NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt University announced Wednesday that 19 student-athletes have signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Commodore football program while continuing their academic and athletic careers on West End. In addition, two transfers have joined the incoming class.
The group includes five defensive backs, five defensive linemen, five offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two linebackers and one running back. Eight states are represented in the signing group with seven signees from Georgia, four from Florida, two from Alabama and Maryland, and one each from Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The seven Georgia products are wide receiver Gamarion Carter (Toccoa), defensive lineman Jacques Hunter (Valdosta), defensive lineman Devin Lee (McDonough), offensive lineman Gage Pitchford (Newnan), linebacker Errington Truesdell (Duluth), defensive back Alan Wright (Fayetteville) and defensive back James Ziglor III (Marietta).
Carter arrives in Nashville from Stephens County High School, where he was a two-time Region 8-4A first team selection. Hunter comes from Lowndes High School and was a two-time first team all-region honoree who earned all-state accolades in 2019. Lee helped Ola High School to a 9-2 record as a senior, when he totaled 58 tackles and 9.0 sacks. Pitchford, a 2019 Newnan Times-Herald All-County honoree, helped East Coweta High School to an eight-game winning streak this fall and its first Region 2-7A championship since 2002.
Truesdell, who helped Woodward Academy to the Georgia High School Association 4A state semifinals as a junior, closed his final campaign with 107 tackles. Wright, a teammate of Truesdell at Woodward Academy and the younger brother of Commodore quarterback Mike Wright, was a 4-AAAA all-region first team pick in 2019. Ziglor III helped Harrison High School to a 15-0 record and 6A state championship as a junior before totaling 1,058 all-purpose yards as a senior.
Offensive lineman Delfin Xavier Castillo (Kissimmee), offensive lineman Gunnar Hansen (Boca Raton), defensive back Tyson Russell (Plantation) and wide receiver Quincy Skinner Jr. (Pompano Beach) head to West End from Florida.
Castillo helped Osceola High School to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 8A state playoffs every year of his career. Hansen is one of three to sign at Vanderbilt from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and earned South Florida Sun Sentinel Palm Beach 5A, 1A first-team offense accolades in 2019. Russell is a consensus three-star prospect who helped St. Thomas Aquinas to a 15-0 mark and state title as a junior. Skinner Jr. is the 56th-ranked wide receiver prospect nationally, by Rivals.com, and played with Hansen and Russell at St. Thomas Aquinas.
Joining the Commodores from Alabama are defensive lineman Tyler Bence (Huntsville) and defensive back Marlen Sewell (Birmingham). Bence, out of Huntsville High School, is a three-time all-city first team selection. Sewell helped Shades Valley High School to the Alabama High School Athletic Association state playoffs in 2020, just the program’s fourth postseason appearance in 20 years.
A pair of defensive linemen from Maryland arrive to Nashville in Marcus Bradley (Gaithersburg) and Terion Sugick (Landover). Bradley, a consensus four-star prospect, helped Quince Orchard High School to a 12-1 record and trip to the state semifinals in 2019. Sugick was the two-time defensive player of the year at National Christian Academy before transferring to Rock Creek Christian for his senior campaign.
Wide receiver Ezra McAllister (Marshall) heads to Nashville from Michigan after earning all-state honors and helping Marshall High School to the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs in 2019 for the first time since 2015.
From Absecon, New Jersey, Vanderbilt welcomes Jake Ketschek, an offensive lineman from St. Augustine Prep, who earned first team all-state honors in 2019.
Making the move from South Carolina to the Music City is linebacker Miles Capers (Sumter). Prior to his junior year at Sumter High School, Capers shifted from primary running back to the defensive line and helped the Fighting Gamecocks to an 8-1 record and No. 6 MaxPreps ranking in the state during his senior season.
Dropping anchor in his home city is defensive back John Howse IV (Nashville). Howse IV received all-region accolades each year of his career for Brentwood High School.
The Commodores added Temple transfer Re’Mahn Davis and West Virginia transfer Oyenmwen Uzebu.
Davis, a running back for the Owls and native of San Francisco, played in 16 games during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and finished with 271 carries for 1,259 yards (4.6 yards/carry) and nine touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 243 yards (9.0 yards/catch) and two scores.
An offensive lineman from Atlanta, Uzebu was a reserve tackle for the Mountaineers who played in two games during the 2019 season. At Alpharetta High School, Uzebu played offensive tackle and earned all-region 7-6A honors.
