The Eastern Illinois football team added 12 recruits along with one transfer on National Signing Day for the 2016 season.
The Panthers signed recruits at several positions to fill the needs of players leaving due to graduation.
This is the third recruiting class under Coach Kim Dameron, and is one that he said he is proud of.
“Our recruiting never stops, and today is just the first day of signing day, not the last,” Dameron said.
One of the biggest signings of the day was the one of Scotty Gilkey Jr., who is the son of former EIU tight end Scott Gilkey.
Gilkey Jr. is a 6’4” 225 lbs. quarterback out of Tulsa, Okla. who will be expected to compete from day one.
“When he gets here, he is going to have a chance to compete for a starting job,” Dameron said. “If he comes in here as a true freshman and wins the job, then he’ll get the job.”
Gilkey Jr. was rated as a three-star from Rivals.com, and he threw for 1700 yards and rushed for 560 yards while scoring a total of 21 touchdowns in his senior season.
His father was a tight end for Eastern when Tony Romo was the Panther’s starting quarterback.
“Gilkey Jr. is family to us and we are very excited for what he can bring to this program,” Dameron said.
Dameron has high expectations for this class to fill the needs of this team, and mentioned that everyone will compete.
“Everyone we have will compete for a starting job, because we compete every day.” Dameron said. “The one who can perform the best and do well in high pressure situations will start.”
Raymond Crittenden was another signee for the Panthers, as he comes in to help at the safety position.
Crittenden measures 6’1” and 185 lbs. and comes from Hallandale, Fla.
Crittenden helped his team in a 10-3 season during his senior year, which led to a playoff berth.
He also ran track in high school, placing fourth in the Florida Class 2A state track meet in the 300m hurdles as a junior.
Iziah Gulley is other safety that signed in this class. He comes in at 6’2” and 180 lbs.
Gulley is from Camden, Arkansas, and finished his senior season with 58 total tackles.
Gulley also had three forced fumbles and one interception. He helped his team advance to the Class 5A State Playoffs in his senior year.
The team also added the talents of three cornerbacks, in Jordan Jackson, Julian Hess, and Mark Williams.
Jackson is the second Arkansas recruit and comes in at 6’ and 165 lbs., hailing from Blytheville, Ark.
Jackson is a lock down corner that earned 5A East All-Conference honors three times in high school.
Jackson had 38 tackles and 14 pass break-ups along with one interception during his senior year.
He added some versatility by advancing to the state track meet in the 4×100 relay as a junior.
Hess is the second corner in the class, and is a local product for the Panthers.
Hess is 6’2”, 175 lbs. native of Champaign, and his mother is an instructor at Eastern.
He played both sides of the ball in high school, but will move to defense at the college level.
In his senior season, Hess had 28 catches for 571 yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 42 tackles on defense.
Mark Williams comes in at 6’ and 160 lbs. out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., playing for the cornerback position.
Williams is the son of former NFL cornerback Darryl Williams, and won back-to-back State Championships in high school.
He led his team to a 27-2 record in two years with 30 tackles, six pass break-ups, and two interceptions in his senior season.
Williams also earned honorable mention All-Broward County as a senior.
Sticking on the defensive side, the Panthers added the talents of defensive end Alex Smith.
Smith is 6’2” and 230 lbs. out of Pompano Beach, Fla., and began his career as a running back.
He switched to defensive end in his senior season, and earned All-Broward County Honors.
On the other side of the ball, the Panthers signed two offensive lineman, one running back, one tight end and one wide receiver along with the two quarterbacks.
Drew Walega comes in as a 6’6” and 275 lbs. offensive lineman out of Chicago.
Walega will help out at tackle after helping his team advance to the IHSA Class 7A playoffs as a junior.
Jason Mitchell is the other lineman in the class, and is from Indianapolis.
Mitchell is 6’6” and 330 lbs. He blocked for an offense that averaged 210 rushing yards, and 190 passing yards per game.
He also earned honorable mention All-Central Indiana Honors.
Running behind those two will be running back Darshon McCullough who comes in a 5’9” and 173 lbs.
McCullough is from Chicago and attended Marist High School.
He rushed for 614 yards and scored eight touchdowns as a senior, while splitting time as receiver as well.
While averaging 5.0 yards per carry as a senior, McCullough caught 69 passes for 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns.
According to coach Dameron, McCullough has the same mold as current EIU RB Devin Church.
“He has a very similar style of play like Church does, and you can see how well Church has done in our offense,” Dameron said.
Cole Hoover comes in to play tight end for the Panthers, and is also a local product.
Hoover played for the Charleston Trojans in high school, and is the son of late EIU offensive line coach Jeff Hoover.
He played both sides of the ball, while splitting time at linebacker.
Hoover led CHS with 62 tackles as a senior to earn All-Apollo conference honors at linebacker.
Jacob Ivey Jr. comes in listed as a 6’4” and 230 lbs. wide receiver from Memphis.
Ivey Jr. also played basketball, and was a member of the AAU Division II National Championship team during the summer.
Bud Martin is the lone transfer for the Panthers, coming in out of Florida International University.
Martin is a 6’ 214 lbs. quarterback who redshirted his 2014 season and did not play in 2015.
With Jalen Whitlow graduating, Martin will be one of the quarterbacks contending for a starting job.
Although the Panthers have a solidified recruiting class, the team is not done yet.
According to Dameron, four more recruits are coming in next weekend, and the class could continue to grow.
“Our staff went out with three objectives in terms of bringing young men into our program,” Dameron said. “Guys who could run, guys who had high character, and finally guys who have a passion to learn and earn a degree from Eastern Illinois.”
Eastern has a set standard that it looks for in a recruit and Dameron believes that is what they have in this class
“We accomplished all of those objectives with this group of players,” Dameron said.
Dameron looks to continue to build on a program that finished 7-5 last season, and ranked 23rd in the FCS Coaches Poll.
“This is the first day of signing for national letters of intent, but recruiting for us never stops and we intend to bring in a few more high-quality players to compete at EIU,” Dameron said.
Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]
