Feb. 6, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford head football coach Pat Sullivan announced the signing of 21 players for the upcoming season on Wednesday.

"I want to thank our coaching staff for all of their hard work," Sullivan said. "I feel like we have a great class. We felt like there were certain needs we wanted to address, one was the tight end and we were able to get Chris Spivey out of junior college. We always need offensive and defensive linemen, and we were able to sign some on both sides. We felt we needed some defensive backs and linebackers and we were able to do that.

"It was important that we address the quarterback situation and we feel like we did that with two outstanding quarterbacks," Sullivan said. "We also felt like we needed some speed at wide receiver and we were able to get that as well.

"Athletically, this is a very good class," Sullivan said. "Academically, it is awfully strong. We have seven kids that have a 28 or above on their ACT, and that speaks volumes for Samford."

Below is a short biography on each signee.

Chinedu Amah, WR, 6-2, 198, Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler HS)
As a senior, caught 35 passes for 450 yards and two touchdowns . . . had 19 receptions for 276 yards and two touchdowns as a junior . . . named All-County in 2007 . . . participated in the inaugural Cobb County All-Star Senior Bowl . . . named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's All-Northwest Team . . . named All-County Honorable Mention by he Marietta Daily Journal . . . also recruited by Georgia Southern, Charleston Southern and Lehigh.

Aaron Bethune, DE, 6-4, 238, Opelika, Ala. (Lee-Scott Acad.)
Served as a three-year starter and was named co-captain as a senior . . . named first-team All-Area and first-team All-State as a senior . . . named to the AISA All-Star team, and was named co-captain for the East squad . . . as a senior, posted 81 solo tackles and 35 assisted tackles . . . also had 10 sacks, 38 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three tipped passes . . . averaged 46 yards per punt, and had a long punt of 67 yards . . . chose Samford over North Alabama, Furman, Faulkner and Huntingdon.

Alex Cardin, OL, 6-4, 272, Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler HS)
Was a winner of the National Football Foundation Scholarship . . . was the winner of the Golden Helmet Award . . . led his team to the 2006 6-AAAAA Region Championship . . . named 2007 Academic-Athletic Player of the Year . . . was a three-year varsity starter . . . also recruited by Columbia, Furman and Eastern Kentucky.

Isaac Cooper, CB, 5-10, 171, Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Fort Walton Beach HS)
Named first-team All-Area, first-team All-Northwest Florida and first-team Preseason All-Panhandle . . . totaled 74 tackles and eight interceptions in his high school career . . . also blocked one punt and two field goals . . . named team captain . . . also selected as junior class president, chairman of the Youth City Council Committee and president of the Leadership Class . . . also recruited by Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, Florida International and Connecticut.

Alex Davis, DE, 6-5, 260, Birmingham, Ala. (Briarwood Christian)
Named All-County and All-Metro as a senior . . . named All-Over the Mountain as a junior and senior . . . had 104 tackles and 11 sacks as a senior . . . as a junior, tallied 78 tackles and nine sacks . . . named school's Defensive Athlete of the Year . . . named one of Birmingham's Super Seniors . . . team had a combined 32-7 record . . . also recruited by Furman, Louisville and Duke.

Ryan Dudchock, OL, 6-3, 260, Pell City, Ala. (Pell City HS)
Served as a three-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines . . . led his team to the 6A state playoffs all three years . . . named team captain in 2007 . . . in 2006 named All-County, honorable mention All-State and honorable mention All-Metro . . . won the Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in 2005 and 2006 . . . also recruited by Navy, Birmingham-Southern and Central Arkansas.

Chris Graben, OL, 6-2, 320, Fyffe, Ala. (Fyffe HS)
Played in 71 varsity games at Fyffe High School . . . started 58 games, including 43-consecutive starts . . . helped his team to a 62-9 record during his high school career . . . named All-State in 2006 and 2007, and All-American in 2007 . . . named All-County all four years of high school (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) . . . also named All-Area and All-Region all four years of high school . . . named Area Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 . . . recorded 52 pancake blocks and graded out at 95 percent . . . also recruited by Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech.

Riley Hawkins, WR, 5-10, 184, Pace, Fla. (Pace HS)
Was a three-year starter at Pace High School . . . as a senior, caught 57 passes for 1,124 yards and 11 touchdowns . . . named a WEAR TV All-Star, first-team All-Northwest Florida, first-team All-State and Northwest Florida Offensive Player of the Year . . . named to the Pensacola Sports Association All-Star Team . . . had 52 catches for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior . . . as a junior named WEAR TV All-Star, first-team All-Northwest Florida and first-team All-State . . . had 29 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore . . . also recruited by Iowa State, Georgia Southern and Southern Mississippi.

Kendall Lacey, S, 6-4, 218, Wetumpka, Ala. (Wetumpka HS)
Tallied 62 solo tackles, including 45 solo stops as a senior . . . also had two tackles for a loss, five interceptions, six pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries . . . as a junior, had 46 tackles, 33 solo tackles . . . he had five interceptions, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one sack and two pass break-ups as a junior . . . named All-State as a freshman at Edgewood Academy . . . named All-Metro and All-County four years in a row . . . named team's Defensive Back of the Year as a junior . . . named Scholar Athlete of the Year as a senior . . . served as a team captain as a senior.

Connor Lowery, QB, 6-2, 220, Lebanon, Tenn. (Christ Presbyterian Acad.)
Named first-team All-Region and All-State in both 2006 and 2007 . . . named Offensive MVP of the West team in the Toyota East vs. West All-Star Game . . . named Williamson County Offensive MVP in 2006 and 2007, and Williamson County Best Athlete in 2006 . . . for his career, completed 320-of-664 passes for 5,076 yards and 60 touchdowns . . . also rushed 400 times for 1,888 yards and 30 touchdowns in his high school career . . . threw for 1,851 yards as a senior and 2,143 yards as a junior . . . holds every passing record at Christ Presbyterian Academy . . . also recruited by Montana.

