LA Tech announces 19 early signees to 2020 football class

RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech football program got a glimpse its bright future ahead, beginning early Wednesday morning, as the Bulldog coaching staff inked a total of 19 signees to National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day.

“Today is such a great day because we have an opportunity to celebrate 19 players that have signed to be a part of the Louisiana Tech football program,” head coach Skip Holtz remarked. “This is one of the best classes we’ve been able to put together since we’ve been here. 11 of our 19 players in this class are from the state of Louisiana, which we continue to emphasize. Out of the 19 players, 4 are from junior college who are expected to fill immediate needs and bring immediate help to our roster.”

Overall, the Bulldogs signed 10 players on the defensive side of the ball and nine on offense in a balanced 19-person class.

The first National Letter of Intent came in at 7:06 a.m. followed quickly by three others as defensive lineman Ben Bell (Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park High School), defensive lineman Dontrell Cobbs (West Monroe, La./West Monroe High School), cornerback Cedric Woods (Monroe, La./Carroll High School) and wide receiver CJ McWilliams (Haughton, La./Haughton High School).

“We are going to continue to build for the 2020 season as we move forward after the dust settles from this early period,” Holtz added. “There are two signing periods for a reason. I couldn’t be more excited about this class. I cannot compliment this staff enough with the job they’ve done in developing relationships and selling the university in such a positive light. I’m very appreciative of them and the job they’ve done.”

With the first four signees in, the staff waited just 10 minutes before seven more talented players signed their national letters to become a part of the Bulldog family.

Linebacker Tyler Grubbs (New Orleans, La./Holy Cross High School), offensive lineman Jerren Gilbert (Lake Charles, La./Sam Houston High School), offensive lineman Dakota White (Katy, Texas/Katy High School), quarterback JD Head (Pearland, Texas/Pearland High School), wide receiver Tre Harris (Lafayette, La./Comeaux High School), linebacker Joseph Mason (Shreveport, La./Green Oaks High School) and offensive lineman Bert Hale (Epps, La./Oak Grove High School).

With the class sitting at 11 signees before 8:00 a.m. CT, the coaching staff announced the addition of junior college transfer linebacker Joren Dickey, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who last played at Trinity Valley Community College.

In the 8:00 hour, the ‘Dogs covered both sides of the ball, as defensive back Damon McFarland (New Orleans, La./St. Augustine High School) and offensive lineman Michael Gause (Byhalia, Miss./Hinds Community College) both signed on the dotted line, bringing the class up to 14 players.

Between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., the Bulldogs saw three in-state signees in running back Harlan Dixon (Slidell, La./Slidell High School), defensive lineman Keveion’ta Spears (Baton Rouge, La./McKinley High School) and offensive lineman Xavier Guy (West Monroe, La./Tyler Junior College) stay in their home states to play collegiately.

The final signee of the morning came in transfer cornerback Jemaurian Jones, a native of Bogue Chito, Mississippi, who last played for Copiah-Lincoln Community College after spending his freshman season at Southern Miss.

Linebacker Kershawn Fisher (Slidell, La./Northshore High School) announced his signing just after 12 p.m., rounding out Tech’s 19-man class.

The Bulldogs will head to Shreveport to play ACC-foe Miami in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl on Dec. 26 at Independence Stadium at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now on latechsports.com/tickets. Fans can also purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at (318) 257-3631 or visiting in person at the Thomas Assembly Center between the hours of 8:30-5:30, Monday – Friday. The ticket office will also be open for bowl game sales during upcoming basketball games through halftime.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow Louisiana Tech on social media at @LATechFB (Twitter), /LATechFootball (Facebook) and @LATechFB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.