Wednesday, February 3, 2016 was National Signing Day as Fort Hays State head football coach Chris Brown and the Tiger football staff announce signings for the 2016 season.
By Eligibility
High School: 25
Transfers/Other: 6
By State/Country
Kansas: 10
Missouri: 6
Florida: 5
Colorado: 3
Texas: 3
Oklahoma: 2
Nebraska: 1
New York: 1
By Position
Defense: 19
Offense: 10
Athlete: 1
Special Teams: 1
2016 High School Signees
Jaden Abernathy
6-3, 290, DL/OL
Hutchinson, Kan. (Buhler HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: All-state selection on the defensive line…Two-time all-league first team selection on both the offensive and defensive line…Earned league’s Defensive MVP as a senior in 2015…Named among the Top 33 in Kansas by the Wichita Eagle.
Amari Angram-Boldin
6-2, 365, DL
Pahokee, Fla. (Pahokee HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: Two-time all-conference first team selection…Three-time all-county first team selection…Among the top 30 players in Palm Beach County…Nominated for the PrepBuilders Vince Wilfork Award…In his career, recorded 213 tackles, 81 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, eight forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and 315 pancake blocks.
Elijah Cordero
6-3, 175, DB
Denver, Colo. (Denver East HS)
Planned Major: Pre-Engineering
Notes: Academic all-state first team selection…Recorded 74 tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
Braydon Delzeit
6-1, 230, DL
Hays, Kan. (Hays HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: All-state honorable mention as a senior in 2015…Two-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors in 2015 and honorable mention status in 2014…All-conference first team selection in wrestling as a junior…All-conference honorable mention selection in baseball…As a senior, recorded 55 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, and two blocked kicks.
Hunter Gnose
6-2, 190, DB
Skiatook, Okla. (Skiatook HS)
Planned Major: Education
Notes: Two-time all-state honorable mention selection…All-Tulsa World selection at defensive back…Class 5A-3 Safety of the Year…Served as team captain as a senior…All-state honorable mention selection in wrestling…For his career, recorded 343 tackles and 16 interceptions.
Brandon Gonzales
6-0, 250, OL
Kearney, Mo. (Kearney HS)
Planned Major: Health & Human Performance
Notes: Served as team captain during senior year…Recorded 81 pancake blocks as a senior.
Cooper Griffith
6-0, 215, LB
Scott City, Kan. (Scott Community HS)
Planned Major: Beef Cattle Management
Notes: As a senior, earned Kansas Class 3A Defensive Player of the Year honors…All-state selection at linebacker as a senior and junior…All-state selection at running back as a senior…Garden City Telegram Area Player of the Year as a senior…Hutchinson News Top 11 as a senior and Defensive Player of the Year as a junior…Two-time all-league first team selection…Amassed 419 career tackles and over 2,600 career rushing yards.
Da’Juan Johnson
5-8, 160, WR
St. Petersburg, Fla. (Gibbs HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: Earned county MVP honors…Helped team to district county championship…County all-star game MVP…As a senior, posted over 2,466 passing yards, 898 rushing yards, 40 total touchdowns (27 passing, 13 rushing), 396 kick return yards with two touchdowns…Had 25 tackles on defense with an interception.
Tate Kaufman
6-7, 225, TE
Halstead, Kan. (Halstead HS)
Planned Major: Communications
Notes: All-state honorable mention selection by the Topeka Capital Journal and Wichita Eagle as a senior and junior…Two-time all-league first team selection at both tight end and defensive end…Named to Sports in Kansas All-Non Senior Team as a junior.
Pat Kelly
6-6, 275, OL
Staten Island, N.Y. (Bridgton Academy (Maine))
Planned Major: Justice Studies
Notes: Named team’s Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Rayvon Lewis
6-0, 170, DB
Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs HS)
John Lucero
6-2, 255, OL
Raymore, Mo. (Raymore-Peculiar HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: All-state second team selection as a senior…Also garnered all-district first team honors and all-metro honors as an offensive lineman…Two-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors in 2015 and honorable mention honors in 2014.
Mitchell Miller
6-2, 200, ATH
Kansas City, Mo. (Liberty North HS)
Planned Major: Health & Human Performance
Notes: All-state third team selection as a punter during senior year…All-district first team punter and all-district second team defensive back…First team all-league selection at both punter and defensive back as a senior…All-league honorable mention honors as a defensive back as a junior and sophomore…Recorded 109 career tackles with 11 interceptions and averaged 38.0 yards per punt with a career-long of 63 yards.
John Monnahan
6-3, 280, OL
Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: All-state second team and all-conference first team selection as a senior…All-conference second team selection as a junior.
