Dakota Quinn Highlight Video

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team continued to take its recruiting prowess under first-year Head Coach Scott Padgett to the next level Wednesday as the Bulldogs signed highly-touted recruit Dakota Quinn out of Davidson Academy in Henderson, Tennessee.
 
"We're very excited to have Dakota join the Samford family," said Samford head coach Scott Padgett. "Right now, having some bigger guys on the roster is huge for us, especially someone of his size, athleticism, mobility and versatility. He'll be able to play both the No. 4 and No. 5 positions and he can really run the floor. He'll be the most athletic guy on the team, and he can also step out and make a shot. He can post up and brings a lot of different things to the table, so we're very excited to have him."
 
Quinn, who committed to Samford in the fall, officially signed with the Bulldogs on Wednesday to kick off the early signing period. Quinn chose Samford over a number of Division I offers, including Middle Tennessee, FGCU and UNC Wilmington.
 
An uber-athletic 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward/center, Quinn is expected to play either the No. 4 or No. 5 position at the college level.
 
"It was a great relief to get the recruiting process over with and to know that I'm definitely choosing the right school," said Quinn. "As soon as I visited Samford, I knew that was where I wanted to go and it's just a perfect fit for me. The campus is beautiful and the coaching staff has been great to me and my family. As soon as I left after my visit, I told my dad that Samford was the place for me.

 
"Samford also has outstanding academics and the business school is one of the best around. They have a 100-percent employment rate after graduation and you honestly can't beat that. Coach Padgett and (Assistant) Coach (Charles) Newton were both awesome throughout the recruiting process and I know they have big things planned for this team. I'm ready to go and I know that we will quickly be in the hunt to win some championships."
 
Quinn comes from an outstanding family, which includes his father, Jonathan, mother, Casi, brothers, Colton and A.J., as well as his sister, Ellie. His father played quarterback in the NFL for Jacksonville, Kansas City and Chicago, and was selected out of Middle Tennessee in the third round of the 1998 draft.
 
Last season, as a junior at Davidson Academy, Quinn quickly averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds in just six games for the Bears, while shooting a sizzling 63 percent from the field. Quinn, who is also a quarterback on the football team, transferred to Davidson Academy in late-January upon the hiring of his father as the school's football coach.
 
"We're very excited about Dakota," Padgett said. "He's a guy that can potentially still grow, but I think when he gets stronger and adds a little bit of weight that he can become even more explosive. He's a tough guy and he doesn't shy away from contact. He's a very physical player and he likes to mix it up.
 
"On his football team, he's the quarterback, defensive end, wide receiver and he's definitely not the guy that runs out of bounds at the end of a play. He's the guy that likes to run over the defensive backs and linebackers to get extra yards, so shying away from contact will never be a problem."
 
New to Tennessee, Quinn quickly turned heads in the recruiting circles with his athleticism, size and demonstrative two-handed dunks. He immediately began to receive attention from college recruiters.
 
"He is new to the area and I think that maybe a lot of teams missed out on him," said Padgett. "I feel like we have a good one in Dakota and his family is great. Obviously, he has an outstanding pedigree with his dad being a former NFL quarterback and hard work is definitely not foreign to him. He understands hard work coming in and that's key, because that's exactly what we do here."
 
Since Padgett was named Samford's head coach in June, the Bulldogs have inked highly-acclaimed standouts Christen Cunningham (6-2, 185, G), Alex Peters (6-8, 210, F/C), Quinn (6-9, 215, F/C) and Evan Taylor (6-4, 205, G).
 
Cunningham, Peters and Taylor are all current true freshmen on Samford's roster this season and should receive plenty of playing time. Quinn will be a true freshman on the Bulldogs' roster in 2015-16.
 
"Dakota is a perfect fit with what we're trying to do as a program," Padgett said. "We've been able to hone in and target certain types of guys that fit and have the versatility to play multiple positions, and that's what we're going to need in this system.
 
"I think we've been able to do a great job of focusing our attention on those types of guys and we've been able to go get them. There's nothing easy about recruiting, but our whole staff has done an outstanding job and we're heading in the right direction."
 
The Samford University basketball team will begin its 2014-15 season Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin their upcoming campaign on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers. The game will be held at Mackay Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Dakota Quinn Highlight Video