Memphis Football Announces 2018 Signing Class

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis head coach Mike Norvell announced the completion of the 2018 football signing class. With Wednesday's additions, the Tigers have announced a total of 24 newcomers to the roster for the 2018 season.

Jaylon Allen	LB	6-2	225	Humble, Texas/Atascocita
Keith Brigham	DL	6-3	260	Normal, Ill./Pima CC
Montre Bonner	DL	6-2	235	Raleigh, N.C./ South County HS/Fullerton CC
Keith Brown Jr.	LB	6-2	235	Madison, Miss./Madison Central/NW Miss. CC
Chris Clark	DL	6-4	255	Sardis, Miss./North Panola
Isaac Ellis	OL	6-2	310	Monroe, La./Carroll HS
Evan Fields	OL	6-5	275	Sharpsburg, Ga./East Coweta
Cameron Fleming	RB	5-9	175	Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
Kenny Gainwell	ATH	5-11	185	Yazoo City, Miss./Yazoo County
Antonio Gibson	WR	6-2	220	Stockbridge, Ga./Eagles Landing/E. Central CC
Troy Hurst	RB/WR	6-2	185	Greensburg, La./St. Helena Central
Quindell Johnson	DB	6-1	185	New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
Titus Jones	OL	6-4	265	New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
Alec Long	DB	6-0	220	Jackson, Tenn./Liberty Tech Magnet
Nyle Love	LB	6-1	225	Memphis, Tenn./Lausanne Collegiate School
Brady McBride	QB	6-0	193	Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS
Manuel Orona	OL	6-3	295	Phoenix, Ariz./Browne HS/Glendale CC
Jeremy Tate Jr.	WR	6-4	210	Columbus, Miss./New Hope
Brady White	QB	6-3	205	Newhall, Calif./Hart HS/Arizona State
Kam Wilson	LB	6-7	232	Hueytown, Ala./Hueytown HS

Late Wednesday afternoon, Memphis received four commitment letters from: Anthony Ballard (Milan, Tenn/Milan HS), Eli Jordan (Arlington, Tenn./Arlington HS), William Lawrence (Memphis, Tenn./Harding Academy) and Garrett Sapp (Memphis, Tenn./White Station HS).

Jaylon Allen // LB // 6-2 // 225 // Humble, Texas // Atascocita
Two-time first team All-District 21-6A linebacker/defensive lineman for Craig Stump at Atascocita High School … Helped lead the Eagles to a 10-2 record, a district championship and the regional finals of the state playoffs in 2017 … Finalist for the Touchdown Club of Houston's Defensive Player of the Year award … Led a defense that held opponent to single digit points in six of their twelve games, including two shutouts … Member of 2016 team that advanced to the state semifinals … Former high school teammate of current Tigers Patrick Taylor, Coye Fairman and Tre'Veon Hamilton.

Keith Brigham // DL // 6-3 // 260 // Normal, Ill./Pima CC
Named a second team all-conference defensive lineman as a freshman at Pima Community College in 2017 … Played for head coach Jim Monaco at Pima CC … Finished with a team-best six sacks and was third on the team with 79 overall tackles … Also recorded a forced fumble and a fumble recovery … Against Scottsdale Community College, had eight total tackles and two sacks … Named the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year during redshirt season at Illinois State in 2016.

Montre Bonner // DL // 6-3 // 235 // Raleigh, N.C./ South County HS/Fullerton CC
First team All-America defensive lineman at Fullerton College in 2017 … Also named All-State for the Hornets … Finished career at Fullerton College as the program's all-time leading pass-rusher with a record 25 career sacks … Led the state with 14 sacks as a sophomore in 2017, setting the school record as well … Finished with 39 tackles, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries last season … Had six games with multiple sacks … Recorded 11 sacks as a freshman in 2016 … Had 37 total tackles, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and five pass breakups during freshman season … As a senior at South County High School had nine sacks and 63 total tackles, including 20.5 tackles for loss … Finished with five sacks and 48 tackles during junior season at South County.

Keith Brown Jr. // LB // 6-3 // 235 // Madison, Miss./Madison Central/NW Miss. CC
First-team all-conference linebacker for head coach Benjy Parker at Northwest Mississippi CC in 2017 … Leading tackler for the Rangers with 94 total stops … Second on the team with six sacks and finished third with 10.5 tackles for loss … Helped the team to an 8-3 record and conference championship … Finished the season with three-straight double-digit tackle performances … Played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2016 ... Finished with 24 tackles (10 solo), 6.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a breakup … Played for head coach Brad Peterson at Madison Central ... Helped the Jaguars to a 9-6 overall record and the semifinal round of the Class 6A state playoffs ... won third in the state in powerlifting.

