FLORENCE, Ala — University of North Alabama head football coach Chris Willis has announced the signing of 16 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent with the Lions on National Signing Day.
Willis and the Lions added 12 high school signees and four transfers. The group includes 12 signees on the offensive side and four on defense, with the addition of six offensive linemen, four receivers, two defensive linemen, two linebackers, one quarterback and one tight end.
North Alabama previously added nine high school signees and nine transfers during the early signing period, giving UNA a total 2022 class of 21 high school signees and 13 transfers.
"Recruiting felt a lot different this year than it has in the past," said Willis. "When we were still in transition to Division I, recruiting was very difficult. This is the first year that we can tell recruits that they can compete for the NCAA Playoffs. We also have more coaches than we have had in the past, so we had more feet on the ground. Construction has already begun on our new lockerroom, and the recruits could see that, and we will also be competing in a new conference this year, playing in the ASUN for the first time.
"It is a lot of positive things that have come together, and I feel like a lot more folks were interested in us that weren't in the past," Willis added. "This class reminds me of Coach (Bobby) Wallace's first class when he came back to UNA in 2012. It's a big class with a lot of promising young student-athletes, and I am proud of the job our coaches did."
Willis said he wants to continue to build the program's foundation with high school signees, and noted that 17 of the 21 freshmen in the signing class are from the state of Alabama. The majority of the transfers are also coming from two-year colleges.
The National Signing Day class is headlined by the addition of quarterback Noah Walters (6-1, 190) of Lincoln, Neb., who was Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Nebraska Football in 2021. He was also a two-time first-team Super State selection. As a senior, he set Class A records for most passing yards (3,382) and per-game average (338.2 yards per game)
UNA's class of offensve line signees includes freshmen Denzel Holder (6-4, 320) of Huffman High School in Birmingham, Ala., Raykwon Goldthwaite (6-8, 310) of Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Ala., Amir Graham (6-0, 285) of Escambia High School in Pensacola, Fla., and Kaden Young (6-4, 290) of Madison Academy in Madison, Ala. Transfer additions to the offensive line are Fau Taivai (6-3, 330) of Melbourne, Australia, who played at New Mexico Military Academy, and Stevie Young (6-5, 305) of Ft. Smith, Ark., who played at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
The receiving group includes Tylen Campbell (5-11, 180) of Jackson High School in Jackson, Ala., Jakobie Hurley (6-5, 190) of Florence High School in Florence, Ala., Demarcus Lacey (6-0, 185) of Pleasant Grove High School in Birmingham, Ala., and Nikki Taylor of Luverne High School in Luverne, Ala.
UNA's newest signee at tight end is transfer Jalen Hercules (6-4, 230) of Oakland, Calif., who played at Laney College.
On the defensive side, UNA added freshmen linemen Javen Augustus (6-4, 220) of Montgomery Catholic High School in Montgomert, Ala., and Corey Clark (6-4, 290) of Minor High School in Adamsville, Ala.
UNA's linebacking additions are freshmen Garrick Ponder (6-3, 225) of Pinellas Park High School in Largo, Fla., and transfer Shaun Myers (6-2, 220) of Nelsonville, Ohio, who played at Hocking Technical College.
Willis said the Lions plan to still add three to four signees on either side of the ball.
