National Signing Day doesn’t generate the same kind of electricity it used to before the NCAA moved it from its traditional early-February date to the third Wednesday in December. But it’s still a big deal to the players submitting their official Letters of Intent and to the programs they’ve chosen.
And it’s probably the only reason fax machines still exist.
It’s the occasion on which every coach in the country will say that his newest class is filled with character players who know how to win and that the haul of new recruits meets all their teams’ needs.
Only time will tell how many of those four- and five-star players will live up to expections and how many of the lesser-known recruits will become the sleepers of the Class of 2020.
Here are all the new players signed Wednesday by the state’s seven FBS programs — North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Charlotte:
UNC
Gavin Blackwell,* WR, 5-11, 175, Indian Trail (Sun Valley HS)
DeAndre Boykins,* DB, 5-11, 200, Concord (Central Cabarrus HS)
Tymir Brown, DB, 5-10, 170, Jacksonville (Jacksonville HS)
Raneiria “RaRa” Dillworth,* LB, 6-1, 205 Winston-Salem (Glenn HS)
Power Echols,* LB, 6-0, 210 Charlotte (Chambers HS)
Kamarro Edmonds, RB, 5-11, 220, Havelock (Havelock HS)
Caleb Hood,* RB, 5-11, 225, Rockingham (Richmond Senior HS)
J.J. Jones, WR, 6-3, 195, Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach HS)
Drake Maye,* QB, 6-5, 210, Charlotte (Myers Park HS)
Dontavius Nash,* DB, 6-1, 180, Gastonia (Hunter Huss HS)
Bryson Nesbit, TE, 6-5, 235, Charlotte (South Mecklenburg HS)
Kobe Paysour,* WR, 6-1, 180, Kings Mountain (Kings Mountain HS)
Diego Pounds,* OL, 6-5, 300, Raleigh (Millbrook HS)
Jahvaree Ritzie,* DL, 6-5, 280 Kernersville (Glenn HS)
Keeshawn Silver,* DL, 6-5, 275, Rocky Mount (Rocky Mount HS)
Gabe Stephens, LB, 6-3, 215, Mount Holly (Mountain Island Charter)
Trevion Stevenson, LB, 6-3, 220, Hampton, Va. (Phoebus HS)
Eli Sutton, OL, 6-6, 285, Nashville, Tenn. (Brentwood Academy)
* – early enrollee
NC STATE
Jakolbe Baldwin, WR, 6-1, 175, Hamlet (Richmond Senior HS)
Sean Brown,* DB, 6-1, 190, Charlotte (Hough HS)
Lyndon Cooper,* OL, 6-3, 315, Carrollton, Ga. (Carrollton HS)
Micah Crowell,* WR, 6-2, 205, Winston-Salem (East Forsyth HS)
Jaleel Davis, OL, 6-5, 300, Hamlet (Richmond Senior HS)
Nate Evans, DB 6-1, 175, Virginia Beach, Va. (Cox HS)
Caden Fordham,* LB, 6-1, 205, Ponte Vedra, Fla. (The Bolles School)
Thornton Gentry,* OL, 6-5, 290, Chapin, S.C. (Chapin HS)
Julian Gray,* WR, 5-11, 175, Charlotte (Hopewell HS)
Chase Hattley, DB, 6-3, 205, Cary (Panther Creek HS)
Mario Love, Jr.,* DB, 5-9, 170, Cornelius (Hough HS)
Aaron McLaughlin,* QB, 6-5, 220, Cumming, Ga. (Denmark HS)
Jordan Poole,* LB, 6-0, 215, Locust (West Stanly HS)
Travali Price, DL, 6-4, 260, Lincolnton (North Lincoln HS)
Zyun Reeves, DL, 6-7, 265, Winston-Salem (East Forsyth HS)
Fredrick Seabrough, TE, 6-4, 215, Swainsboro, Ga. (Swainsboro HS)
Demie Sumo, RB, 6-0, 200, Willingboro, N.J. (Willingboro HS)
