national signing day
NATIONAL SIGNING DAY Nic Baker Beau Branyan Chance Bush Jacob Garrett David Grenia Brett Groves Oliver McDowell Brody Parker Rico Payton Austin Reed Jaden Roberts-Thomas Miguel Rodriguez Justin Strong Jacob Traxler Jimmy Wormsley
QB OL CB TE WR OL LB TE CB QB WR DL S DE OL
5-10 6-5 5-10 6-2 6-3 6-5 6-2 6-6 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-0 6-4 6-3
180 265 176 230 210 305 200 235 180 210 200 223 191 225 296
Rochester, Ill. / Rochester HS Decatur, Ill. / St. Teresa HS Apopka, Fla. / Apopka HS Sellersburg, Ind. / Silver Creek HS St. Louis, Mo. / Lindbergh HS Cary, Ill. / Cary-Grove HS East St. Louis, Ill. / East St. Louis HS Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs South HS St. Louis, Mo. / Lindbergh HS St. Augustine Beach, Fla. / St. Augustine HS Champaign, Ill. / Centennial HS Viera, Fla. / Viera HS Fairview Heights, Ill. / Althoff Catholic HS Eldorado, Ill. / Eldorado HS Carpentersville, Ill. / Jacobs HS
2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
NIC BAKER
BEAU BRANYAN
CAREER NOTES: 2017 Champaign News-Gazette Player of the Year ... 2017 Deep Dish Football Player of the Year ... Threw for 3,900 yards and had a 54:2 touchdown-tointerception ratio ... Went 27-1 combined as a junior and senior and won two Class 4A state championships ... Also recorded 12 rushing touchdowns ... IHSFCA 4A All-State selection and CS8 All-Conference honoree ... Also an AllConference and All-Metro baseball player.
CAREER NOTES: Two-time All-Conference selection and a 2017 All-State honoree ... Led team to 21-4 record during junior and senior seasons, including a 2016 1A state championship game appearance ... Also played basketball.
CHANCE BUSH
JACOB GARRETT
5-10 // 180 // QB Rochester, Ill. // Rochester HS
6-5 // 265 // OL Decatur, Ill. // St. Teresa HS
5-10 // 176 // CB Apopka, Fla. // Apopka, Fla.
6-2 // 230 // TE Sellersburg, Ind. // Silver Creek HS
CAREER NOTES: Played in the Central Florida All-Star game ... Intercepted 14 career passes ... Ranked in Central Florida’s Super 60 by the Orlando Sentinel ... Rated No. 2 FCS-committed player in central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel ... All-District honoree by the Orlando Sentinel.
CAREER NOTES: Four-time All-Conference honoree ... Three-time first-team All-Area honoree ... Two-time team MVP ... Piled up 3,752 career yards of total offense and 33 career touchdowns (25 rushing, 6 receiving, 2 passing) ... Led Silver Creek HS to the sectional championship and to a nine-win season for the first time in school history ... Set school records for career rushing yards and career total yards at Silver Creek HS ... Academic All-State honoree and a member of the National Honor Society.
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
DAVID GRENIA
BRETT GROVES
CAREER NOTES: Two-time All-District wide receiver ... Also earned All-District honors as a linebacker ... Holds school record for single-season receiving yards and receiving touchdowns ... Third in school history for career receptions ... Had 1,840 career receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns ... Also participated in lacrosse and was the team’s defensive MVP.
CAREER NOTES: Earned a spot on the St. Louis Post Dispatch Super-30 team as one of the top-30 prospects in the St. Louis area ... Two-star prospect by Scout.com ... Two-time All-State, three-time All-Metro, All-City and All-Conference honoree ... Great Lakes Region MaxPreps/USA Football Player of the Week (9/9/15) ... Also played basketball and baseball ... Honor roll student, student council member and ACE Student Ambassador.
