A total of five Itawamba Community College football players signed with four year schools today on National Signing Day, including two headed to NCAA Division One programs. Defensive tackle Jeff Howie of Chester, PA stuck to his verbal commitment to head coach Dan Mullen and inked his national letter of intent with Mississippi State, while Khiry Karriem of Columbus signed with Georgia State University.

Howie, who was an all-state offensive lineman last year for the Indians, missed the final four games of this year after suffering a broken hand against Mississippi Delta and still finished with 38 tackles, a team-best 12 of those were for a loss and registered five sacks.

"I'm really looking forward to playing in the SEC at Mississippi State," said Howie, who signed with Temple University out of high school. "I was told when I signed with ICC that with hard work I could get to this level. Even a guy growing up in Pennsylvania knows the SEC is the best in the country and my friends and family back home will get a chance to watch all of my games for the Bulldogs on TV."

Despite missing four games this year with injuries, Karriem still finished with 23 tackles (13 solo) with six and a half of those tackles were behind the line of scrimmage. The 6'3, 264 pound defensive end added one and a half sacks and three quarterback pressures. Karriem started four games as a freshman at ICC and registered 28 tackles (22 solo) with six and a half tackles for losses and two sacks.

"It's going to be great to play all of our home games at the Georgia Dome," said Karriem after he signed this morning with former SEC head coach Bill Curry's program in Atlanta, which is getting set for its inaugural season in the fall. "I want to make history and get the first sack for this new program. I think that would be cool to have my name in the history books."

Former Southern Miss quarterback, Bret Jefcoat of Fulton, signed with the University of Tennessee-Martin after one year at ICC. The 6'3, 210 pound signal caller threw for 1,348 yards and 10 touchdowns this past fall for the Indians, while rushing for 180 yards (46 carries) and two more scores.

A pair of Itawamba defensive standouts, Jarrod Draper (6'1, 280 defensive tackle) of Batesville and Rick Young (6'0, 230 linebacker) of Tunica, signed with Mississippi Valley State University. Draper finished the year with 31 tackles (23 solo), nine of those were behind the line (third-best on the team), had a sack, three quarterback pressures, one caused fumble and one fumble recovery. Young led ICC for the second straight year in tackles with 72 (57 solo) and was second on the squad with 11 tackles for losses. In addition, he also registered three quarterback pressures and recovered a fumble.

ICC head coach Jon Williams added that he expects a few more of his players will be signing with four-year schools in the near future. In December, six of his Indians inked national letters of intent with four-year schools during the early signing period.

Itawamba Community College head football coach Jon Williams announced his first recruiting class with the Indians today on National Signing Day. ICC inked a total of 38 recruits, mostly from its five county district.

"I really do like this class we signed today," said Williams, who took over the program on December 14. "We were blessed with a lot of terrific talent inside our district and I think we were able to sign some good ones outside the district, as well."

Williams praised his two assistants, Sean Cannon and Tyrone Fox, for their "tremendous work ethic and very long hours" during the course of the recruiting season.

The day began as the first National Letter of Intent faxes started arriving at the ICC football offices around 8:00 a.m. Williams and his staff felt they "addressed the team needs in their recruiting efforts."

"I think we met most of those needs and we accomplished that with not only talented players but ones with good character and I thought that was important," added Williams, who was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at the College the last three seasons.

"I was also proud of the fact that we signed numerous players, who were all qualifiers, that had offers from four-year schools, including three that had D' I offers. That's pretty strong. But that speaks volumes for what ICC is all about. We have wonderful facilities, a great campus and a caring faculty and staff. Combine that with our excellent coaching staff and you've got a winning combination."

Williams was also quick to point out that his staff sold the recruits on signing with ICC and "we'll get you ready to sign with a four-year school, including D 'I programs in most of the nation's top conferences." A total of 25 Indians over the past three seasons have signed with NCAA Division One programs.

