FOOTBALL: McBride among 8 transfers, 1 HS senior to Lamar
Published 3:59 pm Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Lamar sports information
BEAUMONT — Lamar signed a high school standout to a National Letter of Intent and added eight transfers, head coach Mike Schultz announced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Dauphin Athletics Complex.
Wednesday’s signing class adds to the 11 players the Cardinals signed during the early signing period, which brings the total signing class to 20 (five signees and 15 transfers). Among the transfers, 14 come from the junior college ranks (Will McBride transferred from FBS Tennessee).
“I first want to congratulate the staff,” said LU head coach Mike Schultz. “Most people don’t understand the amount of hours that is put into recruiting and these guys did a really good job of hitting the road and identifying talent. I believe because of the playoff run we were able to elevate our targets in recruiting, but when you elevate your targets you also take on more competition. Some of those battles you win and some you don’t, but we feel really good about the guys we added to our roster.”
The newest additions to the class bring a heavy focus on the defensive side of the ball where LU lost seven starters or key reserves from the 2018 FCS playoff squad, including All-America selection Davon Jernigan. The class consists of seven defensive players and four offensive.
The position breakdown on defense consists of five defensive backs and a linebacker, while incoming offensive players include two receivers and a quarterback.
The breakdown for the overall class consists of 12 players on the defensive side of the ball and eight offensive. The overall position breakdown on defense includes eight defensive backs, two linebackers and two defensive ends. The offensive breakdown includes four offensive linemen, two receivers and two quarterbacks.
Similar to the early signing period, the Cardinals’ newest additions to the roster stretched far beyond the borders of Texas. The most recent crop of signees hail from Illinois, Louisiana, California, Mississippi and Texas. The overall state breakdown for the 2019 LU signing class represents seven states – Texas (7), Louisiana (5), California (3), Mississippi (2), Hawaii (1), Illinois (1) and Missouri (1).
With the graduation of a starter at quarterback and returning Southland Newcomer of Year, Jordan Hoy, down to his final year of eligibility, the coaching staff filled a need at quarterback with the addition of two standouts. Tennessee transfer Will McBride joins talented high school standout Jermaine Givens from the early signing period.
“We also have Jack Dallas coming back, although he won’t be with us during the spring because he will with the baseball team,” said Schultz. “We feel good about what we were able to accomplish here during the signing period. We added a quarterback from the high school ranks during the early period and now we’ve added Will McBride to that list. McBride has three years of eligibility remaining so we feel very good about where we are at with quarterbacks.”
McBride (6-1, 200, League City) was a three-star prospect coming out of high school and originally signed with Tennessee. Another dual-threat option for coach Schultz behind center, McBride was considered one of the top 50 signal callers in the nation coming out of high school. He played in one game as a freshman for the Volunteers.
Two big needs for the Cardinals following their 2018 run to the FCS playoffs were at receiver and in the secondary. The Cardinals had a senior-laden lineup in the secondary and will be faced with replacing all five starters entering 2019 season.
“We signed some really good guys in the secondary,” said Schultz. “I really like safeties who are six-feet tall. The one thing you will see with the new guys is length. We’re excited about where are now and I can’t wait to get them all in and start working with them. Several of these guys are already here on campus with the team. Our secondary was a major concern heading into recruiting but we addressed this need.”
It is a similar story at receiver for the Red and White. The Cardinals lost four receivers to attrition at the end of the season, three of whom had significant time in the starting lineup for the Cardinals over the previous three seasons. LU added two more to the roster Wednesday with the additions Kenny Allen (6-0, 155, East Los Angeles College) and Ryan Matlock (6-0, 190, Moorpark College).