Nicholls signs National Signing Day haul

What to do/not to do to get signed

February 8, 2017

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February 8, 2017

It wasn’t a huge recruiting class this year for the Nicholls football team.

But with only 18 seniors leaving the team and tons of underclassmen redshirting from stuffed recruiting years of the past, it didn’t need to be.

The Colonels announced their 2017 recruits last Wednesday, a 12-player group that is exclusively from Louisiana except for three out-of-state junior college transfers.

Colonels coach Tim Rebowe said this year’s class was focused more on quality and less on quality, adding that Nicholls assistant coaches did an excellent job identifying positions of need and getting players to fit those roles.

“We think this is a good class for Nicholls State University,” Rebowe said last week at his signing day press conference. “We think we identified and signed players who will be able to come here, be productive student-athletes and who will fit perfectly into our program as we continue to push ourselves forward in the coming years.”

The vast majority of the focus was on the offensive side of the ball – especially at the line of scrimmage.

Four of the Colonels 12 signees are offensive lineman and another is a tight end, which shows a definite emphasis on controlling the line of scrimmage in the team’s run-heavy sets.

At the high school ranks, the Colonels inked a pair of locals, signing Terrebonne’s Everett Rodrigue and Vandebilt’s Zach Trahan.

Both players were standout linemen and each are expected to fill out their bodies and climb above the 300-pound barrier by the time they enter school and get into the team’s workout program.

Rebowe said he was pleased to add a couple Houma natives in this class, calling the area a huge point of emphasis to he and his coaching staff.

“We know there are some exceptions, but our strategy is always focused on doing our best to keep the best players here,” Rebowe said. “We think both Everett and Zach are really good players and really good young men, and we think they both can give us some added size that we need at Nicholls, because we’re replacing some good players up front.”

But just in case Rodrigue and Trahan need a little added time to adjust to the speed of the college game, Rebowe covered his bases, also using the JUCO route to add a couple linemen.

The Colonels signed added Mississippians Bradston Burnside and Demetrius Gleaton through junior college transfers and both players are already enrolled in Thibodaux as mid-year signees.

Gleaton was a contributor for East Mississippi Community College, while Burnside started for East Central Community College.

Both transfers played two years of JUCO ball, and both will be juniors next season for the Colonels.

“When you look for transfers and mid-year guys, you want someone who is going to help you and have a chance to take the field pretty early in their time with your program,” Rebowe said. “They will be able to contribute and help our football team right away.”

Rounding out the Colonels offensive signees are players who will be able to make the Colonels more explosive in the passing game.

Nicholls signed two receivers, St. James standout Dontaze Costly and Karr playmaker Dai’Jean Dixon.

Costly is a big-play speed threat who has elusiveness in the open field and the ability to make players miss.

Dixon is a bigger, thicker target, standing 6-feet, 4-inches and weighing 200 pounds. In the red zone, he will likely be a big-time factor, because of his strength and ability to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage.

The Colonels also took a polished passer in this class, signing Destrehan quarterback Kohen Granier.

Granier is a two-star recruit, according to several recruiting services, including 24/7 Sports.

He chose the Colonels after also receiving offers from FBS programs South Alabama and Southern Miss.

Granier completed a modest 55-of-108 passes for 10 touchdowns on the season, but is far better than his numbers would indicate.

He missed the whole second half of the regular season and most of the playoffs with a severe knee injury.

Rebowe said he’s excited to get Granier to camp and see what he could do.

The Destrehan standout will likely open his career as a backup, because of Chase Fourcade, who was a freshman sensation in 2016, passing for 18 touchdowns and rushing for nine more.

Defensively, the Colonels took three players, signing Salmen defensive back Grid Isidore, De La Salle lineman Danquan Edwards and Chalmette lineman Hunter Bell.

Isidore is a 6-foot, 185-pound athlete who is versatile, hard-hitting and who can play multiple positions in the secondary.

Bell is a 255-pound defensive end who can rush the passer on the edge, while Edwards has some added beef and is a factor in the run game.

In special teams, Nicholls signed Lorran Fonseca from Contra Costa Community College – a player who may go down as the sleeper of the class.

Fonseca was ranked as a five-star kicker by Chris Sailer Kicking – one of the most prestigious kicker ranking entities in the country. Sailer ranked Fonseca as the No. 11 kicker in the class of 2017.

He was a standout for Contra Costa, earning All-Conference honors as a freshman, while also earning special teams MVP.

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