Aggies sign 4 more recruits including a kicker

[Deleted]

GREENSBORO, June 13, 2007– North Carolina A&T head football coach Lee Fobbs completed his 2007 recruiting class with the addition of four more players on Wednesday. Fobbs and his staff added three junior college transfers and a Division I transfer to bring the class to 15 players, including the 11 the Aggies brought in on February 7 – Signing Day.

The Aggies second surge of recruits focused on defense. Four defensive backs were signed in February, but during this round of recruits the Aggies focused on the front seven, starting with Division I transfer Robert Russell, a middle linebacker.

Russell (6-foot, 240, New Orleans, La.) played two seasons at Ole Miss before signing on as an Aggie. He recorded 13 tackles and recovered a fumble in four games played as a freshman. He played five games with the Rebels as a sophomore.

Jason Broadnax (6-2, 255, Delray Beach, Fla.) is one of two defensive ends the Aggies signed late. He comes to N.C. A&T from Hibbing Community College (Minn.). He recorded 14 sacks and had made 22 tackles behind the line of scrimmage during his career at Hibbing. He also intercepted two passes. Phillip Sumlin (6-2, 245, Los Angeles) is the other defensive end. He was signed out of Pasadena City College. He recorded 25 tackles, nine sacks and recovered a fumble during his time at Pasadena.

Also during its second round of recruiting, the Aggies coaching staff added a needed component – a kicker. Placekicker Kirk Cabana (5-8, 140, West Covina, Calif.) will handle the Aggies kicking duties this season. Cabana hit 35 of his 36 extra point attempts and 15 of his 18 field goals attempted. One of those field goals was a 49-yard game-winning field goal.

“I’m pleased with what we’ve done this recruiting season,’’ said Fobbs. “We addressed some needs and we brought in some guys – on the defensive side – that can help us right away. Signing a kicker really addressed an immediate need we had, so we believe we have a good foundation to build on.”

The 2007 recruiting class now includes four offensive linemen, four defensive backs, two running backs, two linebackers, two defensive ends and a kicker. Below is a list of the 2007 Aggies recruiting class.

Player's Name


Ht.


Wt.


Hometown/Previous School


Accolades


What the coaches like

Jason Broadnax


6-2


255


Delray Beach, Fla./Hibbing CC (Minn.)


Recorded 22 tackles behind the line of scrimmage…


Adds depth and a pass rusher to a defense that recorded very few sacks last season…


















Kirk Cabana


5-8


140


West Covina, Calif./Citrus College


Made 35 of 36 extra point attempts


He’s a kicker who shown accuracy in the past.


















Adrian Carter


6-3


285


Hamlet, N.C./Richmond County


125 career pancakes...Graded out at 93 percent


Comes from great high school program...very athletic


















Demmerick Chancellor


6-1


205


Miami, Fla./Clemson


Averaged 6.1 yards a career for the Tigers last season


He has three years of eligibility remaining


















Enoch Cohen


6-4


285


Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth


Two-time first-team All-Metro...


He gets after people when blocking...excellent student-athlete


















Brandon Croley


6-1


205


Jacksonville, Fla./Clemson


He was an excellent special teams player at Clemson


They believe he can cover, which will allow the Aggies to be more aggressive defensively.


















DeShaun Graham


5-11


185


Greensboro, N.C./Page


Two-time all-conference performer...led the Pirates in interceptions.


He brings a lot of confidence to the table, which is needed at a position like corner back


















Alex Harper


6-5


290


Baltimore, Md./Woodlawn


All-district wrestler


He likes to hit people and he's great at finishing off blocks


















Nicholas Johnson


6-3


205


Greensboro, N.C./Page


All-conference performer


He's another young linebacker they've added to a promising group.


















Michael Pace


6-0


185


Gulfport, Miss.


Had four sacks from the cornerback position


He can run fast.


















David Robinson


5-9


180


Leisure City, Fla./College of the Sequoias


Was the No. 2 back out of Broward Co.


Gives the Aggies yet another style of runner at RB


















Robert Russell


6-0


240


New Orleans, La./Ole Miss


He started a few games for the Rebels


He can help the Aggies immediately at the middle linebacker position


















Ihsan Shaheed


5-11


175


Oakland, Calif./College of the Sequoias


Ran three INTs back for TDs


He likes to lay a lick on people.


















Phillip Sumlin


6-2


255


Los Angeles/Pasadena City College


Recorded nine sacks during his career


His arrival means even more depth for the Aggies D-Line…


















Jason Valmont


6-6


315


Lake Charles, La./St. Louis Catholic


Allowed only 4 sacks in his career.


He's excited about being an Aggie, he's strong academically, and he's not a bad football player either.

[Bornthrilla]

Thanks for the heads up.

[bluehaze]

admin said:

Thanks for the heads up.

westcoastaggie,
you are allright with me ;D

[AggieMike]

Late I know but I didn't know Michael Pace played football too, I know he was out with the track team, he's a speedster definitely

[Bornthrilla]

Pace was announced during the Signing Day party in the Union.

[AggieMike]

He wasn't like wooed here by the coaches, he has family here, that's how I met him.

[Tee-Sharp]

Check out this article on Jason Broadnax. I don't remember seeing it posted.

The other "new recruit" thread veered off topic so I'll post it in this one.


www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&refno=20088&category=Sports%20News


Spanish River's Broadnax gets back in the game

Published Thursday, June 14, 2007


By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

For four years, all Jason Broadnax heard was that he needed to go back to football.

Broadnax had been a star linebacker at Spanish River High, but even though he had been contacted by a few schools to continue his playing career at the collegiate level, Broadnax instead decided to get a job at a local hospital as a life support technician.

