BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football program has added 10 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for its 2022 signing class, head coach Chris Hatcher announced Wednesday.
 
"I am excited about the young men joining our program at Samford," Hatcher said. "They all have the character and athletic ability to help us continue to achieve our goals."
 
The group, paired with the December signing class, brings this year's group of newcomers to 17. Wednesday's signing group includes five offensive player and five defensive players. Four of Wednesday's signees come from the state of Alabama, two each hail from Georgia and Mississippi, and one each come from Louisiana and Texas.
 
Below is a short bio on each of Wednesday's signees as well as the seven signees from the early signing period in December.
 
WEDNESDAY'S SIGNEES
Thomas D'Armond (6-0, 198, WR, Baton Rouge, La./Episcopal HS)
Thomas D'Armond prepped at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana . . . he was a standout receiver for the team . . . he was named his team's MVP, Offensive MVP, team captain and earned first team All-District honors as both a receiver and return specialist . . . as a senior, he amassed 1,676 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns . . . as a junior and senior, he led his team to a combined 19-2 record . . . his older brother, William, played football at Samford in from 2016 to 2019.
 
Trey Elston (6-1, 195, DB, Auburn, Ala./Auburn University)
Trey Elston spent the last two seasons at Auburn University and the previous two years at West Alabama . . . he saw action in six games for Auburn in 2021 as a reserve cornerback and special teams contributor . . . he recorded two tackles for the Tigers that season . . . as a sophomore at West Alabama in 2019, he recorded 36 total tackles and a team-leading 11 pass breakups . . . he played his high school football at Auburn High School . . . he was named All-Area as a senior, recording 37 catches for 641 yards and five touchdowns . . . he was a two-time All-Region selection in basketball, where he averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.
 
Makhi Gilbert (6-3, 270, DL, Phenix City, Ala./Central HS)
Makhi Gilbert prepped at Central High School of Phenix City . . . he had 48 tackles, including 18 solo stops and 4.0 tackles for loss . . . Gilbert helped lead his team to a 13-1 overall record, including a 7-0 mark in region play . . . his team finished as the state runners up in 7A.
 
Cameron Harris (6-2, 185, WR, Pleasant Grove, Ala./Pleasant Grove HS)
Cameron Harris prepped at Pleasant Grove High School in Alabama . . . as a senior, he had 42 receptions for 825 yards and 14 touchdowns . . . in his final two season, he caught 55 passes for 1,102 yards and 16 touchdowns . . . he averaged 61.2 receiving yards per game . . . his 2021 team finished as state runner up.
 
Johnerio Holt (6-3, 275, DL, Athens, Ga./Athens Academy)
Johnerio Holt comes to Samford from Athens Academy in Georgia . . . he tallied 79 total tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and three fumble recoveries . . . he was named Defensive Player of the Year, All-State and team captain.
 
Michael Irons (6-1, 185, DB, McGregor, Texas/Cornell University)
Michael Irons comes to Samford after three seasons at Cornell University . . . he was named second team All-Ivy League in 2021 after tallying 31 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, nine pass breakups and a quarterback hurry . . . in 2019, he started the first nine games of the season, totaling 16 tackles, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery . . . as a freshman in 2018, he played in six games, registering four tackles . . . he prepped at McGregor High School in Texas . . . he was a two-time first team All-District selection, while playing defensive back, wide receiver and quarterback . . . in two seasons, he posted 83 tackles, 11 pass breakups and an interception on defense, and accounted for 14 touchdowns as a senior on the offensive side . . . he earned honorable mention All-State honors.
 
Jalen Nelson (6-1, 178, CB, Flowood, Miss./Northwest Rankin HS)
Jalen Nelson comes to Samford from Northwest Rankin High School in Mississippi . . . he tallied 107 tackles, including 77 solo stops . . . he also intercepted four passes, caused four fumbles, and recovered one . . . as a senior in 2021, he also rushed for 907 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per carry and scoring seven touchdowns . . . additionally, he passed for 845 yards.
 
Cameron Orr (6-7, 315, OL, Golden, Miss./Elon University)
Cameron Orr comes to Samford after two seasons at Elon . . . he saw action in seven games on the offensive line for the Phoenix . . . prior to Elon, he spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Itawamba Community College, where he played in 18 games and earned NJCAA All-Region 23 honors in 2019 . . . he was also named First Team All-Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) following the 2019 campaign . . . he redshirted in 2017 at North Alabama . . . Orr prepped at Itawamba Agricultural High School, earning All-Division and All-State honors.
 
D.J. Rias (5-8, 185, WR, Phenix City, Ala./Univ. of Alabama)
D.J. Rias comes to Samford from the University of Alabama . . . served as a reserve wide receiver, seeing no game action for the Crimson Tide . . . he prepped at Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama . . . Rias was a standout receiver for the Central team.
 
Jaylan Thomas (5-9, 185, RB, Carrollton, Ga./Elon University)
Jaylan Thomas comes to Samford after four seasons at Elon University . . . he was named the 2018 CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year . . . as a freshman, he rushed for 761 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and 95.1 yards per game . . . in 2019, rushed for 415 yards and three touchdowns . . . he carried the ball for 307 yards in the shortened spring season in 2021, and he had 600 yards and four touchdowns in the fall of 2021 . . . he prepped at Carrollton High School in Georgia . . . he rushed for over 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior in 2017 . . . he earned All-State honors, and was named the Region Offensive Player of the Year as a senior . . . he was named the 2015 Times-Georgian Newcomer of the Year, and he earned All-Region honors that season.
 
                                                                                                                            
EARLY SIGNING PERIOD SIGNEES (DECEMBER)
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.
 
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.  
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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