Feb. 6, 2002
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina head football coach Kent Briggs has announced that 16 student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent with the Catamounts on Wednesday.
Seven hail from North Carolina, four from Georgia, three from South Carolina and two from Pennsylvania. Headlining the list is Murphy's JC Brown, who was named Western North Carolina Player of the Year by the Asheville Citizen-Times. Also highlighting the list are local products Jeremy Hyatt (Cherokee) and Robbie Jones (Swain County).
"Having a late start in this year's recruiting prevented us from recruiting all the players we wanted. However, the low number of scholarships available allowed us to be very targeted in our efforts," Briggs said. "Our philosophy this year was not to worry about the quantity of players in this year's class, but rather concentrate on the quality of those we signed."
Western Carolina only had seven seniors on the 2001 team, which posted a 7-4 record.
"I feel this recruiting class is very strong athletically at wide receiver, defensive back and running back," Briggs said. "Our lineman on offense and defense have real potential and we signed an all-state linebacker out of Georgia. We have some other options still available that will help complete this class. With a full staff in place next year, we hope to very productive in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia."
Western Carolina play its annual Spring Game on April 13. The 2002 season will open at Liberty on August 31, followed by a game at Auburn on Sept. 7.
Western Carolina University 2002 Football Signing Class Name Ht. Wt. Pos. Hometown / Previous School(s) Anthony Adams 5-11 205 RB Charlotte, N.C. / North Mecklenburg HS Todd Bargella * 6-6 260 TE Nanticoke, Pa. / Lackawanna JC / Greater Nanticoke Area HS JC Brown 6-0 180 Ath. Murphy, N.C. / Murphy HS Mario Brown * 5-9 205 WR Greenwood, S.C. / Georgia Military College / Greenwood HS Andre Doyle * 6-5 270 DT Harrisburg, Pa. / Hagerstown (Md.) CC / Bishop McDevitt HS Xavier Godard 5-10 170 WR Athens, Ga. / Cedar Shoals HS Grant Helms 6-3 240 DE/LS Monroe, N.C. / Piedmont HS Jeremy Hyatt 6-3 225 TE Cherokee, N.C. / Cherokee HS Robbie Jones 6-2 275 OL Bryson City, N.C. / Swain County HS Bruce Lee 5-8 150 CB Camden, S.C. / Camden HS Timothy Mayse 5-11 190 K Pine Mountain, Ga. / Columbus HS Kevin McAlmont 6-3 280 DT Union City, Ga. / Creekside HS Anwar Phillips 6-0 225 LB Atlanta, Ga. / Mays HS Lamont Reid 6-2 180 RB Maiden, N.C. / Maiden HS Robbie Sovie 6-1 190 FS Macon, Ga. / Stratford Academy Marcus Thomas 6-6 255 DE Roxboro, N.C. / Person HS
* - Will have two years of eligibility remaining
Anthony Adams 5-11 *205 * RB Charlotte, N.C. / North Mecklenburg HSA national recruit prior to his senior season, Adams suffered a season-ending ankle injury in his second game ... Rushed for over 1,150 yards as a junior, playing both fullback and tailback ... Won the Captain Award as a senior and was a three-time recipient of his high school's Viking Award for leadership ... Was tabbed his team's "Best All-Around Player" as a junior ... Played strong safety and fullback as a sophomore.
Todd Bargella 6-6 *260 * TE Nanticoke, Pa. / Lackawanna JC / Greater Nanticoke Area HSHelped Lackawanna Junior College (Scranton, Pa.) to back-to-back 10-1 seasons, earning a bowl berth each year ... Lackawanna was ranked ninth in the final National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll ... Also helped the Falcons rank eighth in the NJCAA in total offense in 2001 and fourth in 2000 ... Played tight end as a freshman, but moved to tackle as a sophomore ... At Greater Nanticoke Area HS, was a four-time All-Wyoming Valley Conference selection in both football and basketball ... Starter his high school career as a quarterback ... Ended up as a tight end and was listed as one of the top recruits in the East Region ... Originally signed with Michigan State out of high school.
JC Brown 6-0 *180 * Athlete Murphy, N.C. / Murphy HSNamed Western North Carolina Player of the Year by the Asheville Citizen-Times ... Took over as Murphy's quarterback in the first game and led them to a 12-2 record ... Completed 63-of-118 passes for 1,125 yards and 15 touchdowns ... Rushed for 804 yards on 132 attempts with 16 touchdowns ... As a defensive back, recorded 41 tackles, a fumble recovery, five pass deflections and two interceptions. Returned two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns.
Mario Brown 5-9 *205 * WR Greenwood, S.C. / Georgia Military College / Greenwood HSHelped Georgia Military College earn the top spot in the final 2001 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll as the team finished with an 11-0 record.
