Third year head coach Brian Jenkins could hardly hold back his radiant and infectious smile when announcing what could be the best signing class of his brief tenure at Bethune Cookman.  The nearly 100 Wildcat supporters who attended the Signing Day Bash clapped and cheered as coach Jenkins highligted 15 new additions to the Fighting Wildcat football team.  8 of the 15 signees revealed on Wednesday night are already enrolled in classes and are slated to participate in Spring practice.

Stacking the Chips and Building for the Future

Although many pundits believe that it takes a minimum of three years to accurately rate a recruiting class, coach Jenkins has already labled this class a success.  Coach Jenkins stated:

“We were able to address our areas of need, build depth, sign all by 2 or 3 of the players that we targeted, as well as find some immediate (impact) players.  I can already call this class a success.  There is no need to wait for 2 or 3 years.”  He went on to state: “And this is only the first half of our signing class.  We got guys with more girth and guys who are longer on the offensive line.  We got taller in the secondary.  We got more explosive at wide receiver.”

“We’re stacking the chips and building for the future.  And there is still more to come.  I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve that will be revealed at a later time.”

The 15 signees include 2 defensive linemen; 4 defensive backs, 1 linebacker, 6 offensive linemen, and 2 wide receivers.  Expect 4 or 5 additional signees before the kickoff of Fall practice.

The 2012 BCU Football Signing Class (as of February1, 2012) is as follows:

*=Mid-Year Transfer Already Attending Bethune Cookman

Defensive Line 

*Brandon Bryant (Jr.) – Defensive Line – 6’4” – 290 – Atlanta, Ga. – Central Florida

LeBranden Richardson (So.) – Defensive End – 6’2” – 237 – Miami, Fla. – Central Florida

Defensive Back

*Tyrone Bouie (r-So.) – Defensive Back – 6’0” – 180 – Sanford, Fla. – University of Minnesota

*Derek Carter (r-Jr.) – Defensive Back – 6’0” – 200 – Sunrise, Fla. – Central Michigan

Tevin Gordon (Fr.) – Safety – 6’3” – 175 – DeLand, Fla. – DeLand High School

“Terry Harden, Jr. (Fr.) – Defensive Back – 6’1” – 185 – Hollywood, Fla. – Hollywood Hills High School

Offensive Line

 Trevin Huff (Fr.) – Offensive Line – 6’4” – 270 – Tallahassee, Fla. – Tallahassee Lincoln High School 

*Mike Jones (Fr.) – Offensive Line – 6’7” – 300 – Chatham, Va. – Hargrave Military

Dariusz Bladek (Fr.) – Offensive Line – 6’4” – 300 – Kissimmee, Fla. – Poinciana High School

*Rashard Brown (Jr.) – Offensive Line – 6’1” – 305 – Kissimmee, Fla. – Georgia Military College

Jamel Turner (Jr.) – Tight End – 6’4” – 230 – Chicago, Ill. – Reedly College

Tim Nicholas (Fr.) – Offensive Line – 6’4 – 275 – Hollywood, Fla. – Chaminade-Madonna Prep

Wide Receiver

Ray Martin (Fr.) – Wide Receiver – 5’10” – 180 – Sanford, Fla. – Seminole High School

*Brodrick Waters (Sr.) – Wide Receiver – 5’11” – 195 – Sarasota, Fla. – Louisiana Tech

Linebackers

Isaiah Riddle (Fr.) – Linebacker – 6’1” – 235 – Newnan, Ga. – Atlanta Sports Academy