Christien Ozores
5-10, 195, DB
Junction City, Kan. (Junction City HS)
Jhimon Preston
5-11, 190, DB
Missouri City, Texas (Ridge Point HS)
Javaris Sanders
5-11, 290, DL
Largo, Fla. (Largo HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: All-county and All-Tampa Bay Area First Team selection…Big County Preps First Team selection…Recorded 77 tackles and 11 sacks as a senior.
Logan Stewart
6-1, 185, DB
Loveland, Colo. (Mountain View HS)
Planned Major:
Notes: Two-time all-conference first team selection…All-area first team selection…Three-time all-conference performer in track and field…Earned Northern Conference Field Athlete of the Year honors in track and field…Recorded five interceptions, three kick return touchdowns, three forced fumbles, and three sacks.
Sterling Swopes
6-4, 220, DL
Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Lee’s Summit North HS)
Planned Major: Athletic Training
Notes: All-state and all-district selection by the Missouri Football Coaches Association…Lettered four years in football.
Jacob Taber
6-0, 210, LB
Sand Springs, Okla. (Page HS)
Planned Major: Applied Industrial Technology
Notes: All-state and all-metro selection…Oklahoma Class 6A-II Co-Defensive Player of the Year…Recorded 374 career tackles…As a senior, recorded 157 tackles and one interception.
Brandon Wagner
6-1, 260, DL
Omaha, Neb. (Omaha Central HS)
Planned Major: Undecided
Notes: Recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks during senior year…Three-year letterman in football.
Dakota Williams
6-2, 280, OL
Topeka, Kan. (Topeka HS)
Planned Major: Biology/Physical Therapy
Notes: All-city first team selection on the offensive line…Named one of the top 25 offensive linemen in Kansas…All-state and all-league honorable mention honors…2015 Kansas State Powerlifting Champion…Team captain as a senior…Recorded 100 pancake blocks as a senior.
Jacoby Williams
6-3, 220, QB
Dallas, Texas (Garland HS)
Planned Major: Communications
Notes: Texas District 11-6A MVP…All-state honorable mention selection at quarterback…Recorded nearly 3,000 passing yards on 197 completions with 34 touchdowns, while also rushing for four touchdowns during senior season.
Blake Wilson
6-2, 250, DL
Wentzville, Mo. (Fort Zumwalt North HS)
Planned Major: Secondary Education
Notes: All-state selection on defense…Two-time all-conference first team selection on defense and one-time all-conference selection on offense…Two-time all-district selection on defense and one-time all-district selection on offense…Over 200 career tackles with 20 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and five fumble recoveries.
Jerry Wrightner
6-1, 175, DB
Texarkana, Texas (Texas HS)
Planned Major: Kinesiology
Notes: All-state, all-area, and All-Texas District 15-5A selection as a senior…Recorded 110 tackles, nine interceptions, two forced fumbles, and four touchdowns in his career.
2016 Transfers
Richard Benjamin
6-0, 210, WR, Jr.
Tampa, Fla. (University of Louisville)
Planned Major:
Notes: Played defensive back at Louisville and appeared in one game as a redshirt-freshman in 2014…Attended Tampa Bay Tech High School, where he was rated the 67th-best prospect in the state of Florida by 247Sports.com…Rated 4-star prospect by ESPN.com and Scout and Rivals.com…Ranked 246 on the ESPN 300 List… Most Valuable Player of the 58th Annual Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star game, registering three interceptions in the contest…Recorded 35 receptions for 509 yards and five touchdowns, along with 718 rushing yards and another six touchdowns on 103 carries as a senior…Totaled four interceptions on defense.
Chance Clark
6-2, 200, P, Jr.
Hutchinson, Kan. (Highland (Kan.) CC)
Planned Major:
Notes: Two-time All-KJCCC Honorable Mention selection at punter…Averaged 32.9 yards per punt in 2015, which included a long of 59 yards and 22 punts inside the 20-yardline…In 2014, averaged 38.5 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards and 23 punts inside the 20-yardline.
Ty Clark
6-3, 225, LB, Jr.
Fowler, Kan. (Dodge City (Kan.) CC)
Planned Major:
Notes: As a sophomore in 2015, recorded 41 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and an interception…As a freshman in 2014, recorded 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.
Ty Hart (2015 HS Graduate)
6-3, 215, LB, R-Fr.
McPherson, Kan.
Hunter Knoblauch
5-11, 180, DB, R-Fr.
Andale, Kan. (Kansas State University)
Planned Major:
Notes: Helped Andale High School to the state championship as a senior in 2015… Finished career with 117 tackles and seven interceptions, helping Andale go 33-3 during that span…Recorded 3,832 rushing yards in his career…Named one of the top 11 players in the state of Kansas and an All-Class 4A-Division II First Team selection.
Irick McDonald (2015 HS Graduate)
6-3, 225, DL, R-Fr.
Miami Springs, Fla. (Miami Springs HS)