MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State football Donald Hill-Eley inked his second recruiting class as the head coach of the football program, signing 22 high school seniors to add to his seven transfers and one early signee.

The Hornets ended the day with 10 signees on the defensive side of the football, and another 12 on the offensive side of the ball. Among the transfers, the Hornets added four on defense and another three on offense.

Alabama State also signed a pair of running backs, including Jonathan Fells – a 6-0, 205 pound running back from Carroll-Ozark (Ala.). Fells finished senior season with 303 carried for 1,648 yards and scored 21 rushing touchdowns during his senior season. He averaged 183 yards per game that year, and for his prep career rushed for nearly 5,100 yards. The senior had multiple offers from several FBS schools including Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Florida State.

The Hornets also added Jacory Merritt from Sidney Lanier to the backfield for the upcoming season. The 5-11, 170 pound running back was named All-Metro and Second Team All-State following his senior season. He ended the season with 2,354 all-purpose yards, while rushing for 1,363 yards and eight touchdowns on 210 carries. He also recorded 23 receptions for 382 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading team to a berth in the AHSAA Class 6A playoffs.

Eley and the Hornets stayed local by signing Wetumpka linebacker Colton Adams Wednesday morning. The senior was named All-Metro at the conclusion of his senior season, and earned AHSAA Class 6A First Team All-State honors. He finished with 121 tackles, with 21 of those tackles going for loss; while also recording a pair of sacks and intercepted a pair of passes. He finished his career with a pair of All-Metro and All-State honors, and led Wetumpka to the state championship game during junior season and the semifinals during his junior year.

They also added Prattville linebacker Jake Howard to class after he finished his senior season with 97 total tackles, including 55 solo stops. He recorded 15 tackles for loss and three sacks, and also recorded seven quarterback hurries to help his team earn a berth in the AHSAA Class 7A playoffs.

The Hornets added six offensive linemen, the most out of any position signed by the 2019 coaching staff. Robert Alston, a lineman from Linden, helped lead the team to a 13-1 record last season and helped the team score 30-plus points 10 different times. He joins Robert Boyd – a 6-6, 320-pound lineman – from Deerfield Beach (Fla.). Boyd helped the team finish 12-2 last season and helped the team score 30-plus points seven different times last season.

The duo joins Dominic Boyd – a 6-4, 250-pound senior from Tucker (Ga.). He finished with 22 pancake blocks and was named Honorable Mention Region 6-4A. He joins Juwan Hayes from Columbia (S.C.) and Heathwood Hall Episcopal High School, where he was a two-time SCISA All-State recipient, while Josh Anjorin joins the Hornets from New Manchester High School (Douglasville, Ga.) who played both guard and tackle on the offensive line. The Hornets also added 6-4, 270 pound Miami-native Travon Taylor who helped his team to score 30-plus point 12 times en route to earning Honorable Mention All-State honors.

The Hornets also added three receivers from the high school ranks led by 6-6 Lanett-native Tifton Dobbs who finished with 19 receptions for 248 yards during his senior season. He also caught eight touchdowns to help Lanett reach the AHSAA Class 1A quarterfinals. He joins Daniel Neal from Northside Warner Robins who caught 35 passes for 660 yards during his senior season including seven touchdowns receptions. He also finished with 1,037 all-purpose yards.

Dre'lin Potts from Callaway (Ga.) High School who finished his senior season with 12 receptions for 575 yards and six touchdowns. For his career, he finished his prep career with 52 catches for 1,232 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Hornets also added athlete Grantis Poole in this year's signing class from Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) High school where played multiple positions during his career and caught 10 passes for 207 yards during senior season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama State added linebacker Devin Chambliss (6-0, 225) from Suffolk (Va.) who finished the season 93 total tackles, including 41 solo stops. He averaged 8.5 tackles per game and recorded a pair of sacks on the year.

The Hornets also added three defensive linemen including Christopher Benton (6-2, 215) from MLK (Ga.) High school where he finished his senior season with 57 tackles and nine sacks. He also recorded 21.5 tackles for loss during senior season, caused two fumbles and recovered another three more. He is joined on the defensive front by Jimmie Jenkins (6-4, 255) from Glenville (Ohio) High School where he played a pair of positions on the defensive front and helped lead his team to a perfect record in conference play.

Marreo Thomas (6-0, 273) was the final signee on the defensive front from Saks (Ala.) High School where he finished his senior season playing both sides of the football, and recording 60 tackles during his senior season. He also forced a pair of fumbles and recovered five.

The Hornets added four defensive backs in the signing class this year led by Ta'Ron Greenwood from Mae Jemison (Ala.) High School where he helped his team reach the playoffs. He joins Keron Jones from Oxon Hill (Md.) who also played on offense for the program, catching 27 passes for 671 yards for eight touchdowns.

Cameron Lemons (6-1, 192) defensive back from Munford (Ala.) High School joins the Hornets after finishing his senior season with 48 total tackles. He also recorded three interceptions and four pass breakups. He joins Demacus Thomas (5-11, 178) from Anniston (Ala.) High School where he finished with 60 tackles, while recording four interceptions and four blocked punts.

They join Ryan Nettles, a quarterback from Hillcrest-Evergreen, who signed with the Hornets in December after helping his team to the state championship during his junior season. They join seven transfers who joined the program in January including Duran Bell from South Florida who finished last season rushing for 156 yards on 28 carries and scoring one touchdown. The redshirt sophomore rushed for 1,081 yards on 251 carries (21 touchdowns) in three seasons at Hillsborough High School (Tampa, Fla.). Bell is one of three players who transferred from South Florida in January, joining high school teammates Naytron Culpepper and Donelle Thomas from Carol City (Fla.) High School. Culpepper recorded 21 total tackles in two seasons at South Florida as a defensive back, while Thomas made three solo tackles in eight games.

They join Caleb Rozar, a transfer from North Carolina, in the defensive backfield as a mid-year transfer and early enrollee. Rozar did not see any action with the Tar Heels after being selected to the Toyota East-West All-Star Classic in Tennessee. He was considered the No. 54 safety in the country.

The Hornets also added three local transfers from the Montgomery area in January including Jahod Booker from Memphis. Booker, a receiver from Park Crossing High School. He redshirted in 2016 on a team that went 8-5 and played in the Boca Raton Bowl. While in High School, Booker grabbed 55 catches for 1,230 yards and 16 touchdowns. He joins former Edgewood receiver Rod Boykin, who was a 12th round draft pick in 2013 before retiring from baseball this past season. His best season came in 2017 when he hit .314 in 43 games, and he also reached Double-A at one point in his career.

La'Dedric Jackson rounds out the 2019 class after transferring from Tulane in January after a redshirt year. He played linebacker at Sidney Lanier and was rated a three-star, leading the Poets to a 10-2 mark and second round appearance in 2017. He earned Class 6A honorable mention All-State honors and recorded 172 total tackles during his junior season, with 11 sacks.

Quotable
"This is an amazing class, it represents the philosophy that we have about hometown and four hours away. The caliber of talent that we have, the guys that have decided to stay home and play football; we look forward to them branding our university." – Eley on class from around the area

"You're talking about 6-7 receiver, a blazer from Lanier and a pounder from Ozark; it is an amazing class." – Eley on just the level of this class

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