Tigers Sign 17 High School Players

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – West Alabama signed 17 high school football players, that combined with the mid-year signees, gives the Tigers 28 new players heading into the 2020 campaign, head coach Brett Gilliland's seventh at his alma mater.

"We are really pleased with these high school signees and what they bring to the table. I believe this is a great bunch with a bright future at UWA," Gilliland said. "This group complements the mid-year signees we have already on campus and returning in our team."

"We welcome these guys and their families to the Tiger family," Gilliland said. "I want to thank our staff for all of their hard work through this recruiting cycle and for everyone at the university and in the community that helped us."

Gilliland and his staff got signatures from eight defensive players, eight on offense and one specialist. All were high school players.

Defensive linemen and linebackers led the way with three each. The Tigers also picked up two defensive backs, two offensive linemen, two tight ends and two quarterbacks. A wide receiver, running back and punter/kicker round out the February class.

Combining the mid-year signees who will participate in spring drills for the Tigers, UWA inked a total of 14 offensive players, 12 on defense and two specialists.

2020 February Football Signees

Shawn Byrd, LB, 601, 215, Saraland High School, Saraland, Ala.
Led the team with 103 tackles as a senior … Also recorded two sacks and 10 tackles for loss last season … Recovered a fumble and blocked a kick … Ranks third in career tackles in school history … 2019 ASWA Class 6A First Team All-State … 2018 & 2019 Call News First Team All-Area Team … 2019 Mobile Press Register First Team All-Coastal.

Jake Corkren, QB, 6-2, 215, Northside High School, Northport, Ala.
As a senior he passed for 3,304 yards and 38 touchdowns … Rushed 227 yards and six touchdowns … Passed for 6,568 yards and 77 TDs over his high school career … Named to 2018 and 2019 West Alabama Super 11 … 2018 and 2019 All State … Help lead his team to 2019 4A region championship … Four-year starter in football, basketball and baseball.

Bryce Dunn, TE, 6-4, 215, Brantley High School, Brantley, Ala.
Also played middle linebacker ... Member of baseball team at BHS ... Honorable mention all-state baseball player.

Nick Ellis, DB, 5-10, 170, Mobile Christian High School, Mobile, Ala.
Had 164 carries for 1,170 yards as a senior … Had nine receptions for 178 yards … Returned 12 kicks for 337 yards … Racked up 1,675 all-purpose yards … Did not fumble all season … Had 120 yards receiving in state championship game as a senior … Recorded 26 tackles three pass breakups as a senior … Played for Ronnie Cottrell at Mobile Christian … Will play defensive back at UWA … All-State Honorable mention as a junior … Also ran track … Was third in the state in 300m hurdles and sixth in 110m hurdles … Holds school record in 110m hurdles … 2017 National Honor Society.

Trevon Lambert, DE, 6-2, 215, Escambia County High School, Atmore, Ala.
Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State … Honorable Mention All-Coastal Defensive Team … All-Coastal Team … Team captain … Recorded 13 sacks … Recorded 60 tackles, 25 solo … Played for Coach Scott Mason, a UWA graduate … ECHS Rotary Club (Honor Roll).

Kyle Kramer, QB, 6-3, 215, Prattville High School, Prattville, Ala.
Passed for 2,300 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior … Completed 60 percent of his passes … Buffalo Rock Player of the Game, River Region Athlete of the Week, Alabama Class 7A football Fan Favorite of the Week for his 16-for-19 for 283 yards and four touchdowns performance against Stanhope Elmore … Honor student.

Kory McCoy LB, 6-0, 190, Opelika High School, Opelika, Ala.
Recorded 69 tackles and five tackles for loss … Had three interceptions … Forced two fumbles and recovered two … Scored one touchdown … All-Area second-team … Earned player of the game honors in week one against Callaway where he intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Camren Moffett, OL, 6-6, 280, Crestview High School, Crestview, Fla.
Northwest Daily News Dandy Dozen.

LaDarrius Rice, DB, 6-1, 185, Helena High School, Helena, Ala.
Recorded 40 tackles, 31 solo, as a senior … Intercepted three passes … Broke up five passes ... Two-time All-Shelby County Football Team … Two-Time All- State Honorable Mention.

Caden Shoulders, OL, 6-5, 359, Athens High School, Athens, Ala.
First-Team All-Limestone County … Decatur Daily All-Area First Team … First State Bank of the South Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 14.

Aarren Smith, LB, 6-1, 195, Hoover High School, Hoover, Ala.
Recorded 595 total tackles, 26 solo, as a senior … Had 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks his senior year … Caused a fumble and recovered three in 2019 … Had 51 tackles, 23 solo, as a junior with two sacks and a caused fumble.

Trey Sullivan, K/P, 6-1, 200, Leroy High School, Leroy, Ala.
Top-ranked punter in state of Alabama according to MaxPreps … AL.com All-coastal Alabama first team punter as a senior … Washington County News All-Area kicker and punter … All-County kicker and punter as a senior … Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State kicker as a junior … All-county and all-area as a punter and kicker as a junior … All-county kicker as a sophomore … Three-year starter … 4-Star kicker and punter according to Kohl's Kicking … FCA Vice President … Senior class secretary … Jackson area chamber of commerce Pine City Ambassador … BASF Chemistry Teen's Lab 2019.