Jayden Tate, DL, 5-11, 250, Lincolnton.(North Lincoln HS)
Chandler Zavala, OL, 6-5, 325, Woodbridge, Va. (Forest Park HS/Fairmont State)
* – early enrollee
DUKE
Cameron Bergeron, DB, 6-0, 185, Albany, Ga. (Westover)
Trent Broadnax, ATH, 6-1, 190, Savannah, Ga. (Benedictine Military School)
Trey Brown III, DL, 6-3, 210, Phoenix, Ariz (Arcadia HS)
Trent Davis, RB, 5-10, 170, Attalla, Ala.(Etowah HS)
Placide Djungu-Sungu, DB, 6-1, 170, Arlington, Tex. (James Martin HS)
Tré Freeman,* LB, 6-1, 230, Durham (Northern HS)
Sahmir Hagans, 5-10, 190, WR, Philadelphia, Pa. (St. Joseph’s Prep)
Aaron Hall, DL,* 6-4, 240, Durham (Southern School of Energy & Sustainability)
Brandon Johnson,* DB, 5-11, 180, Newton (Newton-Conover HS)
Andrew Jones, OL, 6-4, 260, Pfafftown (Ronald Reagan HS)
Riley Leonard, QB, 6-4, 205, Fairhope, Ala. (Fairhope HS)
Dylan Merrell, DB, 6-1, 170, Alpharetta, Ga. (Alpharetta HS)
Jaquez Moore, RB, 5-11, 195, Live Oak, Fla. Suwanee HS)
Jordan Moore,* QB, 6-2, 180, Sykesville, Md. (Loyola Blakefield HS)
Nick Morris Jr.,* LB, 6-3, 225, Austin, Tex. (Westlake)
Joshua Pickett,* ATH, 6-1, 180, Demorest, Ga.(Habersham Central HS)
Justin Pickett, OL, 6-7, 315, Carmel, Ind. (Carmel HS)
Mandela Tobin, DL, 6-4, 270, San Diego, Calif. (Westview)
* – early enrollee
WAKE FOREST
Evan Slocum, DB, 5-10, 170, Cartersville, Ga. (Cartersville HS)
B.J. Williams, WR, 6-4, 225, Johnston, S.C. (Strom Thurmond HS)
Will Towns, RB, 5-11, 190, Jackson, N.J. (Jackson Memorial HS)
Joshua Sosanya, S, 6-2, 210, Raleigh (Wakefield HS)
Nick Sharpe, OL, 6-2, 300, Gastonia (Hunter Huss HS)
Erik Russell, OL, 6-8, 270, Boston, Mass. (Boston College HS)
Santino Marucci, QB, 6-1, 190, Jacksonville, Fla. (Bartram Trail HS)
Dashawn Jones, DB, 6-0, 170, Baltimore, Md. (Mount Saint Joseph HS)
Matt Gulbin, OL, 6-4, 290, Wilton, Conn. (Wilton HS)
Christian Greene, WR, 6-2, 170, Ashburn, Va. (Briar Woods HS)
Gavin Ellis, TE, 6-5, 225, Hampstead |(Topsail HS)
Billy Edwards Jr., QB, 6-3, 215, Burke, Va. (Lake Braddock HS)
Matthew Dennis, PK, 5-11, 175, Charlotte (Myers Park HS)
Jaydon Collins, OL, 6-6, 270, Greer, S.C. (Greer HS)
Quincy Bryant, DB, 6-0, 195, Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview HS)
Dylan Hazen, LB, 6-1, 220, The Woodlands, Tex. (The Woodlands HS)
Bernard Gooden, DL, 6-1, 292, Montgomery, Ala. (Park Crossing HS)
Dez Williams, WR, 6-2, 200, Leonardtown, Md. (St. Mary’s HS)
ECU
Jayden Chalmers,* DB, 6-0, 170, Sanford (Lee County HS/Fork Union Military)
Canaan Clark, OL, 6-6, 310, Cumming, Ga. (Forsyth Central HS)
Jacob Coleman, TE, 6-4, 215, Chesterfield, Va. (Matoaca HS)
Avery Durham DL, 6-7, 305, Yadkinville (Forbush HS)
D.J. Ford,* DB, 6-3, 215, Ashland, Ala. (Clay Central HS/UNC)
Ryan Jones,* TE, 6-2, 231, Charlotte (Mallard Creek HS/Oklahoma)
Troy Lewis, WR, 6-3, 195, Chesterfield, Va. (Matoaca HS)
T.J. Lockley, WR, 6-0, 175, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland HS)
