CHARLESTON, S.C. - Head coach Brent Thompson announced his 2016 signing class Wednesday at 2 p.m. For more information including in-depth bio's and highlight videos, visit The Citadel National Signing Day Central page here.

Head Coach Brent Thompson
Opening Statement
"Well it's certainly a great day to be a Citadel Bulldog. First of all, I want to thank the staff because without them this class wouldn't be possible. We signed 17 young men that we think are going to be not only great football players here but also a great addition to the Corps of Cadets. They are going to be leaders here and we are really excited to have these guys here.
 
We placed high priority on guys who were going to fit into what we wanted to do offensively so you're going to see a lot of guys who are going to probably transition to some positions but really there are a lot of guys that we think are really good football players who are going to do exactly what we want them to do. We've been here two years, we've got a good idea of offensively what we want and defensively what we want, as well as what's going to fit for the Corps of Cadets.
 
We've built this class based upon a lot of our needs. We've got some needs on the offensive side that we've addressed, we've got some needs on the defensive side that we've addressed as well as our specialists. With our kicking spot, we were able to sign a kicker and we were very fortunate for that.
 
Every signee in this class is great. They've got three state championships, they've all got postseason experience so really this is a great class that knows how to win. Overall I'm excited about these 17 young men we've added to our program."
 
On Logan Bailey
"He's a great young man, he's a local guy right up the road in Columbia, South Carolina. He's been an excellent playmaker, I think he's a winner on the field and it always helps to have a finalist for the Mr. Football South Carolina."
 
On Phil Barrett
"Phil Barrett is another one from Columbia. Extremely athletic defensive back, four-year letter winner, team captain, can't say enough good things about him and he is going to help fill our needs in the secondary."
 
On Sean Dumas
"He is a defensive back from Louisiana. We've expanded our footprint a little bit and you will notice in this class you'll see a little bit beyond where we've signed our guys from. He's another one that's going to help us. He's a bigger athletic corner that's going to help us in the secondary."
 
On Jacob Godek
"He is a kicker out of Florida and he has two field goals that are from 57 yards and 54 yards. We're excited to have that. You watch him on film and he will be able to put the ball in the end zone so he will make our kickoff team that much better."
 
On Prince Howard-Whitaker
"Another young man from the Columbia area. We've got plenty of guys from Spring Valley High School, they do a great job there and they run a very similar system on offense. He's going to be an offensive tackle for us, extremely athletic and real excited to have him and another guy out of that program come with us because everybody that we've had has really done a great job for us out of Spring Valley"
 
On Josh LeBlanc
"He is a large, big, physical, athletic wide receiver. We're going to graduate two this year and graduate two next year so we think that we've got a great need at wide receiver and we think that he can fill that spot for us. He's going to create a little bit of matchup issues on just his height alone."
 
On Drew McEntyre
"He is out of Calhoun, Georgia. He is a large bodied guy that I think is going to be a great guard for us. He's got an opportunity right away with some of the graduation at offensive line this year, I think he plays with great pad level, finishes blocks and he is everything we are looking for on the offensive line. We're happy to have him with us"
 
On Dijon Profit
"Local talent, great get for us, he played in our offensive system, we've got some guys from Goose Creek High School with us. They do a wonderful job of coaching there at Goose Creek and he's another one that's going to fill our need at wide receiver so we're extremely excited to have him."
 
On Brandon Rainey
"Brandon Rainey led his team to the 5A state championship in Georgia this year. He is a physical, tough runner, he's a great leader on and off the field, he is academically a great student. We're real excited that he's got an opportunity to come in here and help us at quarterback."
 
On Joseph Randolph II
"He's going to continue to bolster our defensive line. We had a good defensive line class last year, we're going to play him on the edge and he will give us a good size presence on the five technique. He comes from a great program as well at Jefferson High School in Georgia. "
 
On Rashad Riley
"He's right up here in Calhoun County High School in South Carolina. He's another one of our wide receivers which as you can see was a major influence this year was trying to get to those wide receivers and trying to get those guys into our program. He is going to be another one that is a great blocker, a great route runner and he's going to have some explosiveness about him."
 
