Football Announces Seven Signees For Early Class
12.15.21 | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football program has signed seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to begin the early signing period for the 2022 class, head coach Chris Hatcher announced Wednesday.
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The class includes five defensive players and two offensive players. Two players hail from the state of Georgia One player hails from each of the states of Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Texas.
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Additional signees are expected and will be announced at a later date.
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Below is a short bio on each signee.
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Luca Chuecos (6-4, 240, DL, Atlanta, Ga./Holy Innocents' Episcopal School)
Luca Chuecos prepped at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta . . . he helped lead the team to an 11-2 record in 2021, advancing to the Elite 8 of the state playoffs . . . he was named first team All-State by Recruit Georgia, and first team All-Region . . . as a senior, he had 7.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries . . . during his junior season, Chuecos had 3.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in just five games.
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Michael Hiers (6-1, 205, QB, Birmingham, Ala./Northwest Mississippi Community College)
Michael Hiers redshirted at Murray State in 2018, and played in two games for the Racers in 2019 . . . he passed for 4,519 yards and 34 touchdowns in two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College . . . in 2021, he tossed for 3,093 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for four touchdowns . . . he was ranked the No. 1 pro style junior college quarterback in the nation by Rivals . . . he prepped at nearby Briarwood Christian School, helping the Lions to a 14-1 record and a state runner-up finish in Class 5A as a senior . . . he passed for 2,672 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final high school season . . . he was named All-County and honorable mention All-State following his senior season . . . Hiers also played baseball and basketball, earning All-County and All-City honors in both sports. Â
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Gavin Morris (6-1, 210, LB, Cumming, Ga./South Forsyth High School)
Gavin Morris prepped at South Forsyth High School in Georgia . . . he played on both sides of the ball on a team that finished 8-3, reaching the state playoffs in 2021.
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Ian Pitt (6-3, 267, DL, Henderson, Ky./College of Dupage)
Ian Pitt spent the 2021 season at College of Dupage, playing in 10 games and tallying 32 tackles, including 15 solo stops and four sacks . . . he spent the previous two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, redshirting in 2019 . . . during the 2020 season, he played in seven games for the Colonels, starting one contest.
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Isaiah Richardson (6-1, 198, DB, Richmond, Texas/Rice University)
Isaiah Richardson has been at Rice University since 2017, seeing a lot of time on special teams for the Owls . . . he tallied 21 tackles in his time in a Rice uniform . . . he prepped at Foster High School . . . Richardson was named All-District 27-5A helping his team to the 5A-D1 semifinals and a 14-1 record . . . he picked off a pair of passes on the year and finished with seven interceptions in his career . . . he was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's preseason Texas Top 300 and 2016 Subway Super Team . . . he was also named to the Houston Chronicle's Houston 100 . . . he also played basketball for the Falcons . . . he earned THSCA Academic All-District honors.
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Nik Scalzo (5-11, 195, QB, Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University of Kentucky)
Nik Scalzo comes to Samford as a transfer from the University of Kentucky . . . he redshirted in 2019, practiced with the squad in 2020 and saw action against New Mexico State in 2021 . . . Scalzo prepped at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Florida, where he was rated as a three-star prospect by all the major recruiting services . . . he was also rated as one of Florida's top 10 quarterbacks . . . in three seasons, he completed 522-of-876 passes for 6,471 yards and 74 touchdowns . . . he helped lead his team to the 5A state championship in Florida as a senior.
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Khalid Thomas (6-0, 201, DB, Raleigh, N.C./Harvard University)
Khalid Thomas comes to Samford as a transfer from Harvard University . . . he played in nine games as a cornerback for the Crimson in 2021, intercepting three passes and breaking up six others . . . he also had 14 tackles, including nine solo stops in 2021 . . . in 2019, Thomas had 10 tackles and three pass break ups . . . Thomas prepped at the Woodberry Forest School in Virginia . . . he served as a team captain as a senior, and was named All-Prep three times and VISAA All-State twice.
