Bulls add two in late period to bring 2018 signing class to 26 members
TAMPA, FEB. 7, 2018 – USF Football’s 2018 signing class swelled to 26 members on Wednesday as the NCAA Late Signing Period began with head coach Charlie Strong adding two more student-athletes to the Bulls’ roster.
The Bulls added a pair of three-star rated defensive linemen on Wednesday to the 24 members of the 2018 class that joined USF during the NCAA Early Signing Period in December. The Bulls’ 24 early period signees ranked as the second-most nationally and helped catapult Strong’s first full-cycle recruiting class at USF to the No. 2 ranking in the American Athletic Conference by Rivals and 247Sports. Four Bulls signees hail from the Bay Area, including two from Tampa and two from St. Petersburg.
On Wednesday, the Bulls added Bay Area defensive tackle John Waller (St. Petersburg) and defensive tackle Tyrone Barber (Venice), who helped lead Venice High School to the 2017 Florida Class 7A state title.
The addition of two defensive linemen to the 2018 class gives the Bulls 14 signees on the defensive side of the ball, 11 on offense and one punter. Twenty-four of USF’s 26 signees were rated a three-star recruit and one drew a four-star ranking from ESPN.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulls addressed the departure of three senior starters on the defensive line by signing eight defensive linemen, including four defensive ends and four defensive tackles. Joining the two players added in the late period were early signees at defensive end Dwayne Boyles (Miami), Stacy Kirby(Orlando), Trey Laing (Tallahassee) and Rashawn Yates (Port St. Lucie), and defensive tackles Devin Leacock (Port Charlotte) and Armon Williams (Snellville, Ga.). The Bulls also added a pair of athletes at linebacker in Randal Copeland (Pensacola) and Antonio Grier (Atlanta), hard-hitting safeties in JuJuan Cherry(Okeechobee) and Keyon Helton (Pensacola) and teammates Vincent Davis (Jacksonville) and Eugene Bowman (Jacksonville) that shined in the secondary at Robert E. Lee High School.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulls added two dual-threat quarterbacks in the early period. Tampa native Jordan McCloud (Plant HS) and Georgia quarterback Octavious Battle (Atlanta) joined the Bulls. McCloud led Plant High School to a 12-2 record, passing for 2,426 yards and 26 touchdowns and running for 389 yards and six touchdowns. Battle led Carver High School to the Georgia Class 5A state semifinal, passing for 3,221 yards and 23 touchdowns and running for 713 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bulls also added a pair of wide receivers, including local ESPN four-star recruit Zion Roland (St. Petersburg) out of Admiral Farragut High School in St. Petersburg. He was joined by playmaking wide receiver Terrence Horne (Miramar).
The Bulls added two running backs in bruising 6-2, 220-pounder Brian Norris (Chiefland) and 5-8 speedster Johnny Ford (Miami), as well as a tight end in Chris Carter (Homestead). USF also got four offensive linemen in Brad Cecil (Jacksonville), Tampa-product Donovan Jennings (Tampa), Sebastian Sainterling(Hollywood) and Ethan Watson (Pensacola).
USF addressed a need at punter by landing 27-year old Sydney, Australia native Trent Schneider, who averaged 38.6 yards per punt in one season at Santa Barbara City College. Schneider joined Boyles, Grier, Kirby, Norris and Roland as early enrollees joining the Bulls on campus in January.
2018 USF Football Signing Class
2018 Signing Class size: 26 Offense: 11; Defense: 14; Special Teams: 1
Ranking: No. 2 in American Conference (Rivals & 247Sports)
FEBRUARY LATE PERIOD SIGNEEES (2) Star Rankings
POS. HT WT. YR HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL Scout Rivals 247
Tyrone Barber DT 6-3 275 Fr. Venice, Fla./Venice HS 3 3 3
John Waller DT 6-5 310 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla./Admiral Farragut Acad. 3 3 3
2018 CLASS BY POSITION (E) = early enrollee
DEFENSE/PUNTER (15)
POS. HT WT. YR HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL Scout Rivals 247
Dwayne Boyles (E) DE 6-3 225 Fr. Miami, Fla./Miami Central HS 3 3 3
Stacy Kirby (E) DE 6-3 245 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Jones HS 3 3 3
Trey Laing DE 6-2 220 Fr. Tallahassee, Fla./Godby HS 3 3 3
Rashawn Yates DE 6-3 250 Fr. Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS 3 3 3
Tyrone Barber DT 6-3 275 Fr. Venice, Fla./Venice HS 3 3 3
Devin Leacock DT 6-3 270 Fr. Port Charlotte, Fla./Port Charlotte HS 3 2 3
John Waller DT 6-5 310 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla./Admiral Farragut Acad. 3 3 3
Armon Williams DT 6-3 285 Fr. Snellville, Ga./South Gwinnett HS 3 2 3
Eugene Bowman DB 6-0 169 Fr. Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee HS 3 2 3
Vincent Davis DB 5-11 165 Fr. Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee HS 3 3 3
JaJuan Cherry S 5-9 182 Fr. Okeechobee, Fla./Okeechobee HS 3 3 3
Keyon Helton S 6-1 190 Fr. Pensacola, Fla./West Florida HS 3 2 3
Randal Copeland LB 6-2 220 Fr. Havana, Fla./Gadsden County HS 3 2 3
Antonio Grier (E) LB 6-1 220 Fr. Atlanta, Ga./Mays HS 2 2 2
Trent Schneider (E) P 6-0 190 So. Sydney, Australia/Santa Barbara City College – – –
OFFENSE (11)
Octavious Battle QB 6-2 200 Fr. Atlanta, Ga./Carver HS 3 3 3
Jordan McCloud QB 6-0 180 Fr. Tampa, Fla./Plant HS 3 3 3
Johnny Ford RB 5-8 175 Fr. Miami, Fla./Miami HS 3 3 2
Brian Norris (E) RB 6-2 220 Fr. Chiefland, Fla./Chiefland HS 3 3 3
Terrence Horne WR 5-9 165 Fr. Miramar, Fla./Miramar HS 3 2 3
Zion Roland (E) WR 5-11 184 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla./Admiral Farragut HS 3 3 3
Chris Carter TE 6-4 230 Fr. Homestead, Fla./South Dade HS 3 3 3
Brad Cecil OL 6-4 275 Fr. Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail HS 3 3 3
Donovan Jennings OL 6-5 310 Fr. Tampa. Fla./Gaither HS 3 3 3
Sebastian Sainterling OL 6-2 356 Fr. Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna HS 3 3 3
Ethan Watson OL 6-5 300 Fr. Pensacola, Fla./Catholic HS 3 2 3
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