On Jeremy Samuels
"He is a big run stopping linebacker who plays great in space. I think he is a tremendous football player. When he came on campus I really enjoyed his visit and I do think that he's going to fill our need at linebacker this year."
 
On Chance Steverson
"Another one of our Houston guys. We've got him in the secondary. He had seven interceptions last year. So we're really looking for him to come in and really have a chance to learn a little bit from the defensive back and then eventually get some time on the field."
 
On A.J. Stokes
"Another defensive lineman and we're going to develop him as a five technique. He is a big athletic body that we think can do some pass rushing in the long run for us. I think he's going to be a good fit."
 
On Mark Weakland
"We reestablished some of our Pennsylvania ties which I think is going to be great. He is an offensive lineman that has got a bunch of versatility, he can play offensive tackle, he can play offensive guard, he's got great feet and I love the way he finishes blocks. I really like the way that Mark plays."
 
On Raleigh Webb
"He is from the same high school as Brandon Rainey. He was part of that 5A state championship team in Georgia, he is a big safety right now. He is a 6 foot 2 safety that we are going to transition probably down and into the linebacker spot but shows great range on film and covers a lot of ground and makes a lot of tackles on film."
 
On Denzel Wright
"He is another linebacker out of Grayson. We're in the process of trying to create a little bit more athleticism up front. We're going to try and move him up, transition him up to the five technique, play a little defensive end for us and try to create a little bit more of a pass rush off the edges for him."

On the recruiting of Logan Bailey
"That relationship goes all the way back to the summertime. It was a great opportunity, I coached him here personally as a quarterback, and the young man then returned to us at a camp and played running back. He really showed a desire and really wanted to be here for a football game. We really loved everything about him and thought he was a great fit so when I took over as the head football coach I made it a priority to go and see Logan and try to make sure we got him into this class. I love him at quarterback right now, I think he's a playmaker and a leader and a winner. Those are all the things we're looking for in a quarterback and that's what excites me the most about him."
 
On putting together this class in middle of coaching change
"The staff really held this thing together. Being that we kept most of the staff in place, they had established relationships with these families, they had been in their homes so really it was just up to me to get caught up and get into these homes and reassure these families that 'hey the guy that's recruiting you right now, the guy you thought was going to coach you, he's still going to be here and the plan is still the same, The Citadel is still a great opportunity and its really going to prepare your son for the next 40 years of his life'."
 
On transition to head coach
"I think it went about as well as it could have gone. I thought it went as smooth as it possibly could but once again I give a lot of credit to our position coaches and our recruiting coaches there, they did a great job of communicating with our recruits and they did a great job of staying in contact with our recruits. They reassured those recruits during that 48 time frame where we really didn't know but reassuring those recruits after that 48 time frame that 'hey, the plan is still in place, this is a great place for you and we're all still here and committed to being here'."
 
On recruits making impact right away
"I think there's a lot that could. Sometimes you don't even know which ones are going to be there. I know where we've got a little bit of deficiencies and where we need to fill some of the gaps but really I think anyone of them because they are such a strong class could probably play for us at any moment."
 
On what positions need immediate help
"We lost two on the offensive line, we lost one on the defensive line, there's a linebacker spot so anywhere where we lost a lot of those senior-led positions we are going to have to see some guys fill in there pretty quickly. The wide receiver position we lost two but we still have some upperclassmen there that can fill in so we may be able to redshirt some of those guys but still they are going to have to play young in their career I believe."
 
On Eric Goins status
"Eric is going to continue his career with the Army as planned and that's part of the reason why we had to sign a kicker this year with Godek. But I think Godek has the opportunity to come in and win a position even though we still have some guys on the roster that could probably compete for that position as well but we will find out more probably at spring ball and camp."