BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football program has added six transfers for the 2021 fall season, head coach Chris Hatcher announced Thursday.
 
Evan Craighead (Navy Prep), Jayme Motley-Simmons (UAB), Coby Neenan (UAB), Chris Noble (UAB), Sylvaughn Turner (Murray State) and Zach Williams (North Texas) have transferred to Samford and will play for the Bulldogs this fall.
 
"We are excited to add this group of student athletes to our team," Hatcher said. "They are all players who have experience and understand how the process of being a student-athlete works. We expect all of them to come in and add value to our team."
 
Samford will open the 2021 fall season when the Bulldogs play host to Tennessee Tech on Thursday, Sept. 2 at Seibert Stadium. Below is a brief bio on each of the five new players.
 
Evan Craighead, LB, 6-3, 220, Madison, Ala./Navy Prep
Comes to Samford after one season on the Navy Prep team at the U.S. Naval Academy . . . prepped at Madison Academy in Madison, Ala . . . was listed as a three-star prospect out of high school . . . tallied 164 tackles, including 130 solo tackles in his junior and senior seasons combined . . . also had 4.0 sacks and intercepted five passes.
 
Jayme Motley-Simmons, OL, 6-7, 285, Alabaster, Ala./UAB
Spent the 2019 season at UAB . . . started his high school career at Spain Park High School and finished at Thompson High School . . . 247Sports rated as a 3-star prospect . . . led his team to a state runner-up finish . . . held offers from Nebraska, Louisville and North Carolina.
 
Coby Neenan, SPEC, 6-2, 195, Dothan, Ala./UAB
Comes to Samford after playing across town at UAB last season . . . during the 2020 season, handled 31 kickoffs, averaging 61.5 yards per kickoff . . . produced nine touchbacks . . . prior to UAB, spend four seasons at Tulane . . . prepped at Northview High School in Dothan, Ala . . . handled place-kicking a punting duties for the Cougars . . . also competed in soccer.
 
Chris Noble, OL, 6-4, 300, Brewton, Ala./UAB
Comes to Samford after two seasons at UAB . . . after redshirting in 2019, played in all nine games on the offensive line during the 2020 season . . . prepped at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton, Ala . . . named All-State in 2016 . . . won the team's Best Lineman award in 2017.
 
Sylvaughn Turner, DB, 6-0, 200, Huntsville, Ala./Murray State
Played the last four seasons at Murray State . . . tallied 19 tackles, including 10 solo stops . . . offensively, caught 30 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown . . . prepped at East Limestone High School in Huntsville, Ala . . . rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports.com . . . was a two-time 5A All-State selection . . . as a senior, caught 21 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Zach Williams, SPEC, 5-8. 185, Louisville, Ky./North Texas
Comes to Samford after three seasons at North Texas . . . in 2020, served as the main kickoff specialist, averaging 54.5 yards on 37 kickoffs . . . had six kickoffs in 2019, averaging 44.5 yards . . . in 2018, averaged 53.8 yards on nine kickoffs . . . prepped at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky . . . named 2016 Kicking World All-American . . . made 85-of-86 PAT attempts, while booming 81 percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks.
 
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).