RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky University head football coach Dean Hood announced today that 21 student-athletes will join the Colonel program beginning this spring and next fall. Eight of those student-athletes come from the Commonwealth of Kentucky while six other student-athletes joined the EKU program this past January. The class includes six offensive linemen, three running backs, three defensive backs, two quarterbacks, two linebackers, two defensive linemen, one kicker, one tight end, and one long snapper.

“Every one of these players can be productive for us and help us in our goal to win a championship,” Hood said. “We recruited this year just like we have in the past – we started close to campus and worked our way out. This was a really good year for football in Kentucky and we’re thrilled to get eight players from the Commonwealth.”

The eight incoming players from Kentucky are kicker Austin Delpont (Hazard High), defensive lineman Allan Fugate (Hazard High), linebacker Tyrelle Johnson (Henry Clay High), offensive lineman Dylan Kupper (Trinity High), quarterback Jacob Russell (Anderson County High), running back Eric Shaw (Lafayette High), running back Caleb Watkins (Corbin High), and offensive lineman Andrew Wolter (Henry Clay High).

Delpont was a first team all-state kicker who was rated the ninth best kicker in the nation by www.prokicker.com. Fugate, a high school teammate of Delpont, was the district player of the year and named first team all-state by the Louisville Courier-Journal. Johnson posted 50 tackles and seven sacks this past fall as a team captain for Henry Clay. Kupper’s Trinity squad earned three state titles while he was on the roster.

Russell, a three-sport star at Anderson County, threw for more than 6,700 yards in his high school career and also became the school’s all-time scoring leader on the basketball court. Shaw recently played in the Kentucky vs. Tennessee all-star football game after compiling 2,000 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns in 2009. Watkins was a three-time all-district selection after playing both running back and linebacker for Corbin. Finally, Wolter made 22 consecutive starts on the Henry Clay offensive line while allowing just one sack the last two years.

Four of the six mid-year additions to the Colonel roster are offensive lineman. Derek Moore was a two-year starter for Hofstra and earned third team all-conference accolades this past fall. Kevin Brown played for two years at Hofstra as well. Joe Arnason and Bo Faauaa each played the last two years at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Ariz. The duo helped the Gila Monsters finish 8-3 in both seasons at EAC.

“We felt our biggest area of immediate concern was at the offensive line position,” Hood said. “We wanted to get some experience at that position and we felt we were able to accomplish that goal with our mid-year additions. We also thought we needed to get stronger at the running back position. Two of our three running back signees could play at other positions as well. As for quarterback, we brought in two players with different styles, but they were the top-two rated quarterbacks on our board.”

The EKU football team concluded the 2009 season 5-6 overall while finishing in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of 5-3.

Student-Athlete Profiles
Danny Adams
LS
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas High School
--Rated the number one long snapper in the country by www.prokicker.com
--Member of two state championship winning teams
--Returned a kick-off for a touchdown this past fall

Joe Arnason
OL, 6-4, 288
Sierra Vista, Ariz., Buena High School
--Transfer from Eastern Arizona College
--First team all-state and all-conference in high school

Jordan Black
DL, 6-4, 255
Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes High School
--First team all-region selection

Kevin Brown
OL, 6-2, 282
Brooklyn, N.Y., Canarsie High School
--Transfer from Hofstra
--Named best offensive lineman at Canarsie as a senior

LaGreg Burns
RB, 6-0, 200
Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., Lakeview High School
--Team captain
--Two-time first team all-prep selection
--Tallied 1,300 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns
--Recorded 900 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns
--Stump’s on Sports Player of the Year
--Two-time Radio 105 Player of the Week
--Radio 1310 Player of the Week
--Four year honor roll student

Alex Conley
QB, 6-3, 200
McRae, Ga., Telfair County High School
--All-region quarterback and punter
--Threw for 5,860 career yards and 61 touchdowns
--Completed 63 percent of his pass attempts
--Totaled 783 career rushing yards

Austin Delpont
K
Hazard, Ky., Hazard High School
--First team all-state honoree
--Rated the ninth best kicker in the nation by www.prokicker.com
--Rated the fourth best combo kicker/punter in the nation by www.prokicker.com
--Hit a long field goal of 50 yards
--Made 5-of-9 field goals and 50-of-51 extra points

