BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford Football program has announced the signing of 18 student-athletes for its 2012 signing class, head coach Pat Sullivan announced on Wednesday.
This year's class, the sixth for Sullivan and his coaching staff, includes 11 offensive players and seven players on the defensive side. In the class are six players from the state of Alabama, six from Florida, five from Georgia and one from Mississippi.
"We are excited about our 2012 signing class, every one of them," Sullivan said. "As we head into our fifth year in the SoCon, each year without question the quality of our recruiting class has improved. All you have to do is look at this year's class, they are of strong character, academic ability, as well as athleticism. We have signed players out of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. We will always start with our recruiting base here in Alabama.
"Our coaches have worked hard and have done a wonderful job of finding the players, traveling the state and the Southeast," Sullivan said. "They have developed relationships with the high school coaches, the players and their families, showing them what Samford has to offer. We know when they visit Samford they are impressed with what they see and what they feel.
Below is a short biography on each of Samford's 2012 signees.
ARMANDO BONHEUR OL, 6-4, 278, Orange Park, Fla. (Fleming Island HS)
Armando Bonheur was named second team All-First Coast by the Florida Times-Union ... He was voted team captain and Best Offensive Lineman for the 2011-2012 season ... He was also named first team All-Conference ... Bonheur was a two-star Rivals.com recruit ... He was selected to the 2012 Florida vs. Georgia Border Wars High School All-Star Game ... He graded out at 90 percent or better for seven games, and 86 percent for the season.
CODY BROOKS DB, 6-2, 200, Kellyton, Ala. (Benjamin Russell HS)
Cody Brooks was named to the All-Outlook team in both 2010 and 2011 ... He was also a two-time team captain and Best Defensive Back ... He was named Player of the Week for his area as a junior for his performance against Wetumpka and as a senior for his performance against Prattville ... For his career, he tallied 125 tackles, five interceptions and 15 pass break-ups ... He also played basketball, leading his team in rebounding in 2010 ... Brooks is a member of the Junior Ambassadors and National Honor Society ... He is also involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
GORDON CROZIER OL, 6-1, 270, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Gordon Crozier played center and guard for the two-time state and national champion St. Thomas Aquinas teams in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ... He was named the captain of his team's offensive line ... He was named All-Broward County ... Crozier was the starting center in the Under Armour Broward vs. Dade All-Star Game ... He was also a two-year captain for the school's track team, throwing the discus as the top thrower in the state of Florida.
AMOS HARPER H-Back, 6-1, 230, Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stephenson HS)
Amos Harper was a two-year starter for a team that lost a combined three games at Stephenson High School, including a 9-1 record in 2011 ... He was named second team All-DeKalb County and he participated in the DeKalb County All-Star Game as a senior ... He was a three-time member of the DeKalb County All-Academic team ... As a sophomore and junior, he played fullback, tight end and linebacker, but moved to offensive guard as a senior ... Harper also competed in track, finishing second in the 5A state shot put, and fourth in his region in the discus as a junior.
JOSH KIMBERLIN DB, 6-1, 195, Olive Branch, Miss. (Southern Baptist Education Center)
Josh Kimberlin was named All-State in Tennessee, and All-Mid-South as a senior at Southern Baptist Education Center ... He was also a finalist for Tennessee's Mr. Football award, and was named AutoZone Liberty Bowl All-Star ... Kimberlin was named Player of the Year for Div. II A West District I ... He was named to the Memphis Commercial Appeal's Best of the Preps list ... Kimberlin had 54 tackles, and he returned 21 kickoffs for 597 yards as a senior ... He also played quarterback in high school and is in the top four in Tennessee history for rushing yards by a quarterback ... As a junior, he was named his school's Athlete of the Year.
JAKE KINGREE DL, 6-4, 225, Johns Creek, Ga. (Chattahoochee HS)
Jake Kingree helped lead Chattahoochee High School to the 2010 state championship in Georgia ... He was named first team All-Metro, All-Area and All-Region ... He was also named team captain and North Fulton Defensive Player of the Year ... For his senior year, Kingree posted 130 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.
RYAN MYLES WR, 5-11, 185, Mobile, Ala. (St. Paul's Episcopal)
Ryan Myles was the leading receiver at St. Paul's Episcopal School in 2010 and 2011 ... He set a school record, averaging 16.78 yards per reception ... Myles helped lead the Saints to back-to-back Region 1 Championships in 5A, posting a combined record of 22-4 ... He was named a team captain as a senior ... He finished his final high school season with 46 receptions for 704 yards and nine touchdowns.
EMMANUEL OBAJIMI WR, 6-1, 185, Miramar, Fla. (Everglades HS)
Emmanuel Obajimi was named All-Dade County at Everglades High School ... He was also named Dade County Offensive Player of the Week three times ... Obajimi was selected for the Dade County North vs. South All-Star Game ... For his senior season, he tallied 42 receptions for 614 yards and 10 touchdowns.
TONNE OSAIGBOVO LB, 6-0, 210, Kennesaw, Ga. (Harrison HS)
Tonne Osaigbovo was a two-time All-Cobb County selection at Harrison High School ... He was a three-time Defensive Player of the Week as a senior ... He was also selected to play in the Cobb County All-Star Senior Bowl ... For his career, he tallied 164 tackles, including 78 solo stops ... He also had five sacks, seven interceptions and five forced fumbles.
