The football signing period started with players from junior colleges having the opportunity to sign with new college teams. The Panthers’ notable junior college (JUCO) addition from last season was quarterback Nick Arbuckle who achieved impressive passing stats despite a team that struggled overall. Head coach Trent Miles hopes to see similar outings next year from other JUCO signees.
Kendrick Dorn: Runningback
| Dorn is 6˗foot˗1 and weighs 210 pounds. In 2014, rushed nearly 1,000 yards with 12 touchdowns on 200 rushing attempts. |
Dorn will join Panthers football in 2015 after coming from San Bernardino Valley College. He visited Georgia State last month and was recruited by offensive graduate assistant Ronnie Fouch and assistant quarterback coach Luke Huard, according to 247sports.com.
He committed on Dec. 11 and signed on Dec. 17. Dorn received interest from other schools, including Hawaii, Sacramento State, New Mexico, and Sun Belt rival Idaho.
Tyler Simonsen: Offensive lineman
| 6˗foot˗4 and weighs 305 pounds. Hudl.com says Simonsen can bench press 395 pounds. |
Simonsen will put on Georgia State blue and white after arriving from San Bernardino Valley College. His visit to Georgia State, according to 247sports.com, occurred on Dec. 6 and was recruited primarily by Coach Huard.
Georgia Southern also had their eyes on the SBVC Wolverines’ offensive lineman, along with Kansas and Cincinnati, according to 247sports.com.
Dom Roldan: Offensive lineman
| Roldan is listed at 6˗foot˗5 and weighs 340 pounds. Prior to his days at Grossmont, he played his high school football for Landsdown High School in Virginia. |
Georgia State managed to sign another JUCO player from California. Dom Roldan, an offensive tackle from Grossmont College in San Diego County, signed a letter of intent with the Panthers after an initial commitment on Dec. 14, according to PantherTalk.
Bethune˗Cookman in Florida also had its eyes on Roldan, but Roldan chose Georgia State after a visit on Dec. 12, according to 247sports.com.
Julian Laurent: Defensive lineman
| Laurent is a 6˗foot˗4 defensive lineman that weighs 325 pounds. The website 247sports.com has him ranked second among junior college recruits from the state of New Mexico. |
Roldan is listed at 6˗foot˗5 and weighs 340 pounds. Prior to his days at Grossmont, he played his high school football for Landsdown High School in Virginia.
Laurent will wear Panthers blue and white after playing on the JUCO gridiron for the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell.
In addition to Georgia State, Laurent also had offers from Illinois, New Mexico, South Florida, and Panthers’ conference rival South Alabama. After committing to Georgia State, he signed a letter of intent after a Dec. 11 visit.
Dequeszman Kelley: Defensive lineman
| He is 6˗foot˗2 and is currently listed at 285 pounds. Both he and Laurent are ranked in the top 20 among junior college recruits, according to 247sports.com. |
The Panthers are no stranger to signing recruits from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Kelley will come to Georgia State from the Kansas junior college˗˗the same place where current tackle Michael Ivory came from.
Kelley does have a connection to the state of Georgia as he attended Marion County High School in Buena Vista, Ga. In addition to Georgia State, he also was looked at by Colorado State and Kennesaw State, according to 247sports.
Kaleb Ringer: Linebacker
| Ringer is listed at 6˗foot˗1 and 237 pounds. Along with an offer from Georgia State and a Dec. 6 visit, Ringer was also being pursued by the University of Tulsa. |
The story of how Ringer’s career got him to Georgia State is an interesting one. Ringer did play his junior college football in Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas.. It is the same place where current Panthers junior tackle Steve Wolgamott is from.
Prior to playing for Butler, Ringer previously played for Ferris State University in Michigan, where he played alongside his brother, Korey..
Kelvin Rainey: Linebacker
| He is listed at 6˗foot˗3 and weighs 230 pounds. Rainey, prior to his junior college career, signed with the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks, but left after two seasons. |
The second linebacker from a junior college that Georgia State inked a letter of intent was for Kelvin Rainey. Rainey played high school football at Yulee High School in the metropolitan Jacksonville area. He played football at Iowa Western Community College located in Council Bluffs, Iowa which is part of the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area.
The website 247sports.com reported that he also had received offers from Sun Belt rival Troy as well as Iowa State and Wyoming. He compiled 68 tackles this year at IWCC.
