Feb. 6, 2003

Charleston, SC - There once was a day, Citadel coach Ellis Johnson said, when Bulldog recruiters would generally meet up only with Furman coaches out on the recruiting trail.

No longer.

The recruiting trail in South Carolina is getting crowded, Johnson said, making the competition for Division I-AA football talent - generally a rung below the guys Clemson and the University of South Carolina are after - increasingly difficult.

"The landscape of recruiting has changed drastically in the last few years," Johnson said Wednesday after announcing the signing of 28 players in his third recruiting class at The Citadel, including 12 from high schools in the state. "It's not just a Citadel-Furman dual meet anymore."

Johnson pointed to the hiring of former South Carolina assistant Buddy Pough at S.C. State; the start-up of football at Coastal Carolina, which signed its second recruiting class Wednesday; and the emergence of Wofford as a Southern Conference power as factors that squeeze in-state recruiting. Charleston Southern's hiring of ex-Harvard aide Jay Mills also could revitalize its recruiting.

"It was tough enough just trying to beat Furman," Johnson said. "Now we have five other Division I-AA schools in our state, many of them trying to beef up their programs. Look at Wofford: They've built a castle up there."

The Citadel also had to deal with the departure of receivers coach Joe Whitt and quarterback coach Mark Fleetwood during the recruiting season.

"That's why it's such a compliment to (recruiting coordinator) Danny Lewis and our staff that we signed the kind of class that we did," Johnson said.

Among the 12 in-state players are four who were selected to the North-South All-Star team, including 6-0, 220-pound running back Terrel Williams from Palmetto High School in Williamston, and three wide receiver/defensive backs: Robert Wells of Brookland-Cayce, Rontreal Tyler of Wagener-Salley and Waleed Rushdan of Wilson High School in Florence.

The seven defensive backs and eight defensive linemen The Citadel signed could be candidates for early playing time, as the Bulldogs are thin at those positions coming off last year's 3-9 season.

"I think we really got a good bunch of linemen and a good crop of receiver/cornerback skill guys, and a good group of linebackers," Johnson said. "Those are three areas where we are very thin and don't have a lot of bodies, so that's good."

Johnson also signed two players from Tennessee: defensive end Nick Fender and receiver Travis Gentry, who were referred to The Citadel by Vanderbilt and ex-Furman coach Bobby Johnson.

"They were right on the edge of Vanderbilt's list, and they even said they might come back and pick up the lineman," Ellis Johnson said. "They were two outstanding players we were able to pick up. Fender is a guy we think was very overlooked and has a chance to be an outstanding Southern Conference lineman."

The Bulldogs also signed Orangeburg-Wilkinson linebacker Ral-eigh Jackson, the son of former Burke High coach Raleigh Jackson (now at Scott's Branch); lineman Clay Carter, who blocked for running back Demetris Summers at Lexington; and running back Marcus Brown of Camden Military Academy. Brown (5-10, 220) originally signed in 2001.

Johnson said Brown, Williams and 6-0, 225-pound fullback Nuru Goodrum of Fayetteville, N.C., all will compete for playing time behind starters Porter Johnson at fullback and Nehemiah Broughton at tailback.

The Citadel also signed two quarterbacks: 6-4, 210-pound Charlie Brooks of Alexander City, Ala., and 6-2, 210-pound John Esther of Dunwoody (Ga.) High School. Both made all-state teams, and Brooks also played defense.

The class also includes six players from Georgia, three from Alabama, two from New Jersey and one each from North Carolina and Virginia.