Chris Clark // DL // 6-4 // 255 // Sardis, Miss./North Panola
Played offensive and defensive line for head coach Carl Diffee at North Panola High School … Helped North Panola roll to a 13-1 record in 2017, with the team's only loss coming in the semifinals of the 3A State Playoffs … Blocked for an offense that racked up 3,083 passing yards and 37 touchdowns and rushed for 3,571 yards and 27 touchdowns … Also contributed 59 tackles and 4.5 sacks on defense … Served as the teams kicker as well … Competed in the Bernard Blackwell Mississippi All-Star game … As a junior, helped pave the way for the Cougar offense to roll to 2,754 rushing yards and 2,406 passing yards as a junior in 2016 … Also threw discus and shot put in high school.

Isaac Ellis // OL // 6-2 // 310 // Monroe, La. // Carroll HS
All-State offensive lineman for head coach Jackie Hamilton at Carroll High School in Monroe, La. … Helped lead Carroll to the District 2-3A championship and a 9-3 record in 2016 … Named second team USA Today All-American after outstanding junior season in 2016 … Earned 2017 All-Northeast Louisiana Big School Offensive Team honors … Named a LHSAA Class 3A All-State honoree … Paved the way for All-District running back Fantoryian Pendleton to rush for 871 yards and 13 total touchdowns in 2017.

Evan Fields // OL // 6-5 // 275 // Sharpsburg, Ga./East Coweta
Two-time first-team All-Region 2-7A and All-County offensive lineman for head coach John Small at East Coweta High School … Helped pave the way for a 1,000-yard rusher for the Indians in 2017 … As a junior in 2016, helped lead East Coweta to an 8-4 record and a spot in the playoffs … Competed in the 2016 Georgia Junior Bowl game … Also an outstanding wrestler in high school, competing for county championship team in 2016 … East Coweta is also the high school alma mater of current Tigers' punter Spencer Smith.

Cameron Fleming // RB // 5-9 // 175 // Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
Two-year varsity player for head coach Carlos Lynn at Cedar Hill High School … First team All-District 7-6A running back … Finished his career with 761 rushing yards and nine touchdowns … Averaged eight yards per rush in his career … Totaled 1,441 all-purpose yards in his career … Rushed for 354 yards and three touchdowns as a senior in 2017 … Rushed for 409 yards and six touchdowns on 41 carries as a junior in 2016 … Averaged over nine yards per carry and helped Cedar Hill to an 11-3 record and the fourth round of the state playoffs.

Kenny Gainwell // ATH // 5-11 // 185 // Yazoo City, Miss./Yazoo County
Three-year starter at quarterback for head coach Robert Dobbs at Yazoo County … The team's leading passer with 1,114 yards and 10 touchdowns and the leading rusher with 1,791 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior … Led Yazoo County to a 14-1 record and the state title game in 2017 … Named 2017 Mississippi Class 3A Mr. Football … Co-MVP of the Mississippi/Alabama High School Football All-Star Classic … During his junior season he accounted for 1,184 yards passing and 1,292 more on the ground, scoring 29 total touchdowns.

Antonio Gibson // WR // 6-2 // 220 // Stockbridge, Ga./Eagles Landing/E. Central CC
First-team all-state wide receiver for head coach Ken Karcher at East Central CC …
Caught 21 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns … Also rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown … Named to the MACJC second team all-state offense in 2016 … Finished with 29 receptions for 563 yards and nine touchdowns as a freshman … County Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at Eagles Landing in 2015 … Versatile all-purpose player who amassed 1,545 total yards and 16 touchdowns, between rushing, receiving and returns.

Troy Hurst // RB/WR // 6-2 // 185 // Greensburg, La./St. Helena Central
Played both sides of the ball in high school, playing wide receiver, running back wildcat quarterback and safety … Helped his senior team to a 2A state championship game appearance and a 12-3 record … Had 10 rushes for 63 yards and two touchdowns in state championship game and also added two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown … Had a touchdown run and an interception in the fourth quarter of the state quarterfinal game … Named an LSWA all-state honoree in his senior campaign … As a junior, led the Hawks' with 915 rushing yards and 333 receiving yards … Coached at St. Helena Central by Brandon Brown.