TREMAYNE LEE
OLIVER MCDOWELL
CAREER NOTES: Three-star recruit by 247sports.com ... Top committed FCS prospect in the state of Illinois by 247Sports ... 2016 All-State honoree after leading team to the state championship game ... Team went 13-1 in 2016 and 9-3 in 2017 ... Two-time All-Conference honoree ... 2016 All-Metro Player of the Year ... Holds school records for touchdowns and is second in conference history in career rushing yardage.
CAREER NOTES: First-team All-Conference honoree by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ... Piled up 102 tackles and 13 sacks ... Quad City All-Metro honoree as a running back at Rock Island in 2016 ... Also earned a spot on the Metro Football All-Star team from the Rock Island Dispatch-Argus in 2016.
6-3 // 210 // WR St. Louis, Mo. // Lindbergh HS
5-11 // 225 // LB Cary, Ill. // Cary-Grove HS
5-10 // 195 // RB Springfield, Ill. // Sacred Heart-Griffin
6-2 // 200 // LB East St. Louis, Ill. // East St. Louis HS
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
BRODY PARKER
RICO PAYTON
6-6 // 235 // TE Blue Springs, Mo. // Blue Springs South HS
6-2 // 180 // CB St. Louis, Mo. // Lindbergh
CAREER NOTES: Invited to play in the Blue-Grey AllAmerican game in Dallas at AT&T Stadium ... Four-year starter ... Won a state championship playing linebacker during sophomore season ... Switched to quarterback as a junior and set a single-game passing record with 393 yards ... As a senior threw for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing three games ... Honor roll student.
CAREER NOTES: First-team All-Conference, All-District and All-State ... Set a school record for single-season touchdowns at Lindbergh HS (29) ... Also set a record for most rushing touchdowns in a season (18) ... Led team to an 11-2 record as a senior ... Also was an All-Conference basketball player and a state qualifier in track and field ... Earned a gold certificate for a 4.0 GPA as a junior.
AUSTIN REED
JADEN ROBERTS-THOMAS
CAREER NOTES: Threw for 2,925 yards as a senior ... Also threw for 34 touchdowns and had three rushing TDs ... 2017 Class 6A District 6 Player of the Year by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association ... First-team All-District QB by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association ... Named a TimesUnion Super 24 recruit, given to the top recruits in Northeast Florida ... Finished third for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Player of the Year award ... Offensive MVP of the North vs. South All-Star Classic game.
CAREER NOTES: All-Conference selection ... All-Area honoree as a wide receiver by the Champaign News-Gazette ... Piled up more than 1,500 career receiving yards ... Also played quarterback for Centennial during the 2017 season.
6-2 // 210 // QB St. Augustine Beach, Fla. / St. Augustine HS
6-4 // 200 // WR Champaign, Ill. // Centennial HS
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ
JUSTIN STRONG
6-3 // 223 // DL Viera, Fla. // Viera HS
6-0 // 191 // S Fairview Heights, Ill. // Althoff Catholic HS
CAREER NOTES: Invited to the Blue-Grey All-American game played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas ... Totaled 244 tackles, 52 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and two blocked kicks in high school ... 2016 7A All-State selection by the Associated Press ... Invited to the East-West All-Star game.
CAREER NOTES: Illinois Coaches Association All-State honoree as a senior ... Three-time All-Area, All-City, and AllConference selection ... Althoff Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 ... Ran for 978 yards and 11 touchdowns on 76 carries ... Led team with six interceptions and recorded 43 tackles (35 solo) ... Honor Roll student who is involved in FCA, the Engineering Club, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters program ... Younger brother of SIU linebacker Bryson Strong.
JACOB TRAXLER
JIMMY WORMSLEY
CAREER NOTES: All-State honoree and Conference MVP as a senior ... Four-time All-Conference and two-time All-South selection ... Honor roll student and earned Academic All-State honors ... Also participated in basketball, baseball, and track and field ... Led team to two conference championships.
CAREER NOTES: Earned 7A All-State honors from the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association and the Champaign News-Gazette ... Led team to the 2016 7A state playoff quarterfinals ... Academic All-State honoree ... Threetime All-Area selection and two-time All-Conference honoree ... Started 41 consecutive games over four years.