2010 ICC Signees


Josh Jennings DE 6-1 230 Shannon

Donavon Rodgers LB 6-2 220 Shannon

Tevin Spurgeon DB 5-11 185 Shannon

Keon McGaughy RB 6-2 215 Shannon

Ryan Thompson LB 6-1 180 Pontotoc

Canden Dallas QB 5-10 180 Pontotoc

Jake Smithey TE 6-2 215 Pontotoc

Brennan Tutor OL 6-4 290 Pontotoc

Mario Lucas DB 5-10 175 Aberdeen

Decedrick Quinn LB 5-9 195 Aberdeen

Rashad Pargo WR 5-10 185 Aberdeen

Erik Buchanan WR 6-2 190 Aberdeen

Skyye Jones DB 5-10 180 Tupelo

Roe Hogan DB 5-10 185 Tupelo

Asian Ruff DB 6-3 190 IAHS

Dan Huddleston DB 5-9 180 IAHS

Trae Bobo LB 5-10 230 IAHS

Desean McGaughy RB 5-10 205 IAHS

Dillon Mitchell TE 6-3 215 IAHS

Anthony Franklin QB 6-3 210 Nettleton

Nishmon Owens DL 6-1 250 Nettleton

LaTedrick Troupe LB 5-9 205 Hamilton

Marshall Williams OL 6-3 290 South Pontotoc

Cameran Webb OL 6-3 250 Mooreville

Cameron Robinson LB 5-11 190 Saltillo

Rashad Freeman DB 5-9 180 Saltillo

Justin Rogers WR 5-11 185 Starkville

Perez Young WR 6-0 200 Starkville

Will Kirby DB 5-11 185 Houston

Ryan Issabell DB 6-0 185 Okolona

LaBradford Rayford DB 5-10 175 Byhalia

Jeremy Sessom LB 6-1 230 Byhalia

Byron Scott LB 6-2 215 Rosa Fort

Steven Wray OL 6-2 250 Florence

Sir James Johnson DL 6-1 285 Florence

William Mayberry DL 6-2 225 Florence

Nolan Long K 5-11 185 Ackerman

LeBrandon Mosley LB 6-0 195 Oak Grove

Itawamba Community College had a trio of defensive lineman sign with NCAA Division I programs a year ago and it looks like that will be the case again this year. Defensive end Khiry Karriem of Columbus has verbally committed to Georgia State's program, which is led by former Alabama and Kentucky head coach, Bill Curry.

"I really liked Coach Curry," said Karriem, who battled the injury bug this past season and played in only five of the nine games for Itawamba. "He's such a positive coach and he's been a head coach at two different SEC schools."

Despite missing four games this year with injuries, Karriem still finished with 23 tackles (13 solo) with six and a half of those tackles were behind the line of scrimmage. The 6'3, 264 pound defensive end added one and a half sacks and three quarterback pressures. Karriem started four games as a freshman at ICC and registered 28 tackles (22 solo) with six and a half tackles for losses and two sacks.

Karriem, the former ESPN College Football Color Commentator, Curry and the rest of the Georgia State program are getting set for the inaugural season of football, with all seven home games being played in the Georgia Dome.

"That's going to be cool," added Karriem on getting a chance to play all of the team's home games in the same facility that hosts the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

Karriem added he will sign with the state of Georgia's second largest school (28,000 enrollment) on Feb. 3 on National Signing Day. He will join fellow Indians defensive linemen Jeffrey Howie, who verbally committed to Mississippi State last week and December Florida State signee, Anthony McCloud, as the trio of ICC defensive linemen to sign with D'1 schools this year.

For the third straight year, it appears Mississippi State will be signing at least one Itawamba Community College football standout. This time, it's 6'4, 330 pound defensive tackle Jeff Howie of Chester, PA. After visiting MSU this past weekend, Howie, who signed with Temple University out of high school, confirmed Thursday morning that he has verbally committed to head coach Dan Mullen and his program in Starkville.

"I had a great visit and I'm really looking forward to playing with Pernell next year on the defensive line," said Howie referring to the all-SEC defensive end, Pernell McPhee, who was a two-time NJCAA All-American at ICC. "I gave Coach Mullen my word that I will sign with Mississippi State on national signing day (Feb. 3) and that's what I will do."

Howie, who was an all-state offensive lineman last year for the Indians, missed the final four games of the year after suffering a broken hand against Mississippi Delta and still finished with 38 tackles, 12 of those were for a loss and registered five sacks.

"Those are some really nice numbers for a defensive tackle that basically played four and a half games for us this past season," said ICC head coach Jon Williams. "Jeff has taken his game to another level these last two seasons for us. The only question was which side of the ball he was going to play on at the D' 1 level."

Last year, McPhee and fellow ICC all-American Heath Hutchins of Saltillo signed with MSU. The year before, it was another Indians all-American, Tyson Lee, who headed to Starkville.

C.J. Foster of West Point and Amory's Richard McFadden are the two latest members of the Itawamba Community College football team to transfer at the semester break to a four-year school during this month long signing period. Both Foster (6'1, 210 linebacker) and McFadden (6'0, 205 safety) inked their national letter of intents with Arkansas Tech.

