NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University football signed 23 student-athletes on Wednesday during college football’s early signing period. ODU signed 13 junior college and 10 high school players.
ODU head football coach Bobby Wilder
“We are beyond excited about this recruiting class, we brought in 13 junior college players to go along with the 10 high school players. This class brings in immediate competition at all positions, which we needed to get better as a team. These players have played at a high level of competition and we’re looking for them to come in and be impactful from the minute they step on campus in January,” ODU head coach Bobby Wilder said.
“I am grateful to the team behind the team that worked tirelessly from coast to coast the past 24 days. So many good people at Old Dominion went above and beyond throughout the recruiting process to help make today a special day for Old Dominion football.”
2018 ODU Signees
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Previous School
Isaac Abel TE 6-1 260 Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee
Frederik Antoine WR 6-1 200 Quebec, Canada/Montmorency College
Tyre Bibby DT 6-3 252 Hialeah, Fla./Northwestern/Coffeyville
Harrell Blackmon S 5-11 190 Jackson, Miss./Callaway/Copiah-Lincoln
Will Brocchini CB 5-9 170 Rocklin, Calif./Whitney/Sierra
Braxton Collins WR 6-4 176 Greer, S.C./Greer
Kaleb Ford-Dement CB 5-11 170 Whitehouse, Texas/Whitehouse/Kilgore
Elijah Golston DE 6-4 218 Seattle, Wash./Garfield/Mt. San Antonio
Blake Hehl DT 6-2 277 Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran/Fullerton
Ryan Henry LB 6-2 215 Goulds, Fla./Miami Southridge/ASA Miami
Cory Jackson LB 6-4 200 Poplarville, Miss./Madison Ridgeland/Pearl River
R’Tarriun Johnson S 5-11 190 Wiggins, Miss./Stone/Mississippi Gulf Coast
Elonte Jones DE 6-4 230 Lynchburg, Va./Brookville
Khadere Kounta DE 6-6 263 Bethesda, Md./The Avalon School
Teagan McDonald OL 6-3 295 Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax
Austin Mosier OL 6-3 270 Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway
Carson Ramos DL 6-3 260 Yuba City, Calif./Yuba City/American River
Brandon Ruff OL 6-6 270 Bedford, Va./Liberty
Stone Smartt QB 6-4 215 Antelope, Calif./Del Oro/Riverside City
Brandon Smith OL 6-3 276 Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis/Saddleback
Keshawn Wicks RB 6-1 180 Moncks Corner, S.C./Berkeley
Tony Williams LB 6-2 220 Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo/Saddleback
Hayden Wolff QB 6-5 210 Venice, Fla./Venice
Isaac Abel – 6-1, 260 – TE – Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee
Helped Atlee to an 8-4 record and berth in the Virginia state playoffs … Earned First-Team All-Region honors and was named Defensive Player of the Year … Recorded 59 tackles as a junior.
Frederik Antoine – 6-1, 200 – WR – Quebec, Canada/Montmorency College
No. 1 recruit out of Canada … Caught 39 passes for 627-yards and had 28 carries for 212-yards … Earned First-Team All-Star honors.
Tyre Bibby – 6-3, 252 – DT – Hialeah, Fla./Northwestern/Coffeyville
Played in nine games, recorded six tackles and one sack.
Harrell Blackmon – 5-11, 190 – S – Jackson, Miss./Callaway/Copiah-Lincoln
A two-star recruit by Rivals out of high school … Had 56 tackles, four interceptions, two pass breakups, a blocked punt and two touchdowns in 10 games for Copiah-Lincoln this season … Earned second-team all-conference accolades … Recorded 146 tackles as a senior at Callaway high school.
Will Brocchini – 5-9, 170 – CB – Rocklin, Calif./Whitney/Sierra
Recorded 11 interceptions and 34 tackles this season for Sierra … Notched 11 interceptions as a freshman in 2017 … A two-time JUCO All-American, while also earning All-State, and All-League honors.
Braxton Collins – 6-4, 176 – WR – Greer, S.C./Greer
A three-star recruit by 247 sports … Helped Greer to a 13-2 record and berth in the state finals … Played in six games this year due to injury, catching 14 passes for 245-yards and four touchdowns … In his career, had 67 receptions for 991-yards and 16 touchdowns.
Kaleb Ford-Dement – 5-11, 170 – CB – Whitehouse, Texas/Whitehouse/Kilgore
Had 34 tackles, seven interceptions, 10 pass breakups and two interception returns for a touchdown this year for Kilgore College … Helped Kilgore to a 10-2 record and win over Pima CC in the Heart of Texas Bowl.
Elijah Golston – 6-4, 218 – DE – Seattle, Wash./Garfield/Mt. San Antonio
A three-star recruit by Scout.com … Ranked as the No. 12 JUCO outside linebacker and No. 4 in California … In four games at Mt. San Antonio, had 11 tackles and two sacks.