Quindell Johnson // DB // 6-1 // 185 // New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
Helped Edna Karr to back-to-back state championships for the first time in school history under coach Brice Brown … Helped the Karr defense hold opponents to just 14.0 points per game in the regular season and just 18.4 points per game in five playoff games … Versatile safety who was aggressive in stopping the run and teams avoided in the passing game … Also plays basketball at Edna Karr.

Titus Jones // OL // 6-4 // 265 // New Orleans, La./Edna Karr
Helped Edna Karr to back-to-back Louisiana 4A state championships … His senior squad went 14-1 overall and 4-0 in district play under coach Brice Brown in 2017 … His team averaged 39.2 points per game in the state playoffs, including a 48-26 win over second seeded Lakeshore in the championship … Jones helped his Karr teams to three state championship appearances and back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017 with his 2016 team posting a perfect 15-0 mark.

Alec Long // DB // 6-0 // 220 // Jackson, Tenn./Liberty Tech Magnet
Recorded 41 tackles, five interceptions and a forced fumble at Liberty Tech ... Helped his 2016 team to its first-ever state championship game and a 12-3 overall record under then-coach Tyler Turner … Liberty Tech advanced to the 2016 Class 3A championship game with wins over Fayette Ware, Milan, Dyersburg and Christ Presbyterian Academy … Led the area in kick return yards with 219 yards on 10 returns … Also had 225 yards and a touchdown on punt return team … Was named the All-West Tennessee Special Teams Player of the Year by the Jackson Sun … Also posted over a combined 1,000 return yards in 2015 and was named a Class 4A all-state honoree as a senior.

Nyle Love // LB // 6-1 // 225 // Memphis, Tenn./Lausanne Collegiate School
All-State linebacker for back-to-back State Champions Lausanne under head coach Kevin Locastro … Helped lead Lausanne to 27-0 record over last two seasons with two state titles … Recorded 78 total tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery as a senior … Played in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl high school all-star game … As a junior, posted 53 total tackles, one sack and four interceptions … Also played running back and had 151 rushing yards and three touchdowns … Also a two-time All-State performer in the discus at Lausanne.

Brady McBride // QB // 6-0 // 193 // Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS
Finished career 486-of-809 for 6,394 yards and 86 touchdowns in three seasons at Coppell High School under coach Mike DeWitt … Also rushed 325 times for 1,186 yards and 21 touchdowns … As a senior, passed for 2,354 yards and career-high 35 touchdowns with just three interceptions … Led Coppell to an 11-2 record and third round of the 6A state playoffs for the second-straight season … Named the District 9-6A Overall MVP as a junior after throwing for 2,616 yard and 33 touchdowns.

Manuel Orona // OL // 6-3 // 295 // Phoenix, Ariz. // Browne HS // Glendale CC
Two-time All-Conference offensive lineman at Glendale Community College … Attended Franklin Police and Fire High School while also playing football for Trevor Browne High School … Played offensive and defensive line for Browne HS and competed on the track & field team … Received one offer to play college football coming out of high school … After two seasons at Glendale, received offers from Arizona State, Kansas and Kansas State.

Jeremy Tate Jr. // WR // 6-4 // 210 // Columbus, Miss./New Hope
Prolific All-State wide receiver for coach Kris Pickle at New Hope High School … Caught a team-high 60 passes for 850 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior … Hauled in seven catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns against Shannon … As a junior, had 46 catches for 727 yards and 11 touchdowns … Had three catches for 49 yards in a win at the Mississippi/Alabama High School Football All-Star Classic … Also returned punts and kickoffs.

Brady White // QB // 6-3 // 205 // Newhall, Calif./Hart HS/Arizona State
Joins Memphis as a graduate transfer after completing his undergraduate degree in three years at Arizona State … At Hart High School, White was the second-ranked Pro-Style quarterback and the 68th ranked player in the country according to 247Sports rankings … Selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, serving as the starting quarterback for the West squad … Passed for over 10,000 yards in three seasons of varsity football at Hart High under Coach Mike Herrington, White added 101 touchdown passes and 19 rushing touchdowns, including a 3,725 yard passing season as a senior, with 45 touchdowns in 12 games.

Kam Wilson // LB // 6-7 //232 // Hueytown, Ala. // Hueytown HS
Former basketball player that played two years of high school football for coach Scott Mansell at Hueytown High School … Played defensive line/linebacker and tight end … Earned offensive player of the week recognition during the season …Named the Hueytown Gophers' Comeback Player of the Year in 2017.

Players Mentioned

Coye' Fairman

Tre'Veon Hamilton

Spencer Smith

University of Memphis Athletics