loss and three sacks. A December signee, he had offers from Arkansas State and Troy.
Program Notes
South Alabama, coached by Joey Jones, competes in the Sun Belt Conference and plays home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