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FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).Â
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The class includes five defensive players and two offensive players. Two players hail from the state of Georgia One player hails from each of the states of Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Texas.
Â
Additional signees are expected and will be announced at a later date.
Â
Below is a short bio on each signee.
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Luca Chuecos (6-4, 240, DL, Atlanta, Ga./Holy Innocents' Episcopal School)
Luca Chuecos prepped at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta . . . he helped lead the team to an 11-2 record in 2021, advancing to the Elite 8 of the state playoffs . . . he was named first team All-State by Recruit Georgia, and first team All-Region . . . as a senior, he had 7.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries . . . during his junior season, Chuecos had 3.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in just five games.
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Michael Hiers (6-1, 205, QB, Birmingham, Ala./Northwest Mississippi Community College)
Michael Hiers redshirted at Murray State in 2018, and played in two games for the Racers in 2019 . . . he passed for 4,519 yards and 34 touchdowns in two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College . . . in 2021, he tossed for 3,093 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for four touchdowns . . . he was ranked the No. 1 pro style junior college quarterback in the nation by Rivals . . . he prepped at nearby Briarwood Christian School, helping the Lions to a 14-1 record and a state runner-up finish in Class 5A as a senior . . . he passed for 2,672 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final high school season . . . he was named All-County and honorable mention All-State following his senior season . . . Hiers also played baseball and basketball, earning All-County and All-City honors in both sports. Â
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Gavin Morris (6-1, 210, LB, Cumming, Ga./South Forsyth High School)
Gavin Morris prepped at South Forsyth High School in Georgia . . . he played on both sides of the ball on a team that finished 8-3, reaching the state playoffs in 2021.
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Ian Pitt (6-3, 267, DL, Henderson, Ky./College of Dupage)
Ian Pitt spent the 2021 season at College of Dupage, playing in 10 games and tallying 32 tackles, including 15 solo stops and four sacks . . . he spent the previous two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, redshirting in 2019 . . . during the 2020 season, he played in seven games for the Colonels, starting one contest.
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Isaiah Richardson (6-1, 198, DB, Richmond, Texas/Rice University)
Isaiah Richardson has been at Rice University since 2017, seeing a lot of time on special teams for the Owls . . . he tallied 21 tackles in his time in a Rice uniform . . . he prepped at Foster High School . . . Richardson was named All-District 27-5A helping his team to the 5A-D1 semifinals and a 14-1 record . . . he picked off a pair of passes on the year and finished with seven interceptions in his career . . . he was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's preseason Texas Top 300 and 2016 Subway Super Team . . . he was also named to the Houston Chronicle's Houston 100 . . . he also played basketball for the Falcons . . . he earned THSCA Academic All-District honors.
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Nik Scalzo (5-11, 195, QB, Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University of Kentucky)
Nik Scalzo comes to Samford as a transfer from the University of Kentucky . . . he redshirted in 2019, practiced with the squad in 2020 and saw action against New Mexico State in 2021 . . . Scalzo prepped at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Florida, where he was rated as a three-star prospect by all the major recruiting services . . . he was also rated as one of Florida's top 10 quarterbacks . . . in three seasons, he completed 522-of-876 passes for 6,471 yards and 74 touchdowns . . . he helped lead his team to the 5A state championship in Florida as a senior.
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Khalid Thomas (6-0, 201, DB, Raleigh, N.C./Harvard University)
Khalid Thomas comes to Samford as a transfer from Harvard University . . . he played in nine games as a cornerback for the Crimson in 2021, intercepting three passes and breaking up six others . . . he also had 14 tackles, including nine solo stops in 2021 . . . in 2019, Thomas had 10 tackles and three pass break ups . . . Thomas prepped at the Woodberry Forest School in Virginia . . . he served as a team captain as a senior, and was named All-Prep three times and VISAA All-State twice.
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FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).Â
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