Jacksonville State signed 25 football players on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period for the Class of 2026.
Among the Gamecocks’ signees are 10 in-state players and 15 from out-of-state. All 25 of JSU’s signees were out of the high school ranks.
Of the in-state players were three from the Northeast Alabama area: Jacksonville Christian quarterback Noah Lee, Gadsden City defensive back Ty Sims and Piedmont wide receiver Rollie Pinto. The Gamecocks also signed two players from Central Phenix City’s powerhouse program: linebacker/defensive back Brennan Core and linebacker Tristan Lyles.
Jax State’s class is ranked second in Conference USA by 247 Sports. On3/Rivals rates the Gamecocks’ class fourth among 12 teams in CUSA.
“Our staff did an unbelievable job,” JSU coach Charles Kelly said. “I think we got some very productive players. But the thing I’m most proud of, all these guys come from winning programs. … I think recruiting winners is important because we have that sign in our locker room — ‘win.’ So if you’ve won before, that means you understand the sacrifices that it takes to be successful. Character evaluation and competitive character evaluation is a huge thing for us and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Piedmont wide receiver Rollie Pinto signed with Jacksonville State on Wednesday as part of the 2025 recruiting class. Bill Wilson, The Anniston Star
Among the out-of-state signees, the most prominent is probably defensive back Rodarion Jones of North Florida Christian High School in Tallahassee. Jones was seriously recruited by the likes of Miami, Florida and Oklahoma at various points during the process before landing with the Gamecocks.
JSU also signed quarterback Donovan Moorhead of the Hawken School in Akron, Ohio. He is the son of Akron head coach Joe Moorhead, who was previously head coach at Mississippi State.
Jax State finished the 2025 regular season at 8-4, tied for first place in Conference USA. The Gamecocks will host Kennesaw State for the CUSA title on Friday night.
JSU can still add more players to its 2026 class in the late signing period, which begins Feb. 4.
Here’s Jacksonville State’s complete 2026 December signing class:
Javan Allison, DB, Miami, Fla./Norland HS
Mario Alloway, LB, Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Choctawhatchee HS
Tim Anthony, DB, Decatur, Ga./Shiloh HS
Kendarius Blair, OL, Birmingham, Ala./Parker HS
Austin Bouck, LB, Destin, Fla./Fort Walton Beach HS
Will Cooper, OL, Fairhope, Ala./Fairhope HS
Brennan Core, ATH, Phenix City, Ala./Central Phenix City HS
Kyten Davis, DL, Lake City, Fla./Columbia HS
Immuri Faulk, OL, Perry, Fla./Taylor County HS
Cade Frier, WR, Tallahassee, Fla./Chiles HS
Shondell Harris, DB, Mobile, Ala./Mary G. Montgomery HS
William Hathcock, OL, Perry, Fla./Taylor County HS
Malik Henderson, WR, Graceville, Fla./Chipley HS
Rodarion Jones, DB, Albany, Ga./North Florida Christian HS
Cedric Kouemi, RB, Gaithersburg, Md./The Bullis School
Noah Lee, QB, Jacksonville, Ala./Jacksonville Christian Academy
Tristan Lyles, LB, Phenix City, Ala./Central Phenix City HS
Brayden Matthews, LB, Smyrna, Ga./McEachern HS
Jameson McCullough, Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove HS
Donovan Moorhead, QB, Akron, Ohio/Hawken School
Devin Pettway, LB, Mobile, Ala./Mary G. Montgomery HS
Rollie Pinto, WR, Piedmont, Ala./Piedmont HS
Tre’Von Pringle, DB, Thomasville, Ga./Thomas County Central HS
Ty Sims, DB, Gadsden, Ala./Gadsden City HS
Andrevius Smith, TE, Midland City, Ala./Dale County HS