Bo Faauaa
OL, 6-5, 330
Bennett, Colo., Bennett High School
--Transfer from Eastern Arizona College
--An all-conference and all-region pick in high school

Allan Fugate
DL, 6-2, 260
Hazard, Ky., Hazard High School
--First team all-state pick by the Louisville Courier-Journal
--District Player of the Year
--WYMT All-Mountain Defensive Team
--Academic all-state honors

Tyrelle Johnson
LB, 6-0, 220
Lexington, Ky., Henry Clay High School
--Team captain
--First team all-city
--Second team all-state selection
--50 tackles and seven sacks as a senior
--Second team academic all-state

Jalan Jones
LB, 6-3, 220
Muscle Shoals, Ala., Muscle Shoals High School
--103 tackles
--Six forced fumbles
--Five fumble recoveries
--Three interceptions including one returned for a touchdown

Dylan Kupper
OL, 6-5, 250
Louisville, Ky., Trinity High School
--Third team all-state honoree
--First team all-district
--Team captain
--Played on three state championship teams
--Also a member of a state runner-up team

Matt Lengel
TE, 6-7, 220
Mechanicsburg, Pa., Cumberland Valley High School
--Transfer from Northeastern
--Took a redshirt season in 2009
--First team All-Carlisle area in high school
--Posted 25 catches for 468 yards and three scores as a senior
--Tallied 55 tackles and 6.5 sacks on the defensive side of the ball

Derek Moore
OL, 6-2, 285
Granville, Ohio, Newark Catholic High School
--Transfer from Hofstra
--Third team All-CAA in 2009 and posted 23 starts in two years at Hofstra
--First team All-Ohio as a senior prepster
--Big 33 and North-South All-Star game participant
--Also wrestled for two years in high school

Junior Petit-Jean
DB, 6-0, 200
Naples, Fla., Naples High School
--Transfer from Wake Forest
--Played in 12 games in two years at Wake
--Honorable mention all-state as a prepster
--Made 55 tackles, three interceptions, five sacks, five blocked kicks and seven pass deflections as a senior

Jacob Russell
QB, 6-4, 220
Lawrenceburg, Ky., Anderson County High School
--2009 5A Player of the Year
--Second team all-state selection by the Louisville Courier-Journal
--2009 Mike Fields “Class of the Commonwealth”
--2008 all-state honors in football, basketball and baseball
--Four-year starter for football, basketball and baseball
--Completed 56.5 percent of his pass attempts for 6,710 yards and 65 touchdowns as a prepster
--Completed 65.1 percent of his pass attempts for 2,244 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior
--Also rushed for 14 scores as a senior
--Anderson County’s all-time basketball point leader

Eric Shaw
RB, 5-10, 180
Lexington, Ky., Lafayette High School
--Team captain
--Three-time all-city selection
--Two-time district player of the year
--First team all-state honoree
--Played in the Kentucky vs. Tennessee all-star game
--Posted 1,096 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns as a senior
--Tallied 80 tackles and four interceptions in 2009

Aldrickious Shumake
DB, 5-10, 170
Lithonia, Ga., Martin Luther King High School
--First team all-region
--Posted 40 tackles as a senior, including five stops for a loss
--Tallied five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble last fall

Brandon Stanley
DB, 6-1, 200
Suwanee, Ga., Peachtree Ridge High School
--Second team all-region
--Two-year starter
--Team was 41-14 over the last four years
--Peachtree Ridge won the 5A state title in 2006 and was runner-up in 2008
--Posted 1,300 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns
--Also tallied 25 receptions for 275 yards and one score

Caleb Watkins
RB/LB, 6-1, 215
Corbin, Ky., Corbin High School
--Three-time all-district, all-area and All-SEKC honoree
--Two-time all-state honorable mention
--1,873 rushing years and 2,985 all-purpose yards
--114 tackles on defense
--Tallied 35 total touchdowns

Andrew Wolter
OL, 6-3, 260
Lexington, Ky., Henry Clay High School
--Team captain
--All-city and all-district pick
--Graded out at 94 percent as a junior and senior
--Made 22 consecutive starts
--Only allowed one sack in two years
--Averaged five pancake blocks per game