“My parents really weren’t supportive of me going off to different states like California, so I just got a job,” Broadnax said.

But the itch remained, as Broadnax watched many of his friends, including best friend and former Spanish River teammate Chris Ceasar, play football at the next level.

Some, like Lance Frazier and Jason Geathers, even went on to play in the NFL.

“Everybody kept after him about going back, going back,” said Broadnax’s aunt Maggie Nelson. But it wasn’t until Broadnax decided to return to school to earn an associate degree to help him with his medical career that he finally decided to give football another chance.

“I figured, since I’m going back, I might as well play football,” he said.

Even Broadnax’s mother – who had previously opposed him playing in college – gave her blessing, which might have had something to do with the fact her son was still fielding calls from various schools.

Some of those who expressed interest included the University of Florida, Nebraska and Minnesota.

But at that point, Broadnax was no longer looking for approval.

“Me being older and not depending on anyone else, it was my choice,” he said. “I didn’t want to hit 40 and then say, ‘I could have done that,’ cause I hear too many stories about ‘I could have done that.’”

Broadnax went as far as he possibly could from balmy South Florida – Minnesota, where he enrolled at Hibbing Community College.

“Cold, negative-60 up there,” Broadnax said. “In Florida, I wasn’t used to that.”

He also wasn’t used to being the old man of the group, but at 22, Broadnax was an easy target for his younger teammates.

“They called me ‘old man,’ ‘granddaddy,’ stuff like that, they made some jokes,” he said.

The jokes stopped when Broadnax took on his roommate, a former high school All-American in North Carolina, and beat him in the 40-yard dash.

Playing the game again was easy, but Broadnax found that adjusting to the football lifestyle was something else. That meant working out, and most importantly, doing things according to a rigid schedule.

Broadnax started the season slowly, but after he started seeing double- and triple-teams, he knew he was back to his old self.

He tried to transfer to Benedict College in South Carolina to play at the Division II level, but a snafu left Broadnax one credit short from being accepted. So he returned to Hibbing, and in his second season, Broadnax recorded a team-high 13 1/2 sacks.

In the end, it turned out to be a good break. After finishing his two years at Hibbing, Broadnax recently signed a scholarship to play at Division I-AA school North Carolina A&T, which is where Ceasar finished his college career this past season.

“They went crazy,” Ceasar said of the tape he showed his old coaches at A&T. “When they talked about him, they said he had the perfect build for the type of defense they’re trying to run. You have to be very fast and athletic to play the 3-3-5 defense, and you have to be big. So he’s got those (skills).”

Broadnax is a defensive end/linebacker, but he’ll probably get more playing time at the latter position in A&T’s defense.

Ceasar said that when they played together at River, Broadnax was every bit as talented as some of his heralded teammates who went on to play at the next level and beyond.

And even though he was derailed for four years, Broadnax thinks his detour may have been a blessing.

“It could go both ways,” he said. “Some people might knock me because of my age. But they could like me because of my maturity.”

Now, at 25, Broadnax is shooting for a career in pro football. And it’s no longer for himself, as Broadnax is now engaged and has a three-month old son to support.

After overcoming the challenges he’s faced since high school, Broadnax is not ready to let his dream slip away again.

“I know I can do it,” he said. “I know I’m ready for that level.”

[DOOMS]

Old @ss players...

That's how you win games on this level.

Slowly but surely it's coming together.

[Aggie77]

I may have to eat my words about Mr. Broadnax. That's a good story. The Brother is mature, disciplined and focused. I'm liking the additions to the defense more and more.

[Aggie One]

Big difference when a 18 year old teenager has to go against 25 year old man in the trenches. Add to that fact that he's not the only 21+ body out there on defense.

He'll have a lot of company among the abundance of transfers and unfamiliar names on this year's roster. A great many of these new guys have been out of HS for three years or more. Hopefully we'll be a lot more physically mature this fall.

[Aggie One]

There has been one additional signing of a sixth high school offensive lineman back on 6/6 by Fobbs. This kid most likely will be redshirted.

He is Sequia Stewart (5-11,310), guard, from Harnett Central who did an amazing 46 reps of 185 pounds at last year's combine, benches 400, a fireplug in stature but strong as an ox. He was ranked as #52 propect as a junior in the state by Rivals (NC High School Sports) and was overlooked by the big schools because of his height.

www.dunndailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=11&SubSectionID=54&ArticleID=88004
www.ncprepreport.com/players/default.asp?ID=13740

[Aggie One]

We also picked up another placekicker and punter in freshman Eric Houston from Decatur, GA.

www.kicking.com/members/view.asp?id=aliciah2

[DOOMS]

SW Dekalb. That's my high school's rival. If we get inroads into that school believe me we'll get some players. Buck Godfrey's their coach and he's one hell of a coach at that. He's sent a lot of kids to majors and they've done well. His third string qb got a scholarship to FAMU. He sucked, but a third string high school qb is supposed to suck in division I.

We should've gotten a lot more kids from SW Dekalb over the years considering Godfrey's neice and nephew went to A&T.

The good: former NFL punter Rodney Williams punted and kicked for SW Dekalb before becoming all-conference at Georgia Tech.
The bad: since the construction of two additional high schools within a 20 minute drive of SW Dekalb, the talent has waned there in the past few years. There are now around 15 high schools in the county.
The ugly: Charles Card, quite possibly the worst kicker in the history of Howard University, was a scholarship kicker from SW Dekalb. You never know what you'll get with the kicking game.
The sexy: Who cares? He'll redshirt anyway.