Blake Hehl – 6-2, 277 – DT – Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran/Fullerton
Played in 10 games at Fullerton recording 29 tackles, two sacks and three fumble recoveries … Played in the 605 All-Star Football Classic.
Ryan Henry – 6-2, 215 – LB – Goulds, Fla./Miami Southridge/ASA Miami
Registered six sacks and two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this year at ASA Miami.
Cory Jackson – 6-4, 200 – LB – Poplarville, Miss./Madison Ridgeland/Pearl River
Recorded 38 tackles, three sacks and one interception this year for Pearl River … Was named conference Player of the Week for performance in win over Mississippi Gulf Coast, registering eight tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss … Totaled 47 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks as a sophomore at Madison Ridgeland High School.
R’Tarriun Johnson – 5-11, 190 – S – Wiggins, Miss./Stone/Mississippi Gulf Coast
Recorded 66 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles this season at Mississippi Gulf Coast … As a freshman he notched 44 tackles, five pass breakups, one tackle for loss and one interception … Earned second-team All-State honors as a senior at Stone High School.
Elonte Jones – 6-4, 230 – DE – Lynchburg, Va./Brookville
Ranked as the No. 37 player in Virginia and No. 82 weak-side defensive end in the country … Two-time All-Seminole District honoree … Helped Brookville to an 8-4 record and berth in Virginia state playoffs.
Khadere Kounta – 6-6, 263 – DL – Bethesda, Md./Avalon School
A two-star recruit by 247 sports … Ranked as the No. 44 recruit in Maryland … Named honorable mention preseason All-State.
Teagan McDonald – 6-3, 302 – OL – Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax
Ranked as the No. 52 player in Virginia … Named First-Team All-District, All-Region and All-Area as a senior … Earned first-team all-conference honors as a junior … Helped Massaponax to an 11-2 record and berth in the third round of the Virginia state playoffs … Four-year letterwinner had 65 pancake blocks this season … Started 39-straight games.
Austin Mosier – 6-3, 270 – OL – Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway
Earned first-team All-State, All-Conference and All-Division this season … Helped Piscataway Township to a 13-0 record and state championship … Named team MVP … Also helped Piscataway to a state title in 2016 … Two-time All-Greater Middlesex Conference honors … A nationally ranked long snapper.
Carson Ramos – 6-3, 260 – DL – Yuba City, Calif./Yuba City/American River
Recorded 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery this year for American River … Helped American River to a 7-4 record and win over Santa Rosa in the Gridiron Classic Bowl.
Brandon Ruff – 6-6, 270 – OL – Bedford, Va./Liberty
A two-star recruit by 247 sports … Helped lead Liberty to the third round of the Virginia state playoffs … Earned first-team All-Seminole District as a senior and earned honorable mention as a junior … Named First-Team All-Region at offensive line and defensive end … Had 69 tackles and 12 sacks this season for Liberty.
Stone Smartt – 6-4, 215 – QB – Antelope, Calif./Del Oro/Riverside City
Completed 177 of-277 passes for 2754 yards, 31 touchdowns and three interceptions this year at Riverside City … Rushed for 583-yards and nine touchdowns … Led California JUCO quarterbacks in passing efficiency … Helped Del Oro to back-to-back state championships his junior and senior seasons … Named First-Team JUCO All-American … Earned SoCal Regional Playoff MVP, SCFA Offensive Player of the Year and California State Offensive Player of the Year …Broke school record for most completions in a season, highest completion percentage, most passing yards in a season and career, and most touchdown passes in a quarter.
Brandon Smith – 6-3, 276 – OL – Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis/Saddleback
Earned all-conference honors at Saddleback and was named the team’s linemen of the year … Named First-Team Academic All-State … Earned first-team All-State, City and league honors in high school.
Keshawn Wicks – 6-1, 180 – RB – Moncks Corner, S.C./Berkeley
A two-star recruit by 247 sports … Rushed for 1,931 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior … Totaled 2,133 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior … Earned first-team All-Conference as a junior.
Tony Williams – 6-2, 220 – LB – Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo/Saddleback
Registered 48 tackles, four tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one interception in 2017 … Recorded 50 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions in 2016 for Saddleback … Earned All-National Division Southern Conference First-Team honors … Played in two games this season and had nine tackles.
Hayden Wolff – 6-5, 210 – QB – Venice, Fla./Venice
A three-star recruit by 247 sports … The No. 34 pro-style quarterback in the country … Completed 189-of-299 passes for 2,684 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a senior … Helped Venice to a 12-2 record, District Championship and berth in the semifinals of the Florida state playoffs … Led the tri-county area in passing yards, touchdowns and completions … Passed for 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior.
