State Champion East Mississippi Lions send 25 football players to the next level

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's annual transfer of graduated football talent to the next level continued during National Signing Day.  Including the former EMCC players who inked during December's mid-year signing period and those who signed Wednesday, the EMCC Lions will have a total of 25 players moving on to compete at four-year universities.         

Included among 10^th-year EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens' most recent graduating class that helped the 11-1 Lions to a fifth MACJC State/Region 23 championship, eighth MACJC North Division title and No. 2 national ranking in the year-ending 2016 NJCAA poll are seven players heading to Power Five conference schools.  Making things official on Wednesday were All-Region 23 performer Dakota Allen (Humble, TX), who is returning to Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference, and former Penn State signee Kam Carter (Germantown, MD), who inked with archrival Pittsburgh from the Atlantic Coast Conference.     

Along with Allen and Carter, EMCC's All-Region 23 trio comprised of Brian Cole II (Saginaw, MI), Tyre Phillips (Grenada) and Chauncey Rivers (Atlanta, GA) signed this past December with Mississippi State out of the Southeastern Conference.  Former Lion defenders also moving on as mid-year transfers were Ezekiel Rose (Clarksdale) and TJ Jallow (Olive Branch) to West Virginia (Big 12) and Purdue (Big Ten), respectively.

Bringing his quarterbacking talents to the Conference USA ranks is NJCAA All-American and Region 23 MVP De'Andre Johnson (Jacksonville, FL), who has joined former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic, along with former Louisville commit Tim Bonner (Demopolis, AL). 

The competitive Sun Belt Conference will also continue to see an influx of East Mississippi products with Troy and Idaho both dipping into EMCC's talent pool again this year.  Former Ole Miss commit Rasool Clemons (Aiken, SC) and Damion Willis (Southeast Lauderdale HS) are now Troy teammates following in the footsteps of former EMCC linebackers Demetrius Cain, William Lloyd and Justin Lucas.  The Idaho Vandals ventured to the Scooba campus to secure D.J. Henderson (Clinton) as a teammate alongside SBC Newcomer of the Year and former Lion defender Aikeem Coleman.

Also looking to reunite with EMCC teammates at the next level is offensive lineman Demetrius Gleaton (South Panola HS), who will join forces with former Lion defensive linemen Ronald Ollie and Marcel Andry at Nicholls State of the Southland Conference.

A pair of historically black colleges and universities will also continue to benefit from EMCC's talent depth with defensive lineman Rodney Jackson (Bastrop, LA) joining former Lion linebacker De'Arius Christmas at reigning HBCU National Champion Grambling State.  In addition, offensive lineman Marquez Griffin (Leake Central HS) signed with fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference member Prairie View A&M.

Other recent EMCC alums signing on with FCS member schools were Raphael Leonard (Starkville) with Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference and Dontavius Powell (Charleston) with Southeast Missouri State from the Ohio Valley Conference.

East Mississippi also continued to make its presence felt at the NCAA Division II level with a handful of former Lions signing with DII programs.  Hitting the EMCC jackpot was West Georgia, where All-Region 23 offensive performers Isaiah Wright (Florence) and Brooks Shannon (North Pontotoc HS) will join up with defensive standouts Jay Johnson (Bruce) and Diamante Pounds (Saltillo HS). 

Rounding out EMCC's most recent football graduates staying within the Magnolia State are Alexander Lipscomb (Columbus) and Mario Lanier (Aliceville [AL] HS) heading to Delta State, while Ja'Moz Mark (Tylertown) follows a long line of former Lion players to Mississippi College.

Additionally, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl champion and Conference USA member Southern Miss continues to attract EMCC football talent with long snapper Morgan Stansell (West Marion HS) set to join the Golden Eagles as a preferred walk-on, while offensive linemen Hunter Godfrey (Pascagoula) and Thaddeus Roberts (Petal) plan to complete their degree work as non-playing students at USM.

During his nine previous seasons at the EMCC football helm, Stephens has sent an average of nearly 25 players per year to the university level.  This past year, 50 former Lion players competed on the gridiron at four-year universities.           

2016 EMCC FOOTBALL PLAYERS MOVING ONTO FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITIES                    

DAKOTA ALLEN (6-2, 220, LB, Humble, TX/Summer Creek HS) – Texas Tech

TIM BONNER (6-5, 225, DL, Demopolis [AL] HS) – Florida Atlantic

KAM CARTER (6-5, 310, DL, Germantown, MD/Gaithersburg HS) – Pittsburgh

RASOOL CLEMONS (6-6, 215, DL, Aiken, SC/South Aiken HS) – Troy

BRIAN COLE II (6-3, 205, DB, Saginaw, MI/Heritage HS) – Mississippi State

DEMETRIUS GLEATON (6-3, 300, OL, Pope, MS/South Panola HS) -- Nicholls

MARQUEZ GRIFFIN (6-3, 300, OL, Carthage, MS/Leake Central HS) – Prairie View A&M

D.J. HENDERSON (6-0, 280, DL, Clinton [MS] HS) – Idaho

RODNEY JACKSON (6-2, 290, DL, Bastrop [LA] HS) – Grambling State

TJ JALLOW (6-2, 205, DB, Olive Branch [MS] HS) – Purdue

DE'ANDRE JOHNSON (6-2, 205, QB, Jacksonville, FL/First Coast HS) – Florida Atlantic

JAY JOHNSON (6-3, 230, LB, Bruce [MS] HS) – West Georgia

MARIO LANIER (6-1, 195, WR, Carrollton, AL/Aliceville HS) – Delta State

RAPHAEL LEONARD (6-3, 190, WR, Starkville [MS] HS) – Southern Illinois

ALEXANDER LIPSCOMB (6-1, 195, DB, Columbus [MS] HS) – Delta State

JA'MOZ MARK (5-8, 155, WR, Tylertown [MS] HS) – Mississippi College

TYRE PHILLIPS (6-6, 360, OL, Grenada [MS] HS) – Mississippi State

DIAMANTE POUNDS (6-0, 225, LB, Plantersville, MS/Saltillo HS) – West Georgia

DONTAVIUS POWELL (6-1, 195, DB, Charleston [MS] HS) – Southeast Missouri State

CHAUNCEY RIVERS (6-3, 275, DL, Atlanta, GA/Stephenson HS) – Mississippi State

EZEKIEL ROSE (6-3, 270, DL, Clarksdale [MS] HS) – West Virginia

BROOKS SHANNON (6-1, 170, WR, Tupelo, MS/North Pontotoc HS) – West Georgia

MORGAN STANSELL (6-0, 205, LS, Hattiesburg, MS/West Marion HS) – Southern Miss (preferred walk-on)

DAMION WILLIS (6-3, 185, WR, Meridian, MS/Southeast Lauderdale HS) – Troy

ISAIAH WRIGHT (6-0, 190, ATH, Florence [MS] HS) – West Georgia