Laith Marjan, PK/P, 6-3, 194, Cary (Enloe HS)
Joseph McKay, RB, 6-0, 216, Phenix City, Ala. (Central HS)
Kingston McKinstry, DB, 6-1, 190, Grove City, Ohio (Grove City HS/Iowa Central CC)
Richard Pearce,* OL, 6-3, 305, Hueytown, Ala. (Hueytown HS)
Walter Simmons III,* QB, 6-2, 180, Orange Park, Fla. (Oakleaf HS)
Jacoby Simpson,* ILB, 6-0, 225, Houston, Texas (Aldine-MacArthur HS/TCU/Cisco CC)
Cruz Temple,* DB, 5-11, 205, Abbeville, S.C. (Abbeville HS)
Julius Wood, DB, 6-2, 196, Columbus, Ohio (Walnut Ridge HS/Blinn CC)
* – early enrollee
APPALACHIAN STATE
Kyle Arnholt, LB, 6-2, 200, Roanoke, Va. (Lord Botetourt HS)
Da’Shawn Brown, WR, 6-1, 170, York, S.C. (York Comprehensive HS)
Cole Essek, OL, 6-6, 240, Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Catholic)
Troy Everett, OL, 6-3, 280, Daleville, Va. (Lord Botetourt HS)
Jordan Favors, DB, 5-11, 190, Griffin, Ga. (Griffin HS)
Andre Goodman, QB, 6-1, 190, Piedmont, S.C. (Greenville HS)
Michael Hughes, PK, 6-3, 160, Charleston, WVa. (George Washington HS)
Justin Isler, DL, 6-2, 230, Villa Rica, Ga. (Temple HS)
David Larkins, TE, 6-5, 230, North Bend, Ohio (Elder HS)
Jaden Lindsay, OL, 6-3, 285, Winston-Salem (East Forsyth HS)
Jaquan Lowman, WR, 6-1, 180, Zellwood, Fla. (Apopka HS)
Deshawn McKnight, LB, 6-3, 230, Sumter, S.C. (Sumter HS)
Travis McNichols, DB, 5-8, 170, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Northwestern HS)
Trevor Moffitt, LB, 6-1, 200, Bushnell, Fla. (South Sumter HS)
Colston Powers, OL, 6-4, 285, Blue Ridge, Va. (Lord Botetourt HS)
Jayden Ramsey, OL, 6-6, 260, Anderson, S.C. (Westside HS)
Jonathan Streeter, DB, 5-11, 175, Cary (Panther Creek HS)
Dalton Stroman, WR, 6-4, 200, Rockingham (Richmond Senior HS)
Caden Sullivan, DB, 6-2, 195, Inman, S.C. (Boiling Springs HS)
Coen Sutton, WR, 6-2, 205, Huntersville (Hough HS)
D.C. Tabscott, QB, 6-4, 200, Franklin, Tenn. (Father Ryan HS)
KaRon White, DL, 6-2, 275, Madison, Ala. (Sparkham HS)
CHARLOTTE
Knox Boyd, OL, 6-4, 290, Denton, Tex. (Guyer HS)
D.J. Brown, LB, 6-0, 235, Memphis, Tenn. (Memphis Univ. School)
Cam Burden, LB, 6-3, 205, Sevierville, Tenn. (Alcoa HS)
Tyson Clawson, DE, 6-0, 209, Charlotte (Independence HS)
Miguel Jackson, DE, 6-1, 240, Gibsonia, Pa. (Pine-Richland HS)
Jarius Mack, WR, 5-10, 170, Athens, Ga. (Clarke Central HS)
Douglas Newsome, CB, 6-0, 175, Orange, Va. (Orange County HS)
Steven Parker, S, 6-2, 170, Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Bay Tech)
Miles Posey, DE, 6-3, 220, Yorktown, Va. (Life Christian Academy)
Isaiah Potts, DT, 6-2, 300, Fayetteville (Pine Forest HS)
B.J. Ragland, OL/DL, 6-3, 285, Chattanooga, Tenn. (Red Bank HS)
Bailey Rice, P, 6-0, 200, Melbourne, Australia (St. Kilda)
Chavion Smith, RB, 5-9, 195, Statesville (Statesville HS)
Elijah Spencer, WR, 6-2, 190, Irmo, S.C. (Dutch Fork HS)
Trevor Timmons, OL, 6-2, 275, Blythewood, S.C. (Blythewood HS)
Colin Weber, TE, 6-4, 220, Hopkins, Mich. (Hopkins HS)
Xavier Williams, QB, 6-2, 205, Moultrie, Ga. (Colquitt County)