Jake Peters, OL, 6-3, 290, Jasper, Ala. (Walker HS)
Was a four-year letterwinner in both football and track and field . . . named All-Region as a junior and senior . . . named team's Offensive MVP as both a junior and senior . . . allowed no sacks during junior and senior seasons . . . as a senior, had an average blocking grade of 91 percent . . . named team captain as both a junior and senior . . . also recruited by Jacksonville State and Marshall.

Charlie Sanford, OL, 6-4, 282, Cullman, Ala. (Cullman HS)
Named 2007 Offensive Lineman of the Year . . . named first-team All-State by the Alabama Sports Writers Association . . . named to the Cullman Times All-Area team . . . started in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game . . . won the 2007 NBC 13 Scholar Athlete Award . . . as a junior, was named first-team All-Area . . . also named Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2006 . . . nominated for the PrepStar All-America team . . . inducted into the National Honor Society . . . also recruited by Harvard, Tennessee Tech, Wofford and Navy.

Keith Shoulders, LB, 6-2, 215, Tanner, Ala. (Tanner HS)
Named to the Decatur Daily's All-Area team in 2006 and 2007 . . . named to the Athens News Courier's All-Area team in 2005 and 2007 . . . named 2007 Defensive MVP at Tanner High School . . . won THS Sportsmanship Award in 2006 . . . in 2007, led his team with 98 tackles, including 77 solo stops . . . recorded four sacks and 11 tackles for a loss as a senior.

Jonathan Sillers, RB, 5-10, 198, Birmingham, Ala. (Briarwood Christian)
Helped lead his team to the 5A state championship game . . . chosen as his team's Most Outstanding Offensive Back . . . named to the All-Over the Mountain Team . . . led Briarwood in rushing, averaging 6.2 yards per carry . . . had a team-high 62 receptions . . . gained over 1,200 all-purpose yards and scored 16 touchdowns as a senior . . . ranks second in Briarwood history in receptions in a season and receptions in a career . . . also recruited by The Citadel, Furman and Air Force.

Chris Spivey, TE, 6-5, 260, Perry, Ga. (Georgia Military College)
Played at Perry High School before moving to Georgia Military College . . . played two seasons as a tight end at Georgia Military College . . . as a freshman at Georgia Military, caught three passes for 30 yards . . . in his sophomore season, had two catches for 20 yards . . . also recruited by Alabama State.

David Strider, FB/DL, 6-0, 272, Chelsea, Ala. (Chelsea HS)
Named a permanent team captain as a senior . . . named AllState Player of the Week as a senior . . . was a three-time first-team All-County selection . . . named to All-Metro team as a junior and senior . . . started a school-record 48 games . . . led his team to four state playoff appearances . . . as a senior, registered 88 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and three fumble recoveries . . . offensively as a senior, rushed 74 times for 413 yards with seven touchdowns . . . also caught two passes for 24 yards . . . unanimously voted team captain as a senior.

Dustin Taliaferro, QB, 6-3, 215, Roswell, Ga. (Roswell HS)
Completed 370-of-638 passes for 5,342 yards in his career at Roswell High School . . . led his team to a combined record of 33-6-1 . . . as a senior, passed for 1,941 yard and 19 touchdowns . . . passed for 2,059 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior . . . named first-team All-State as a junior . . . led his team to the State AAAAA Championship as a junior, and to the quarterfinals as a senior . . . chose Samford over offers from Southern Mississippi, Tulane, East Carolina, Richmond, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Dartmouth, Louisiana Tech and Memphis.

Sean Thompson, LB, 6-0, 210, Hoover, Ala. (Spain Park HS)
Named All-Metro as a junior . . . voted by teammates as the team's MVP as a junior . . . had 119 tackles, once sack and five interceptions as a senior . . . totaled 85 tackles and two sacks as a junior . . . voted among the Key Players to Watch and the Best of the Rest as a senior . . . won the Finely Award for outstanding character, and the Support of Others Award . . . also recruited by Elon.

Will Tumlin, DB, 5-10, 175, Birmingham, Ala. (Briarwood Christian)
Selected to the All-County team as a senior . . . registered 65 tackles, four interceptions, five pass break-ups, four tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries and one sack as a senior . . . selected by the Briarwood coaching staff as the team's Most Valuable Defensive Back in 2007 . . . helped lead his team to the 5A state championship game . . . as a junior, had 45 tackles, four tackles for a loss, 10 pass break-ups and one interception . . . also returned punts and kickoffs . . . also recruited by Furman.

Corey White, S, 6-1, 200, Dunwoody, Ga. (Dunwoody HS)
Named team MVP and first-team All-County . . . had 52 tackles, including 35 solo stops and three tackles for a loss as a senior . . . had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, scored one touchdown and blocked one kick . . . returned seven kickoffs for an average of 22.7 yards per return . . . had 80 rushes for 683 yards and six touchdowns . . . caught 17 passes for 452 yards and six touchdowns . . . also recruited by Appalachian State and Elon.

Nicholas Williams, DE, 6-4, 250, Birmingham, Ala. (Minor HS)
Totaled 25 tackles as a defensive lineman . . . also played offensive lineman, registering two pancake blocks . . . had two interceptions, scoring one touchdown . . . recorded one fumble recovery and knocked down two passes . . . also recruited by Grambling, Alabama A&M, Southern and Stillman.