"I think it's great that both of us are heading to the same place," said Foster, who was fourth leading tackler on the Indians squad this past fall. "We can lean on each other."

McFadden agreed, although he added this wasn't a package deal.

"I'm glad it worked out for both of us to be able to transfer at the break and it was just a bonus that we both decided on the same place," said McFadden, who was an offensive player his freshman season at ICC and rushed for nearly 250 yards and a team best 9.6 yards per carry average. "We've played in the toughest juco football league in the country (MACJC) and next year we'll be playing in probably the toughest (NCAA) division two league in the nation."

Foster finished with 50 tackles (41 solo) and was second on the squad in tackles for a loss with 9.5. In addition, he also had a pair of sacks, two caused fumbles, one fumble recovery and four pass break ups.

McFadden had 41 tackles (38 solo), one tackle for a loss, one pass break up and one interception.

Amory's Rico Jernighan of Itawamba Community College has signed a national letter of intent to play at the University of West Alabama. The 5'11, 195 pound defensive back finished among the state leaders in solo tackles this past season for the Indians with 53 (62 total tackles).

"I'm looking forward to playing at West Alabama," said Jernighan. "They had a great season and even advanced in the division two national playoffs. Plus, the guy that recruited me (West Alabama Offensive Coordinator Will Hall) is from Amory, too, and that was neat."

Jernighan also had four tackles for a loss, eight pass break ups, one interception and one caused fumble during his sophomore campaign for ICC.

"I'm happy for Rico because he got it done in the classroom as well as on the football field," said ICC head coach Jon Williams. "People need to realize how hard it is to graduate after just three semesters. It's a huge advantage for Rico and some of our other players to be able to transfer at the semester break and be able to compete in spring drills at their new schools."

Jernighan is the fourth Indian to sign during this month long signing period for juco football players.

Lamar Holmes of Itawamba Community College stayed true to his word he gave Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora this past summer. The NJCAA Pre-Season All-American verbally committed to the Golden Eagles before his sophomore campaign at ICC and today (Friday) the offensive tackle signed a national letter of intent to transfer at the semester break to USM.

"Southern Miss was the first place I visited and I knew right away it was going to be the place for me to play after ICC," said Holmes, who stands 6-6 and weighs 305 pounds. "I just wish I could have played this whole year healthy and helped our team win more."

Holmes, who was a first-team all-state selection a year ago for the Indians, was hurt on the last play before Itawamba went into its victory formation to end the season opening win over nationally-ranked Jones. The Gastonia, North Carolina native missed several games due to the injury and was never, in the words of his offensive line coach Jon Williams, even close to 100 percent the rest of the season.

Williams, who was named ICC's new head coach on Tuesday, has now mentored an offensive lineman for the third straight year to sign with an NCAA D1 program - Gabe Hollivay to North Texas, Trevor Newsome to Southern Miss.

"Lamar is one of the best young men I've ever coached, and I know his teammates picked up on that," said Williams, who just completed his third season at the school's offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. "We had so many injuries this year and when Lamar went down, that really hurt us. He was the leader on our very young offensive line."

Williams added, "I know Coach Fedora and his staff are really excited about getting Lamar down there at Southern. I think he'll get himself 100% healthy, step in and contribute immediately."

Debrale Smiley and Anthony McCloud of Itawamba Community College have signed national letters of intent with Florida State University's football program. Both are from Georgia and served as managers this past season for the Indians so they will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Seminoles.

"Both these guys signed with Florida State out of high school and had very good freshman seasons for us," said ICC's newly appointed head coach Jon Williams, who had been the offensive line coach/recruiting coordinator the last three seasons at Itawamba. "I know (FSU head coach) Jimbo Fisher and the staff there at Florida State are excited to have them back in their program."

Smiley (6'2, 228), who is a running back from Thomasville, GA, missed two games with an injury back in 2008 for ICC and still carried the ball 102 times for 569 yards in seven games and scored a touchdown.

"Debrale averaged better than 80 yards a game on the ground, but really it was more than that because the first couple of the games that year he played mostly on special teams," added Williams. "So basically he gained all those yards in five games and he was a force for us the second half of that season."

McCloud (6'3, 295) is a defensive tackle from Boston, GA and started in six of the nine games he played in a year ago. He finished with 24 tackles (20 solo), 10 of those were for losses and also showcased four sacks.