6-4 // 225 // DE Eldorado, Ill. // Eldorado HS
6-3 // 296 // OL Carpentersville, Ill. // Jacobs HS
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QB OL CB TE WR OL LB TE CB QB WR DL S DE OL
5-10 6-5 5-10 6-2 6-3 6-5 6-2 6-6 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-0 6-4 6-3
180 265 176 230 210 305 200 235 180 210 200 223 191 225 296
Rochester, Ill. / Rochester HS Decatur, Ill. / St. Teresa HS Apopka, Fla. / Apopka HS Sellersburg, Ind. / Silver Creek HS St. Louis, Mo. / Lindbergh HS Cary, Ill. / Cary-Grove HS East St. Louis, Ill. / East St. Louis HS Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs South HS St. Louis, Mo. / Lindbergh HS St. Augustine Beach, Fla. / St. Augustine HS Champaign, Ill. / Centennial HS Viera, Fla. / Viera HS Fairview Heights, Ill. / Althoff Catholic HS Eldorado, Ill. / Eldorado HS Carpentersville, Ill. / Jacobs HS
2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
NIC BAKER
BEAU BRANYAN
CAREER NOTES: 2017 Champaign News-Gazette Player of the Year ... 2017 Deep Dish Football Player of the Year ... Threw for 3,900 yards and had a 54:2 touchdown-tointerception ratio ... Went 27-1 combined as a junior and senior and won two Class 4A state championships ... Also recorded 12 rushing touchdowns ... IHSFCA 4A All-State selection and CS8 All-Conference honoree ... Also an AllConference and All-Metro baseball player.
CAREER NOTES: Two-time All-Conference selection and a 2017 All-State honoree ... Led team to 21-4 record during junior and senior seasons, including a 2016 1A state championship game appearance ... Also played basketball.
CHANCE BUSH
JACOB GARRETT
5-10 // 180 // QB Rochester, Ill. // Rochester HS
6-5 // 265 // OL Decatur, Ill. // St. Teresa HS
5-10 // 176 // CB Apopka, Fla. // Apopka, Fla.
6-2 // 230 // TE Sellersburg, Ind. // Silver Creek HS
CAREER NOTES: Played in the Central Florida All-Star game ... Intercepted 14 career passes ... Ranked in Central Florida’s Super 60 by the Orlando Sentinel ... Rated No. 2 FCS-committed player in central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel ... All-District honoree by the Orlando Sentinel.
CAREER NOTES: Four-time All-Conference honoree ... Three-time first-team All-Area honoree ... Two-time team MVP ... Piled up 3,752 career yards of total offense and 33 career touchdowns (25 rushing, 6 receiving, 2 passing) ... Led Silver Creek HS to the sectional championship and to a nine-win season for the first time in school history ... Set school records for career rushing yards and career total yards at Silver Creek HS ... Academic All-State honoree and a member of the National Honor Society.
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
DAVID GRENIA
BRETT GROVES
CAREER NOTES: Two-time All-District wide receiver ... Also earned All-District honors as a linebacker ... Holds school record for single-season receiving yards and receiving touchdowns ... Third in school history for career receptions ... Had 1,840 career receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns ... Also participated in lacrosse and was the team’s defensive MVP.
CAREER NOTES: Earned a spot on the St. Louis Post Dispatch Super-30 team as one of the top-30 prospects in the St. Louis area ... Two-star prospect by Scout.com ... Two-time All-State, three-time All-Metro, All-City and All-Conference honoree ... Great Lakes Region MaxPreps/USA Football Player of the Week (9/9/15) ... Also played basketball and baseball ... Honor roll student, student council member and ACE Student Ambassador.
TREMAYNE LEE
OLIVER MCDOWELL
CAREER NOTES: Three-star recruit by 247sports.com ... Top committed FCS prospect in the state of Illinois by 247Sports ... 2016 All-State honoree after leading team to the state championship game ... Team went 13-1 in 2016 and 9-3 in 2017 ... Two-time All-Conference honoree ... 2016 All-Metro Player of the Year ... Holds school records for touchdowns and is second in conference history in career rushing yardage.
