Troy Lands a Pair of Offensive Linemen, Including Three-Star Guard Jake Andrews

Troy landed a pair of offensive linemen over the weekend in Jake Andrews of Millbrook, Alabama, and Hamilton Hawthorne out of Jacksonville, Florida.

Andrews, a three-star prospect ranked as the second best guard in Alabama, chose Troy over a bevy of offers. Among his 17 offers are Georgia Tech, Illinois, and Memphis.

Hawthorne is un-ranked but has an offer from Florida Atlantic to go along with the offer he received from Troy on March 31. Hawthorne committed while in Troy for camp.

Andrews, who received a three-star grade from Scout Inc on June 9, is slightly undersized at 6’3, 286 pounds but more than makes up for it with explosive lower body strength. Andrews routinely dominates at the point of attack, driving lineman backwards in true Blind Side style. As for size, a college weight room room will beef him up quickly. Andrews has the potential to crack Troy’s rotation within a couple of seasons.

Hawthorne has the size at 6’2, 300 lbs as well as the ability to pull to either side of the field and deliver a well-timed block on gap plays. His experience with pulling across the field will prove to be valuable when he enters the Trojan’s screen-heavy offense.

The commits move Troy up to second in the Sun Belt in the 247 Sports rankings. Andrews is the Trojans’ third three-star commitment and the duo represents Troy’s third and fourth commits in the 2018 class.

Elsewhere in the Sun Belt

• Recent Appalachian State tight end commit Trey Ross took a dive in the 247 Sports composite ratings and is now listed as a two-star prospect. While 247 Sports still has Ross as a three-star, the composite rating takes in all major recruiting services equally in order to provide a more unbiased evaluation. The drop did not impact Appalachian State’s spot in the conference rankings, where it remains in first.
• Georgia State added two SEC transfers last weekend, including one from head coach Shawn Elliot’s former school. Former South Carolina offensive lineman Pika Leota and former Florida Gator Camrin Knight have decided to call Atlanta home. Elliot coached Leota in Leota’s first two seasons in South Carolina and after taking a redshirt his sophomore year, has decided to bring his 6’4, 315 lb frame to the Sun Belt. Knight was a three-star tight end out of high school and played primarily on special teams for Florida. Both players will sit out the 2017 season and will be eligible to play in 2018. Leota has three remaining years of eligibility while Knight has two.