TONY PHILPOT H-Back, 6-3, 250, Opelika, Ala. (Opelika HS)
Tony Philpot prepped at Opelika High School ... He had eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown last season ... He graded out as a dominating blocker, playing his first season as an H-Back in 2011 ... He also competes in track and field and is expected to compete for the state title in the discus and shot put.
GAVIN SINCLAIR WR, 5-11, 165, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Gavin Sinclair played on the two-time state and national championship teams at St. Thomas Aquinas High School ... He was named to the Broward County All-Star team ... Sinclair was selected for the South Florida Private vs. Public All-Star Game ... He caught 25 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as a senior ... He also returned nine punts for 178 yards and a touchdown ... For his career, Sinclair had 35 receptions ... He tallied 759 career all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns.
MITCHELL SMITH DL, 6-4, 258, Doraville, Ga. (Sequoyah HS)
Mitchell Smith was named to the Cherokee Tribune's All-County team as both a junior and a senior ... As a senior, he was named Cherokee County Gridiron Defensive Lineman of the Year, and he was named to the Cherokee Tribune Super Six ... He was also named Team MVP and he won the Sequoyah Iron Man award as a senior ... Smith was named first-team All-Region for Region 7-AAAA, and he won his team's Defensive Line Award as a junior ... He tallied 87 tackles and six sacks as a senior, and 151 tackles and 12 sacks for his high school career.
KHALIL STINSON
WR, 6-1, 196, Atlanta, Ga. (Westlake HS)
Khalil Stinson was named first team All-Region as a senior at Westlake High School in Atlanta ... In his senior season, Stinson caught 55 passes for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns ... He also participated in the Senior Bowl All-Star Game following his senior season ... As a junior, Stinson had 38 catches for 621 yards and eight touchdowns at North Clayton High School ... He was named first team All-Region as a junior ... For his sophomore season, he had 29 catches for 401 yards and five touchdowns ... He had 15 receptions for 221 yards and four touchdowns in his freshman season ... For his career, Stinson caught 137 passes for 1,963 yards and 27 touchdowns.
ANDY SUMMERLIN QB, 6-5, 225, Apopka, Fla. (University of Memphis)
Andy Summerlin comes to Samford after two seasons at the University of Memphis ... In his first season at Memphis, he missed the season with an injury ... In 2011, he completed 45-of-94 passes for 469 yards, playing in five games, including two starts ... He played one season at Coffeyville Community College...He led his team to a 7-4 record in 2009...Coffeyville finished the season ranked 12th nationally in the final NJCAA poll ... Summerlin set a new school record for passing yards in a season with 2,302 yards in 2009 ... He tied the school record for completions in a single game with 32 ... He was named first-team All-Conference and he earned the team's Most Valuable Player award ... He prepped at Apopka High School ... As a senior, he passed for over 1,000 yards and rushed for nearly 500 yards.
BEN TAMBURELLO III OL, 6-2, 285, Hoover, Ala. (Spain Park HS)
Ben Tamburello III was a four-year contributor to the Spain Park football team ... He was a member of three state playoff teams, and was the only offensive lineman to start every game his senior season ... Tamburello earned All-Metro and All-Over the Mountain honors as a junior and senior ... He was also a member of the Reebok All-Alabama team, and a selection to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic this past season ... He was ranked the number 14 center in the nation by Scout.com.
BRANDON TEELING DL, 6-3, 260, Seffner, Fla. (Armwood HS)
Brandon Teeling helped lead Armwood High School to a state championship in Florida in 2011 ... He was named All-Conference for the Western Conference following his senior season ... Teeling was also named third-team All-Big Country preps and honorable mention All-Hillsborough County ... He was named Academic All-Conference for the Sunshine Academic Conference ... He won the Class 6A Scholar Athlete Award.
JAKE WILKS RB, 5-7, 175, Trussville, Ala. (Hewitt-Trussville HS)
Jake Wilks was named team captain as a senior at Hewitt-Trussville High School ... He rushed for 810 yards (6.2 ypc.) as a senior ... He also caught 13 passes for 150 yards and returned 12 kicks for 353 yards ... Wilks finished with 1,313 all-purpose yards in 2011 ... He scored 16 touchdowns as a senior and 21 for his high school career ... He was named Scholar-Athlete of the Week and ABC 33/40 Athlete of the Week during his senior campaign ... He has maintained a 4.1 grade-point average and is a member of the National Honor Society.
DENZEL WILLIAMS DB, 5-10, 185, Columbiana, Ala. (Shelby County HS)
Denzel Williams was a two-time team captain at Shelby County High School ... As a senior, he won the Racehorse Award and Strong Man Award for his team ... He was named first team All-Shelby County as a running back for his junior season ... He won his team's Versatility Award as a junior and the Iron Man Award as a sophomore ... He was named an Over the Mountain Touchdown Club Player of the Week during his sophomore season ... He started on both offense and defense for three seasons ... For his career, Williams rushed for over 3,000 yards.