CAREER NOTES: First-team All-Conference honoree by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ... Piled up 102 tackles and 13 sacks ... Quad City All-Metro honoree as a running back at Rock Island in 2016 ... Also earned a spot on the Metro Football All-Star team from the Rock Island Dispatch-Argus in 2016.
6-3 // 210 // WR St. Louis, Mo. // Lindbergh HS
5-11 // 225 // LB Cary, Ill. // Cary-Grove HS
5-10 // 195 // RB Springfield, Ill. // Sacred Heart-Griffin
6-2 // 200 // LB East St. Louis, Ill. // East St. Louis HS
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
BRODY PARKER
RICO PAYTON
6-6 // 235 // TE Blue Springs, Mo. // Blue Springs South HS
6-2 // 180 // CB St. Louis, Mo. // Lindbergh
CAREER NOTES: Invited to play in the Blue-Grey AllAmerican game in Dallas at AT&T Stadium ... Four-year starter ... Won a state championship playing linebacker during sophomore season ... Switched to quarterback as a junior and set a single-game passing record with 393 yards ... As a senior threw for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing three games ... Honor roll student.
CAREER NOTES: First-team All-Conference, All-District and All-State ... Set a school record for single-season touchdowns at Lindbergh HS (29) ... Also set a record for most rushing touchdowns in a season (18) ... Led team to an 11-2 record as a senior ... Also was an All-Conference basketball player and a state qualifier in track and field ... Earned a gold certificate for a 4.0 GPA as a junior.
AUSTIN REED
JADEN ROBERTS-THOMAS
CAREER NOTES: Threw for 2,925 yards as a senior ... Also threw for 34 touchdowns and had three rushing TDs ... 2017 Class 6A District 6 Player of the Year by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association ... First-team All-District QB by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association ... Named a TimesUnion Super 24 recruit, given to the top recruits in Northeast Florida ... Finished third for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Player of the Year award ... Offensive MVP of the North vs. South All-Star Classic game.
CAREER NOTES: All-Conference selection ... All-Area honoree as a wide receiver by the Champaign News-Gazette ... Piled up more than 1,500 career receiving yards ... Also played quarterback for Centennial during the 2017 season.
6-2 // 210 // QB St. Augustine Beach, Fla. / St. Augustine HS
6-4 // 200 // WR Champaign, Ill. // Centennial HS
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2018 SALUKI FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ
JUSTIN STRONG
6-3 // 223 // DL Viera, Fla. // Viera HS
6-0 // 191 // S Fairview Heights, Ill. // Althoff Catholic HS
CAREER NOTES: Invited to the Blue-Grey All-American game played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas ... Totaled 244 tackles, 52 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and two blocked kicks in high school ... 2016 7A All-State selection by the Associated Press ... Invited to the East-West All-Star game.
CAREER NOTES: Illinois Coaches Association All-State honoree as a senior ... Three-time All-Area, All-City, and AllConference selection ... Althoff Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 ... Ran for 978 yards and 11 touchdowns on 76 carries ... Led team with six interceptions and recorded 43 tackles (35 solo) ... Honor Roll student who is involved in FCA, the Engineering Club, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters program ... Younger brother of SIU linebacker Bryson Strong.
JACOB TRAXLER
JIMMY WORMSLEY
CAREER NOTES: All-State honoree and Conference MVP as a senior ... Four-time All-Conference and two-time All-South selection ... Honor roll student and earned Academic All-State honors ... Also participated in basketball, baseball, and track and field ... Led team to two conference championships.
CAREER NOTES: Earned 7A All-State honors from the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association and the Champaign News-Gazette ... Led team to the 2016 7A state playoff quarterfinals ... Academic All-State honoree ... Threetime All-Area selection and two-time All-Conference honoree ... Started 41 consecutive games over four years.
6-4 // 225 // DE Eldorado, Ill. // Eldorado HS
6-3 // 296 // OL Carpentersville, Ill. // Jacobs HS
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