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Cardinals get bigger and stronger on National Signing Day

The Cardinals coaching staff is excited about the depth they've added in the trenches, especially on the offensive line.

Lamar University signed four high school standouts to National Letters of Intent, and added four transfers announced head coach Mike Schultz at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Dauphin Athletics Complex.

Wednesday’s signing class adds to the 10 athletes the Cardinals signed during the early period, which brings the total signing class to 18 (nine signees and nine transfers). The newest additions to the class have a heavy focus on the offensive side of the ball with six signees.

The position breakdown on offense consists of two offensive linemen, two receivers, a running back and a quarterback. The defensive signees consist of a defensive back and a defensive lineman.

The breakdown for the overall class consists of 11 offensive players and seven on defense. The overall position breakdown on offense includes five offensive linemen, two receivers, two running backs and two quarterbacks. The overall number on defense consists of three defensive backs, three defensive linemen and a linebacker.

“I think we have a nice blend of positions filled during this class, in addition to a nice blend of high school signees and junior college transfers,” said Schultz. “We had needs at every position going in and I feel like we met our needs. We felt like we had a really good signing class during the early period, and we were able to back it up with another nice mixture of talented student-athletes today. We were able to build on what we established with the initial signing in December.”

Big Red also added another player from the Golden Triangle. The newest member to the Cardinals’ roster to ink with the hometown school is West Orange-Stark receiver Blake Robinson.

The second half of the 2018 class expands beyond the borders of the state of Texas. The newest members to LU roster represent Texas, California and Hawaii.

The Cardinals continue to bulk on the front lines with the additions of three more offensive linemen and a defensive lineman. The offensive line signees average 6-3, 293 pounds.

“We’re really excited about what we’ve been able to add to the offensive line in our first two recruiting classes, dating back to last season,” said Schultz. “The great thing is we were able to redshirt several guys from last year’s class and we were able to back them up with a nice blend of high school and junior college players. We’ve added more mass and strength to that position between our signees and what we have coming back.”

The battle for the starting quarterback will become even more heated in August with the addition of Jordan Hoy (6-1, 195 pounds). A native of Rockwall, Texas, Hoy comes to Beaumont with NCAA Division I experience after spending last year at Old Dominion.

“Jordan is a very athletic quarterback,” said Schultz. “He will provide us with more competition at that position, and competition breeds excellence. Darrel Colbert Jr. returns as the starter from last year, but we are going to play the best player and Jordan will be a part of that battle in the spring.”

2018 Lamar University Signing Day Roster
Signees
Jacob Brown • DL • 6-1 • 250 • Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Timberview HS
Julio Cuello • OL • 6-4 • 280 • Edinburg, Texas/Vela HS
Erik Pizarro • WR • 5-9 • 195 • Rio Hondo, Texas/Rio Hondo HS
Blake Robinson • WR • 5-10 • 170 • Orange, Texas/West Orange-Stark HS

Transfers
Jordan Hoy • QB • 6-1 • 195 • Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall-Heath HS (Old Dominion)
V’Siol Jones • DB • 6-1 • 175 • Oakland, Calif./Liberty HS (Laney College)
Tamatoa Neher • OL • 6-2 • 305 • Hauula, Hawaii/Kahuku HS (Snow College)
J.T. Smith • RB • 5-11 • 193 • Klein, Texas/Klein Oak HS (Tyler JC)

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