Georgia State Sees No Action on Signing Day

The 2022 National Signing Day was a quiet one for the Georgia State football team. The Panthers, winners of the 2021 TaxAct Camellia Bowl, added no new signees on February 2^nd and have not seen any movement since January 10^th.

Defensive lineman Carlos Fletcher is the only addition to the Panthers since the early signing period in December. Fletcher played for Bunker Hill High School in Claremont, NC but missed his senior season due to a knee injury. He spent the 2020 season with DII program Winston-Salem State University (he played no games) but played eleven games for JUCO Georgia Military College last year.

Fletcher is a 3-star rated prospect with a 0.8369 composite score according to 247Sports; that score makes him the highest-rated GSU recruit of the 2022 class.

In high school and college Fletcher played both inside and out on the defensive line. He was good for over two tackles per game at GMC and made one sack.

A handful of players have moved from GMC to GSU, most recently Deandre Applin and Jalen Wade, both in 2017. GSU’s highest-ever rated recruit, TE Clay Chastain, also made the switch in 2013.

Fletcher is the fourteenth player to commit GSU for 2022 and is one of at least five players already enrolled with the Panthers.

Among the other early enrollees are Georgia State’s three other incoming JUCO talents and one now-former high schooler. S Christopher Smith, CB Jeremiah Johnson, and WR Rykem Laney are the ones climbing the ladder of collegiate football, each with an above .80 247Sports Composite. RB KZ Adams of Columbia, South Carolina joins the five college veterans; Adams rushed for the second-most yards in the 2021 high school season.

The nine remaining signings from the December window, all of who are coming from Georgia or a bordering state, will see out their senior year of high school. DB Izaiah Guy from Ocala, FL and EDGE Michai Hill of Newnan, GA are the highest rated of the group and make up two of GSU’s nine defensive additions.

The 2022 class shows a heavy lean towards the defense, nine of fourteen signees play on that side of the ball, with a further tendency shown towards the secondary; over 40% of the incoming players are defensive backs.

“We had to add some secondary players,” GSU HC Shawn Elliott said during the December Signing Day, “and I think we did that. That was our focus from a defensive standpoint.”

The non-defensive players joining are either weapons or linemen, although the Panthers have added former Memphis QB Keilon Brown (along with former Eastern Illinois tackle Bryson Broadway) via the transfer portal.