North Carolina’s seven Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs officially began assembling their 2024 rosters this week as the early signing period for commits started Wednesday.
Campbell once again pulled in a solid haul, according to media pundits. The Camels rank No. 129 in all of Division I (FBS and FCS), third-best among FCS schools behind Houston Christian (114th) and Sacramento State (128th).
Here are signing day highlights among FCS schools from the Old North State:
Campbell Camels
* The Camels learned late last week that Mike Minter was resigning after 11 years as head coach, with Steven Williams Jr. taking over as interim. Campbell still managed to sign a six-man class, with five incoming freshmen and one transfer (one other player has committed but not yet signed). Four of the six newcomers play on the defensive side. Three players will join the team in the spring.
* As in past seasons, Campbell worked connections from all over the country. Two signees hail from Florida and two more from California.
* Linebacker Reginald “Kado” Felder III (Fresno, Calif. | Washington Union HS), defensive back Semaj Jackson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | American Heritage HS), defensive back Donavan Philord (Hialeah, Fla. | Norland HS) and quarterback Bryan Wilson (Corona, Calif. | Eleanor Roosevelt HS) are listed as three-star prospects by 247Sports.
—> READ MORE: Campbell University’s official signing day release.
Davidson Wildcats
* The ‘Cats have been enjoying one of their most successful stretches in school history under coach Scott Abell, winning 41 games over the past six seasons. Abell and staff added 13 new players from the prep ranks on Wednesday.
Davidson mined North Carolina well, picking up six players from the Old North State – slot AJ Adams (Shelby | Crest HS), linebacker Jayden Ferguson (Raleigh | Millbrook HS), defensive lineman Alex Jones (Greensboro | Page HS), Will Jones (Davidson | Hough HS), defensive back Shay Ragland (High Point | Ledford HS) and defensive end Nakoma Scott (Lumberton | Lumberton HS).
—> READ MORE: Davidson’s official signing day release
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Elon Phoenix
* Thirteen of Elon’s Wednesday signees came from the high school ranks and will join the Phoenix as true freshmen in 2024. All 13 were team captains in high school.
The Phoenix signed seven players from North Carolina, two from Virginia and one each from West Virginia, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia.
* The three incoming defensive linemen look to be monsters: Kahmari Brown (Jacksonville | White Oak HS) earned Coastal Conference Player of the Year honors in 2023. He had 111 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and six sacks as a senior. Rashad Reid (Martinsburg, WVa. | Martinsburg HS) posted 92.5 tackles, 24.5 TFLs and nine sacks. He was a two-time conference defensive player of the year. Malakahi West (Wilmington | Hoggard HS) played in the 4A state finals earlier this month and finished with 70 total tackles on the season, 23.5 TFLs, 14.5 sacks, three interceptions, nine forced fumbles and one TD.
* Quarterback Landen Clark (Radford, Va.) led Radford High to a 15-0 state championship season this past fall. He accounted for more than 4,300 yards and 71 total touchdowns.
* TJ Thomas Jr. (Thomasville, Ga. | Brookwood HS) looks to be an all-purpose threat. The three-time all-state performer finished with 2,209 career rushing yards, 3,457 career receiving yards and 76 total touchdowns.
—> READ MORE: Elon’s official signing day release
Gardner-Webb Bulldogs
* The champions of the Big South/OVC Football Association are in major reset mode after head coach Tre Lamb’s departure to East Tennessee State. The school did not release any signing information on its official Web site or social media on Wednesday or Thursday.
New coach Cris Reisert will be charged with retooling a roster that has seen four standout players transfer to FBS schools in recent weeks and a whopping 19 more following Lamb to East Tennessee State (per HeroSports.com).
North Carolina A&T Aggies
* Coach Vincent Brown inked nine players on the first full day of the early signing period. Offense got plenty of attention with the Aggies grabbing two quarterbacks and three wide receivers.
“I am very excited about the young men we were able to sign today as part of our first full recruiting class,” Brown said in a release posted Wednesday. “They are excellent students and were all highly sought after by numerous programs across the country, including Power Five, Ivy League and numerous other (Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference) programs.”
The quarterback room will see the additions of Justin Fomby (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who is transferring in from Houston Christian, and Braxton Thomas (Sarasota, Fla. | Riverview HS). The Aggies lost quarterback Eli Brickhandler to Houston Christian in the transfer portal recently so it will be interesting to follow the path of those two players as they trade campuses.
Fomby had injury issues most of 2023 but threw for 2,297 yards and 16 TDs in 2022. Thomas had a big senior year in high school, tossing 35 touchdown passes and compiling nearly 4,000 passing yards. He comes to A&T with a 3.9 GPA.
* Defensive end Joshua Hardy (Bowie, Md.) will transfer to A&T from Boston College with three years of eligibility remaining. He was the No. 68 defensive end in the nation in his high school class and the No. 2 edge rusher in Maryland.
All-purpose athlete Daniel Coles (Stafford, Va. | Brooke Point HS) reported interest and/or offers from Virginia Tech, Duke, Boston College and Penn State before choosing East Greensboro as his destination. Coles once posted nearly 500 all-purpose yards in a single high school game, including 312 rushing and six total touchdowns.
“Overall, it has been a tremendous day, and we can’t wait to get to work with them, several of whom will be enrolled this spring,” Brown said.
—> READ MORE: The full National Signing Day release from NC A&T
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North Carolina Central Eagles
* Coach Trei Oliver’s team is coming off its best-ever finish as an FCS team, earning a final ranking of No. 7 in the coaches poll. NCCU signed 10 new players as the early signing period opened. Six hail from North Carolina.
* Former Chambers High star Mekhi Bigelow (Charlotte) will come to Durham after two seasons at Tennessee. Bigelow redshirted in 2022 and played in one game for the Vols this past season. Chambers went to four straight 4A state title games with Bigelow in the lineup and won championships in 2019 and 2020.
* Defensive tackle Xzavier Fields parlayed All-American status at Louisburg College into a spot on Central’s roster. Fields checks in at 6-1, 310 pounds. He played in 16 games over the past two seasons for the Hurricanes.
* Defensive end Darius “Juju” Williams (Hemingway, S.C. | Hemingway HS) will be a redshirt senior after playing two seasons at Middle Tennessee and then two more at Indiana State. Williams had 386 tackles, 22 sacks and scored six touchdowns as a prep player, earning three- and four-star rankings.
* The Eagles add a freshman quarterback to the mix, Javion Martin (Crestwood, S.C.). The 6-2, 180-pounder earned first-team all-state in 2022 and was first-team all-conference and regional player of the year this past season for Crestwood High.
—> READ MORE: Bios on NC Central’s new signees.
Western Carolina
* The Catamounts featured the most explosive offense in the Southern Conference and FCS ranks this past season but lost their offensive coordinator, top running back and a top wide receiver to other schools. WCU added a quarterback and four offensive linemen on the opening day of the early signing period and eight players in all.
O-lineman Brett Gray (Vancouver, Wash.) transfers in after two seasons at Valparaiso, where he started all 11 games in ’23. Caleb Williford (Buford, Ga. | Cherokee Bluff HS) earned all-region honors three times along the offensive line.
On the defensive side, lineman Edwin Moore Jr. (Decatur, Ga. | Columbia HS) had 24.5 tackles for loss as a senior on a playoff team. Linebacker Beady Waddell V (Charlotte) was a two-way star for West Mecklenburg High, recording 109 tackles and 872 rushing yards.
—> READ MORE: Player bios for Western Carolina’s eight signees.
