2008 Woodie Awards
Football inks 21 on Signing Day in preparation for SoCon
Ben Hankins
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Sports
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The incoming class includes players to cover much needed positions in addition to other skilled athletes. Coaches hope the new additions will make Samford more competitive when they move to the Southern Conference this fall.
Many of the signed players were targets of Division I-A programs. Several signees also listed other Southern Conference programs in their final list of considerations.
“I want to thank our coaching staff for all of their hard work,” Head Coach Pat Sullivan said. “I feel like we have a great class. We felt like there were certain needs we wanted to address.
“We always need offensive and defensive linemen, and we were able to sign some on both sides. We felt we needed some defensive backs and linebackers, and we were able to do that.”
Samford also secured more depth at the quarterback position.
The Bulldogs signed Dustin Taliaferro, a standout quarterback from Roswell High School in Atlanta who encompassed over 5,300 yards passing during his high school career.
Samford also signed dual-threat quarterback Conner Lowery, who was named Offensive MVP for the West team in the Toyota East vs. West All-Star game. Both Taliaferro and Lowery are 4.0 GPA students.
For the second year in a row, Sullivan and his staff persuaded many local athletes to stay close to home, signing seven players from the greater Birmingham area.
The list includes Briarwood Christian Academy standouts Alex Davis (defensive end), Jonathan Silers (running back) and Will Tumlin (wide receiver), who led their team to the Alabama 5A Championship game as seniors in 2007.
Davis headlines the class. Rated a 73 by Scouts Inc., Davis is Samford’s most acclaimed recruit. He tallied 104 tackles and 11 sacks as a senior.
“(Birmingham) is where we will always start,” Sullivan said. “I thought we did a good job of getting the kids locally who were interested in Samford, and we are excited about that.”
Samford coaches are also excited about Chris Spivey.
The former Georgia Military College tight end towers around 6’5” and weighs 260 lbs. Coaches expect his size and physical capabilities to make the Bulldogs’ air attack more dynamic.
“I’m definitely excited about playing in the Southern Conference,” Spivey said. “Everyone knows that it’s the SEC of Division I-AA football. Hopefully we’ll be able to make a name for ourselves as a team.”
Sullivan said this year’s recruiting class reinforces the ground that was made with the 2007 class.
“We had a lot of freshmen on the team (last season), and to add 21 kids with this group, I think, gives us an exciting future,” Sullivan said. “The biggest thing we have to do is grow them up, and it is not going to happen overnight.”
Sullivan also said this class increased awareness not only for the football program but also for the university as a whole.
“I think the biggest thing here at Samford is just getting kids on campus,” Sullivan said. “Our success rate with kids who come on official visits is phenomenal; it’s better than any place I have ever been around.
“Once they get here, they meet our players, they see the academic opportunity they have here, they see what we are doing football-wise and the facilities we are trying to build, and it is really an easy sell.”