Andre Doyle 6-5 *270 * DT Harrisburg, Pa. / Hagerstown (Md.) CC / Bishop McDevitt HSWas recruited by North Carolina State while Coach Briggs was on staff with the Wolfpack and committed to play football at Wake Forest ... Also a standout left-handed pitcher, he opted to attend Hagerstown CC to pursue a baseball career ... At Bishop McDevitt, earned all-area and all-conference honors ... Selected to play in the prestigious Big 33 All-Star game, pitting the top players in Pennsylvania against the top players from Ohio.
Xavier Godard 5-10 *170 * WR Athens, Ga. / Cedar Shoals HSNamed Northeast Georgia all-area and his team's Most Valuable Player ... Played running back as a senior, rushing 88 times for 902 yards with 11 touchdowns ... Led the Jaguars to a 7-4 record ... A state champion in the 300-meter hurdles and state runner-up in the long jump ... Tabbed MVP for Georgia's 4A classification.
Grant Helms 6-3 *230 * DE/LS Monroe, N.C. / Piedmont HSSelected Union County Defensive Player of the Year ... Also earned all-conference honors.
Jeremy Hyatt 6-3 *225 * TE Cherokee, N.C. / Cherokee HSHonorable Mention All-Western North Carolina pick by the Asheville Citizen Times ... Helped Cherokee to the North Carolina A state semifinals ... Was a two-time All-Smoky Mountain conference selection ... A versatile performer contributing as a fullback and tight end, he recorded over 1,270 all-purpose yards, including over 950 rushing yards, despite missing five games as a senior due to an injury ... Played for former Catamount player and coach Al DeGraffenreid.
Robbie Jones 6-2 *275 * OL Bryson City, N.C. / Swain County HSNamed All-Western North Carolina by the Asheville Citizen-Times after leading Swain County to the North Carolina 1A State Championship ... Also tabbed All-Smoky Mountain Conference ... Nominated for North Carolina Mr. Football Award ... Helped the Maroon's offense gain over 5,000 yards en route to the state title ... Had 131 tackles as a senior and set a Swain County HS record for career tackles by a defensive lineman ... Selected to play in the North Carolina East-West All-Star Game ... Named all-conference as a junior and honorable mention All-WNC.
Bruce Lee 5-8 *150 * CB Camden, S.C. / Camden HSNamed All-State ... Selected to play in the annual North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl ... A two-time All-Region 4-AAA selection ... Helped Camden to the South Carolina 3A state championship ... Logged 57 tackles, including 40 solo hits, as a senior ... Picked off seven passes in his final season, returning one 55 yards for a touchdown, and three as a junior ... Averaged 16.2 yards on his 16 punt returns ... Hails from the same high school that produced Kerry Hayes, who earned All-America honors for the Catamounts in 1992 and 1993.
Timothy Mayse 5-11 *190 * K Pine Mountain, Ga. / Columbus HSAn All-Bi-City selection ... Averaged 39.3 yards on his 58 punts as a senior ... Posted a 40.2 average as a junior ... Was voted "Best Kicker" and the Western Carolina and Clemson camps.
Kevin McAlmont 6-3 *280 * DT Union City, Ga. / Creekside HSWas named Creekside's Most Valuable Lineman, leading the Seminoles to a 13-1 record as a senior ... Tabbed All-South Metro Atlanta and honorable mention All-State ... Graded out at over 85 percent for the season as an offensive lineman ... Member of the National Honor Society.
Anwar Phillips 6-0 *225 * LB Atlanta, Ga. / Mays HSA Georgia 4A All-State selection and all-city pick ... Tallied 131 tackles, including 12 sacks, as a senior ... Named Atlanta Classic Defensive Player of the Year ... Helped Mays HS win the Georgia team track championship ... Participates in the shot put, 4x100-meter relay team and 4x400-meter relay team.
Lamont Reid 6-2 *180 * RB Maiden, N.C. / Maiden HSSouthern Foothills Conference Player of the Year as a senior ... Tallied 2,078 all-purpose yards as a running back and receiver ... Scored 30 touchdowns to earn Hickory Daily Record Player of the Year honors ... A preseason all-state pick prior to his senior season ... Tabbed all-conference in football and basketball as a junior.
Robbie Sovie 6-1 *190 * FS Macon, Ga. / Stratford AcademyNamed All-State as a senior and sophomore ... Tabbed his region's Player of the Year and All-Middle Georgia as a senior ... Is Stratford Academy's all-time leader in rushing yards (4,850), all-purpose yards (5,538) and touchdowns (79) ... Logged 80 tackles, including eight for losses, and three interceptions on defense, while rushing for a school-record 1,455 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior ... Also caught three touchdown passes to set a school record with 32 scores in a season ... Led his school to a 37-3 record over his final three seasons with two AAA state titles and a semifinal appearance ... Was a four-time all-region pick, rushing for over 1,000 yards each season.
Marcus Thomas 6-6 *255 * DE Roxboro, N.C. / Person HSSelected All-PAC 6 Conference as a senior and junior - once as defensive tackle and once as defensive end... Led Person HS to a conference title and a playoff berth in his final season ... Was a two-time PAC 6 Conference Player of the Week.
