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Rangers welcome good 2008 class
Eckert and his staff worked hard to bring in a good group of freshmen, and several of those freshmen contributed to the Rangers' 8-4 season, at one point helping KC to six straight wins, and a berth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference title game. Kilgore College football fans will likely be pleased with the 2008 signing class, as well. Local fans will recognize the name Danny Smith, a linebacker from Kilgore High School who made several plays for the Bulldogs in their District 12-4A title-winning season. But there are several others who stand out, as well, in this class. Among them: • Big tight end Frederic Canida, whose 6-3, 245-pound frame will be imposing in a Rangers' uniform. Canida signs out of Longview High School, and will likely get to watch Woody McClendon, a very good pass-catching and blocking tight end from Texarkana, who returns for his his sophomore season. • A couple of quarterbacks who might get playing time immediately, due to the departure of sophomores Logan Morris and Jared Wallace. One of them is Groveton's Lane Johnson, who's very tall - 6-foot-6 - and weighs in at 215 pounds. He runs a 4.6-second 40-yard-dash. Another is Jeremiah McGinty, who comes from a good program in Galena Park Northshore. • More running backs to add to already-good depth at that position. Devondrick Darty of Linden-Kildare, Big Sandy's Aaron Phillips and Jerret Malone of Humble will join returning sophomores Cornelius Shackelford, Prince McKinney and LaRon Elmer, a dynamic trio last season as freshmen. • Size, size, size. If you're looking for the beef, you need not look any farther. Tatum's Brandon Arthur, an offensive lineman, checks in at 315 pounds. Jeffery Byerly, an offensive lineman from Newton, tips the scales at 320. Antonio Morales is another player from the Galena Park area that will be headed to Kilgore - he, too, is an offensive lineman, and is listed at 305 pounds. See the complete list of new KC signees in the information box with this story. In addition to bringing in new players, Eckert and his staff help their current players transfer to continue their education and football careers on the next level. One such player this year is T.J. Scranton, a wide receiver from Hitchcock who is on his way to play for coach Art Briles at Baylor. Scranton contributed heavily to KC's success in the passing game last year - he had 25 catches for 585 yards and eight touchdowns. Joining Scranton on the transfer list are offensive linemen Brad Guillory (Arkansas State), Robin Williams (Emporia State), Anthony Holder (Texas State), as well as quarterbacks Morris (Texas A&M-Kingville) and Wallace (Bellhaven), and cornerback Jamall Skipper (Sam Houston State), who led the conference in interceptions. Eckert says he expects to announce more KC players signing with four-year programs in upcoming days.
Thanks to J.C. Derrick for some contributions on this story involving KC transfers.
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