BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football program has signed 13 student-athletes for the 2026 February signing period, first-year head coach John Grass announced Wednesday.
"We're very excited about our signing class," Grass said. "Our staff did a great job of getting out and finding really good players and adding to our roster and making it better. We have a lot of in-state guys, which is going to be very, very important to us and our footprint of where we're going with this program. We're going to recruit locally and in state and there is as good of high school football as there is anywhere in the country within three-to-five hours of our campus and we're going to make the most of that."
The class includes seven offensive players and six defensive players. Six players hail from the state of Alabama, followed by two each from Florida and Georgia, and one each from North Carolina, Virginia and Canada.
Below is a short bio on each signee.
Daniel Burns (6-3, 285, OL, Alexander City, Ala./Benjamin Russell HS)
Daniel Burns hails from Benjamin Russell High School in Alabama . . . as a senior, he was named second team All-State by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) . . . he helped lead his team to a record of 12-2 overall and 6-0 in region play.
Kevonte Corbin (5-10, 160, WR, Wildwood, Fla./The Villages Charter HS)
Kevonte Corbin comes to Samford from The Villages Charter High School in Florida . . . as a senior, he hauled in 32 passes for 653 yards and seven touchdowns . . . he also rushed for 311 yards and eight touchdowns on 33 carries . . . he was named the FACA District 8 Player of the Year for Class 2A.
Gardner Dunn (6-2, 180, S, Enterprise, Ala./Enterprise HS)
Gardner Dunn comes to Samford from Enterprise High School in Alabama . . . he finished his senior season with 60 total tackles and four interceptions . . . he was named first team All-Region following his senior season.
Owen Hope (6-3, 180, S, Rainsville, Ala./Plainview HS)
Owen Hope comes to Samford from Plainview High School in Alabama . . . he rushed for 232 yards and four touchdowns in a playoff win over Alexandria . . . he also gained 110 yards and scored two touchdowns in another playoff win over Good Hope to lead his team to the state semifinals.
Brock Hupp (6-5, 270, DT, Venice, Fla./Venice Senior HS)
Brock Hupp comes to Samford from Venice Senior High School in Florida . . . he was an All-Area honoree . . . he tallied 91 tackles and seven sacks as a senior in 2025 . . . he was named a team captain . . . he helped lead his teams to back-to-back 7A state titles.
Shawn Kennedy (6-3, 315, OL, Cornelius, N.C./William A. Hough HS)
Shawn Kennedy hails from William A. Hough High School in North Carolina . . . he helped lead his team to a 14-0 record and a state championship . . . his team went 12-2 in his junior season and 11-2 in his sophomore campaign.
Kyree Lewis (6-0, 154, CB, Anniston, Ala./Anniston HS)
Kyree Lewis comes to Samford from Anniston High School . . . he was a standout for the Bulldogs in both football and basketball . . . he helped lead his team to a spot in the 4A state championship game.
Zamarcus Lindley (5-11, 200, RB, Douglas, Ga./Douglas County HS)
Zamarcus Lindley comes to Samford from Douglas County High School in Georgia . . . for his career, he rushed for 3,166 yards and 34 touchdowns on 449 carries in his high school career . . . as a senior, he rushed for 1,053 yards and 14 touchdowns . . . in his junior season, he had 1,219 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Cooper Pennington (6-2, 210, TE, Wilsonville, Ala./Shelby County HS)
Cooper Pennington prepped at Shelby County High School . . . he played both tight end and linebacker . . . he was named All-State, All-County, All-Region and All-Region Defensive Player of the Year.
Moussa Seck (6-4, 335, OL, Quebec, Canada/The McCallie School {Tenn.})
Moussa Seck hails from Canada and prepped at The McCallie School in Tennessee . . . he helped lead his team to an impressive 10-3 record . . . the team reached the third round of the Tennessee state playoffs.
Will Shields (6-2, 175, QB, Centreville, Va./Centreville HS)
Will Shields comes to Samford from Centreville High School in Virginia . . . for his high school career, Shields passed for 5,561 yards and 51 touchdowns . . . in his senior campaign, he passed for 2,792 yards and 33 touchdowns . . . he also rushed for 254 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.
Greg Williams (5-11, 195, LB, Auburn, Ala./Auburn HS)
Greg Williams prepped at Auburn High School . . . he finished his senior season with 103 total tackles, including 56 solo stops and a pair of sacks . . . as a junior, he tallied 84 tackles, with 42 of those being solo stops . . . for his high school career, he had 191 total tackles, 101 solo.
Travis Young (6-5, 250, DT, Atlanta, Ga./South Gwinnett HS)
Travis Young comes to Samford from South Gwinnett High School in Georgia . . . as a senior he tallied 57 total tackles, including 27 solo tackles . . . he had 11 tackles for loss and four sacks in 2025 . . . he also had one fumble recovery and two pass deflections.
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