By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
NATCHITOCHES – The first National Signing Day class for Northwestern State football coach Blaine McCorkle could be defined by a multitude of numbers.
The Demons added 15 players, all from the high school ranks, Wednesday to the 10 others who joined the NSU program in December and early January. In addition to being the most high school players signed by Northwestern State since 2018, the group is an accomplished one in various disciplines.
“It’s a good day for Northwestern State football,” McCorkle said. “We met a lot of needs with a great group of young men who joined our program today. I want to thank my staff. They did a tremendous job coming in here. We weren’t fully assembled until after the new year, and we didn’t hit (recruiting) full speed until January. To put together a class like this in such a short time frame and with all the recent things here lately speaks to their work ethic, their commitment and their determination to make this right and give the folks at Northwestern State something to be proud of.”
The 15 newest members of the Demon program were split nearly evenly on both sides of the ball with eight offensive players and seven defensive signing National Letters of Intent with Northwestern State.
Included in that number were nine players from Louisiana, backing up McCorkle’s program-building tenet he spoke of at his November hiring news conference.
The in-state players staying home included a pair of Natchitoches Central teammates (slot receiver Camryn Davis and defensive end Braden Woods), a state champion running back from Many (Jeremiah James), a pair of Baton Rouge-area standouts (Parkview Baptist quarterback Abram Johnston and East Ascension wide receiver Brennon Thompson), two Monroe-area products (Ouachita Parish tight end Trevon Bradford and Sterlington linebacker Jackson King) and one player each from Lafayette (Teurlings Catholic cornerback Gylen Ford) and the New Orleans area (Covington offensive lineman Lawson Champagne).
“That’s really exciting,” McCorkle said. “We have two from right here in Natchitoches, Braden Woods and Camryn Davis. I’m really, really excited about that. They have tremendous upside and are kids people here will be really familiar with. Then there’s Jeremiah Jamesfrom right down the road in Many. He’s a tremendously talented running back a lot of people were after. He was a highly sought after player at our level.
“We did what we sought out to do in scouring the state of Louisiana and bringing in some good, local talent people are familiar with. They’re good football players. We’re not going to bring them in just because they’re local. They are good football players who will help us win time.”
While the Demons’ in-state haul was a blend of skill positions and linemen, NSU went out of state to bolster both sides of the trenches.
Northwestern State added five players from Texas – offensive linemen Logan Brady (Jersey Village) and Ralee Jackson (Plano East), defensive linemen Antoine Milon (Klein Collins) and Brock Reddic (Pine Tree) and linebacker Hayden Jenkins (McKinney Boyd) – and one from Alabama (defensive lineman Michael C. Nixon) that had a clear focus.
“We got some big bodies from Texas, which I’m excited about,” McCorkle said. “We got some defensive linemen and offensive linemen from the Lone Star State at some real positions of need. We pulled one from Hoover (Alabama) where we had some previous connections. In terms of location and distance, we did what we needed to do.”
In addition to their on-field accolades, the 15 Northwestern State signees performed exceptionally well in the classroom as well.
“We wanted to sign people with a high academic profile,” McCorkle said. “The academic profile of the 15 players we added today is an average GPA of 3.3. That’s incredible and almost unheard of. What that tells you is they are motivated. They are disciplined. They are going to handle their business. They’re going to come in and go to work.
“If they come here and stay on track academically, when it’s time to get on the field, they’ve handled their business already and can work on being a better football player. I’ve been doing this a long time, and the longer I do it, the more I believe the smarter kids are tougher kids. We’re going to be a tough football team because those kids have been through adversity and know how to push through things. I’m really excited about the academic profile of this class as well as the talent.”
2024 Northwestern State Football Signees (includes December/January signees)
Trevon Bradford, TE, 6-7, 230, Monroe, La./Ouachita Parish HS
Logan Brady, OL, 6-3, 270, Houston, Texas/Jersey Village HS
Lawson Champagne, OT, 6-4, 260, Covington, La./Covington HS
Camryn Davis, WR, 5-10, 160, Clarence, La./Natchitoches Central HS
Xavier Davis, RB, 5-11, 195, Jackson, Mississippi/Hartfield Academy (Northwest Mississippi CC)
Gylen Ford, CB, 6-0, 190, Lafayette, La./Teurlings Catholic HS
Kekahi Graham, QB, 6-0, 190, Honolulu, Hawaii/St. Louis HS (Pasadena College)
Blake Gotcher, LB, 6-1, 225, Frisco, Texas/Lone Star HS (Lamar)
Landry Huddleston, LB, 5-10, 210, Mobile, Alabama/Alma Bryant HS (Belhaven)
Ralee Jackson, OL, 6-3, 270, Dallas, Texas/Plano East HS
Jeremiah James, RB, 5-10, 195, Many, La./Many HS
Hayden Jenkins, LB, 6-1, 225, McKinney, Texas/Boyd HS
Abram Johnston, QB, 6-1, 195, Baton Rouge, La./Parkview Baptist HS
Jackson King, LB, 6-0, 215, Monroe, La./Sterlington HS
Ray McKneely-Harris, RB, 5-8, 170, Denham Springs, La./Denham Springs HS (Memphis)
Antoine Milon, DT, 6-0, 275, Spring, Texas/Klein Collins HS
Ty Moore, WR, 6-2, 205, Lorena, Texas/Lorena HS (Southwest Mississippi CC)
Michael C. Nixon, DL, 6-0, 265, Hoover, Alabama/Hoover HS
Brock Reddic, DT, 6-4, 300, Longview, Texas/Pine Tree HS
Brennon Thompson, WR, 6-0, 185, Bertrandville, La./East Ascension HS
Ryan Tyler, TE/FB/, 6-3, 250, Pass Christian, Miss./St. Stanislaus (Jones College)
Christian Williams, S, 5-10, 180, Baton Rouge, La/Parkview Baptist (Sam Houston)
Braden Woods DE, 6-4, 220, Natchitoches, La./Natchitoches Central HS
Isaiah Ybarra, OL, 6-3, 290, Katy, Texas/Katy HS