Jon Williams officially became Itawamba Community College's new head football coach at a news conference this (Tuesday) afternoon on the Fulton campus. The 36 year old received board approval as the Indians' 10th all-time head coach Monday night at the College's monthly Board of Trustees meeting.

Williams, who has a 25-10 record as a head coach in the high school ranks, spent the previous three seasons at ICC as offensive line coach/recruiting coordinator/run game coordinator under then head coach Jeff Terrill.

"This is by far the biggest day of my coaching career," said Williams in front of the nearly 100 that showed up for the official announcement. "I've been blessed to be in contact with some great coaches in my career and I've learned something from each of them that has helped me to be in this position today."

Williams' first year at the helm of the Indians will be his 15th year in the coaching profession.

"I feel fortunate to have this kind of opportunity at such a highly respected institution like Itawamba Community College," added Williams, who did not give any kind of timetable as to when he will fill out his coaching staff. "But you know what, yes, ICC has a beautiful campus and the facilities are unbelievable but what makes this place so special are the people and my family loves being a part of this ICC family."

Former Itawamba Community College two-time NJCAA All-American Pernell McPhee was named second-team all-SEC by the league coaches and also by the media that cover the Southeastern Conference.

McPhee, a junior from Pahokee, Fla., racked up 56 total tackles including a team-leading 12 tackles for loss and five sacks in his debut season for Mississippi State. McPhee's 12.0 TFL ranked sixth in the conference this season, and his total tackles were among the league leaders for defensive linemen.

In both years at ICC, McPhee was among the nation's top five in sacks and tackles for a loss.

Former Itawamba Community College All-American Pernell McPhee of Mississippi State was named Southeastern Conference co-Defensive Lineman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. It was the second time this season McPhee has earned the honor, also claiming it following MSU's week three victory at Vanderbilt.

Against MSU's in-state rival, McPhee totaled five tackles and a quarterback hurry as he led a Bulldog defense that held the Rebels to 90 yards rushing and forced four turnovers. The Bulldog defense allowed just 22 yards rushing and six total first downs (one rushing) in the second half as State outscored the Rebels 31-14.

The two-time NJCAA All-American at ICC became the third Bulldog defensive lineman to win the weekly award which was instituted in 2004, and the first to win the award twice in one season. Willie Evans earned the honor after a win over Tulane in 2005, and Jessie Bowman claimed the award following the Auburn game a year ago.

While Itawamba Community College continues its search for a new head football coach, five of its football players have been selected as a part of the 33-man north squad to participate in the annual MACJC All-Star Classic held in Booneville Saturday, December 5, at 1:00 p.m.

ICC quarterback Bret Jefcoat of Itawamba AHS, who threw for 1,348 yards, 10 touchdowns and ran for another 180 yards and two scores, was the only Indian on offense to make the list.

Defensively, a pair of former Amory High standouts, Rico Jernighan (62 tackles, eight pass breakups, one int) and Richard McFadden (41 tackles, one int), both defensive backs, will play in the game as will defensive lineman Jarrod Draper (31 tackles, eight TFL, three QB pressures, one fumble caused, one fumble recovery) of Batesville and linebacker Rick Young of Tunica, who led the team for the second straight year in tackles with 72 and also showcased 10.5 TFL, two QB pressures and a fumble recovery.

Itawamba Community College had a trio of players honored by the MACJC on its post-season football awards listings. The Indians, who played the final six contests of the season with at least six starters out in each game, had offensive lineman Houston Lantrip (6'3, 275 Fr. Southaven) and defensive back Darius Slay (6'1, 190 Fr. Brunswick, GA) make the first team MACJC All-State North squad.

The Mississippi State signee, Slay, also was selected by the league coaches to the all-state north squad second team as a returner after finishing among the state's best in kickoff returns with a 24 yard average in 20 returns and that didn't count a 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown that was called back due to a penalty the first time he touched the ball as a collegiate in the season opening win against then number 14 Jones County. He also finished among the state leaders in interceptions with three on the year to go along with his 41 tackles and five pass break ups.

Nose tackle Jeffrey Howie (6'4, 325 So. Chester, PA) missed the final three games of the year with an injury to his hand and still made the all-state north second squad after registering a team best five sacks in six games and also was in the MACJC top five in solo tackles when he was injured in the sixth game of the year against Delta. The second team all-state selection a year ago as an offensive lineman had 38 tackles on the year (35 solo) and 12 tackles for losses in just six games along with a couple quarterback pressures.