Silas Thompson, WR, 6-3, 185, Piedmont High School, Piedmont, Ala.
Had 48 receptions for 575 yards as a senior … Tied current UWA receiver Bayley Blanchard's PHS record with 13 touchdowns in a season … First-team all-region … First team all-county … First-team Alabama Sports Writers Association 2A All-State … TV24 Pigskin Roundup All-Star Team.

Jamarvis Turner, DL, 6-1, 285, Pensacola Catholic High School, Pensacola, Fla.
Played in seven games his senior season, recording 22 tackles and two sacks … Finished his junior season with 43 solo tackles and five tackles for loss … All-star team member … Second-team All-Area.

Tate Warr, TE, 6-3, 200, Millry High School, Millry, Ala.
Played quarterback in high school, but will convert to tight end at UWA … Four-time all-county … All-State as an athlete … Back of the Year Nominee … Three-time baseball all-county … First-team all-state as a catcher in baseball … 2019 Class 1A Hitter of the Year … Three-time all-county in basketball … Beta Club … National Honor Society.

Ta'Bryious Webb, RB, 5-11, 183, Dothan High School, Dothan, Ala.
Had 130 carries for 855 yards as a senior … Class 6A offensive player of the week with 11 carries, 163 yards and two touchdowns, plus a 32-yard TD reception versus Carver.

Steven White, DL, 6-3, 250, Lincoln High School, Lincoln, Ala.
Recorded 71 career tackles, including 28 tackles for loss and eight sacks … Forced two fumbles … 10 quarterback hurries … One interception and two blocked field goals … Had 36 total tackles as a senior, 17 for loss … Two-time all-region … Three-time all-county … First-team all-state … Recorded 63 pancake blocks as an offensive lineman.

Mid-Year Signees in December 2019

Reed Collins, TE/K, 6-2½, 210, Northeast (Miss.) Community College, St. Joseph Catholic (Miss.) High School, Madison, Mississippi
Junior College: Played in 14 career games as a quarterback … Completed 40-of-82 passes for 466 yards and three touchdowns … Also place kicker his sophomore year, making 2-of-7 field goal attempts … Punted three times for an average of 30.0 yards as a freshman … High School: Completed 92-of-165 passing attempts as a senior for 17 touchdowns and 1,929 yards … Averaged 5.1 yards per carry … Averaged 34.0 yards as a senior punter … Converted 16-of-17 extra point attempts as a senior … Also played soccer, accounting for 109 points in 22 games … Scored 45 goals and had 19 assists.

Zach Fox, OL, 6-4, 255, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Austin (Ala.) High School, Decatur, Ala.
Tennessee-Chattanooga: Redshirted in 2018, making the Athletic Director Honor Roll in the Fall … Did not see action in 2019 … High School: All-area offensive lineman for Austin High School in Decatur, Ala. … Played for Coach Jeremy Perkins … Helped lead AHS to a 32-7 mark over final three seasons, including 12-1 as a senior … Had the state's No. 1 ranked offense and No. 2 ranked team … Honor student.

Sedevyn Gray, WR, 6-0, 182, Mississippi Valley State University, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Puckett (Miss.) High School, Puckett, Mississippi
Mississippi Valley: Played in 11 games during the 2019 season … Caught 21 passes for 135 yards… Also rushed for 50 yards on six carries … Returned 12 kickoffs for 238 yards (19.8 ypr) … Junior College: Played in nine games … Had 21 receptions for 386 yards and four touchdowns … High School: Played running back and defensive back for Coach Jason Goodwin at Puckett High School … As a senior recorded 62 tackles, seven broken up passes, five interceptions, forced five fumbles and scored 12 touchdowns.

Daulton Hyatt, QB, 6-4, 197, University of Arkansas, Etowah (Ala.) High School … Arab (Ala.) High School … Arab, Ala.
ARKANSAS : 2019: Redshirted … 2018: Played in one game and had two carries. High School: Participated in the 2016 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game … Attended The Opening-Atlanta … Threw for 1,100 yards and five TDs as a junior at Arab … Also tallied 460 yards and two scores on the ground … Completed 163 of 256 passes for a 64 percent clip as a sophomore … Earned 6A Region 7 Offensive MVP honors after passing for 2,250 yards and 16 TDs to go along with 745 yards rushing and five TDs while leading Arab to a 7-4 record and a playoff berth … Also played basketball and baseball … Fielded scholarship offers from 17 FBS schools … Finished with a 135.9 quarterback rating … Helped the Blue Devils finish second in Region 7 with a 9-3 record and an appearance in the second round of the 5A state playoffs … Completed 11 of 14 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns in the Blue Devils' 44-27 Class 5A playoff win over Mae Etowah to sign a scholarship with an SEC program … Named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association 2016 All-State second team … Completed 66 percent of his passes (121 of 184) and threw for 2,240 yards with 25 touchdowns to five interceptions for Noles head coach Drew Etowah High for his senior season … Combined with his junior, sophomore and freshman seasons at Arab High School, he ended his prep career with 6,216 passing yards and 50 TDs to go along with 1,854 yards and 16 scores on the ground … Four-star prospect by ESPN … Rated the No. 9 pocket-passer and the No. 150 overall prospect in the nation by ESPN … Tabbed the No. 5 player in the state of Alabama by ESPN … The state of Alabama's No. 1 quarterback in the class by Scout.

Corbin Lewis, OL, 6-6, 280, Pearl River (Miss.) Community College, Lawrence County (Miss.) High School, Jayess, Miss.
Junior College: Redshirted in first year at PRCC … Important member on offensive line the next season before playing in nine games as a sophomore … Juco teammate of UWA early signee and defensive lineman Terrance "Tank" Monroe … High School: Played for Coach Jaymie Palmer at Lawrence County (Miss.) High School ... Also competed in basketball and track … Played in 32 career basketball games, averaging 1.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

De Mays, DB, 6-0, 180, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Madison Central (Miss.) High School, Flora, Miss.
Junior College: Played in 11 games as a sophomore, making 35 tackles … Had two tackles for loss and a sack … Intercepted two passes and broke up six more as a sophomore … High School: Played for Coach Anthony Hart at Madison Central (Miss.) High School ... Helped the Jaguars to a 10-4-1 record and the third round of the Class 6A state playoffs as a senior ... Recorded 57 tackles, 14 passes defended, four interceptions, and a TD during his senior season.

Terrance "Tank" Monroe, DL, 6-3, 330, Pearl River (Miss.) Community College, Petal (Miss.) High School, Petal, Mississippi
Junior College: Played in 18 games over his career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College … Recorded 40 total tackles … Had two tackles for loss … High School: Played for Coach Marcus Boyles at Petal High School … Played in 13 games as a senior … Had 36 tackles and two tackles for loss his senior season.

Terrance "TJ" Newell, DB, 6-2½, 179, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Clinton (Miss.) High School, Clinton, Mississippi
Junior College: Played in 12 games as a defensive back after moving from wide receiver as a freshman … Made 35 tackles, including two for loss as a senior … Broke up eight pass and forced a fumble … Played in seven games as a freshman, making four catches for 25 yards … High School: Played for Coach Judd Boswell at Clinton High School … Had 30 receptions as a senior for 515 yards and three touchdowns … Helped led his team to a 6A state championship as a senior.

Spencer Romero, K, 6-1, 169, Mississippi Delta Community College, Franklin County High School, Brookhaven, Mississippi
Junior College: Played in 18 games over his career … Converted 9-of-13 field goal attempts … Made 28-of-36 extra points … Scored 55 points … Credited with two tackles. High School: Played at Franklin County (Miss.) High School… Lettered three seasons as both a kicker and punter at FCHS … Made 6-of-10 FGA as a senior and 35-of-43 extra point tries … Long field goal of 37 yards … Averaged 36.1 yards as a senior punter … Selected to the All-District team as a specialist … Also competed in soccer and tennis … Four-year letterman in soccer that was chosen to the All-District team three times … Lettered four seasons in tennis, where he made four trips to the Mississippi High School Activities Association state tournament.

Delvin Salter, OL, 6-3½, 316, Austin Peay University … Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College, Whitehaven (Tenn.) High School, Horn Lake, Mississippi
Austin Peay: Signed with Governors in 2016, but redshirted as a freshman … Junior College: Played eight games over one season at Co-Lin … High School: Ranked 50^th in the state of Tennessee by 247sports.com … The 108^th-ranked guard in the nation by 247sports.com … Received a two-star rating by 247sports.com and Rivals.com … TSWA Class 6A All-State and All-USA Tennessee (USA Today) in 2015 … Finalist for Class 6A Mr. Football Lineman award in 2015.

Rakeem Terry, DL, 6-1, 280, Bethune Cookman University, College of the Sequoias, South Dade (Fla.) High School, Homestead (Fla.) High School, Homestead, Florida
Bethune Cookman: Played in just two games in 2019, allowing him to use a redshirt season … Failed to record in statistics in 2019 … Played in six games as a junior in 2018 … Recorded nine tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry ... Had five tackles and a sack against Virginia-Lynchburg ... Saw action at Nebraska ... Junior College: Played two years at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California … had 40 career tackles in 16 games, including 33 solo … Had seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks … Also forced a fumble … High School: Prepped at both South Dade and Homestead High Schools … Selected to the All-Dade Football Team as both a junior and senior.

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Players Mentioned

#89 Bayley Blanchard: WR; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#89 Bayley Blanchard
: 6' 1"; Junior
: WR

Players Mentioned

#89 Bayley Blanchard

Players Mentioned

#89 Bayley Blanchard