Football | 12/19/2018 3:30:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University football team received signed national letters of intent from seven players on the first day of early signing period Wednesday afternoon.
"We filled a great void that we needed with our defensive line," said RMU head coach
Bernard Clark Jr. "We signed some young guys out of junior college that we feel can help us out immediately and we feel strongly about those guys. We also got some help at linebacker and, hopefully, we'll be getting some help at offensive line later on (in the signing period). The big spot that really was filled was defensive line today and we feel good about that."
The group was made up primarily of junior college transfers who hail from as far as Hawaii in the west and New Jersey in the east. The Colonials bolstered their defensive depth by bringing in four defensive lineman and two linebackers to go with a quarterback signee. Seven of the nine signees come from junior college while WPIAL products Geno Pellegrini and Jamar Shegog make up the high school signees.
7:46 a.m.
Geno Pellegrini
QB // 6' 0" // 175
Charleroi, Pa. // Charleroi
High School
- Guided a Charleroi offense that averaged 48.5 points per game in 2018
- Led the Cougars to the WPIAL 2A Semifinals
- In his career, threw for 6,408 yards and 68 touchdowns
- Completed 382-of-698 passes in his career
- As a senior, was 120-for-200 for 2,296 yards passing finishing eighth among WPIAL quarterbacks
- Recorded 31 touchdowns to just seven interceptions
- Also rushed 123 times for 801 yards and 12 touchdowns
- As a junior, was eighth in WPIAL with 2,333 yards throwing
- Completed 116-of-195 passes for 24 scores and just three picks
- Rushed 78 times for 355 yards
- 68-152-7, 1013, 9 TD; 78-151-12, 766, 4 TD
- Set a WPIAL record for passing yards by a freshman in a game with 350 in 2015
10:23 a.m.
Devyn Charles
LB // 5' 10" // 215
Fontana, Calif. // Redlands (Riverside City College)
- Helped Riverside City to a 21-3 record the last two seasons
2018 at Riverside City
- In 2018, was second on the team with 46 tackles
- Was also second among Tigers with 26 solo tackles
- Had two sacks for 20 yards
- Also picked up 6.5 tackles for loss, dropping opponents for 31 lost yards
- Broke up three passes
2017 at Riverside City
- As a freshman in 2017, played in 10 games and made 34 tackles
- Had second most sacks, 4.5, on the team
- Tallied 6.5 tackles for loss and had one forced fumble
High School
- As a senior, was credited with 142 tackles
- Picked up six sacks
- Also had two forced fumbles and five passes defensed
- Was an All-Area selection by
The Press Enterprise
- Attended the same high school, Redlands, as RMU quarterback
Jimmy Walker
10:45 a.m.
Bryce Fontana
DL // 6' 0" // 275
Tucson, Ariz. // Cienaga (Scottsdale Community College)
2018 at Scottsdale Community College
- Helped the Fighting Artichokes to a 13-8 record in two seasons
- Had an impressive 17 tackles for loss in just 10 games
- One of those TFL was a sack
- More than doubled his previous season's tackle total to 37
- Had one interception, returning it 36 yards
- Forced one fumble
2017 at Scottsdale Community College
- Played in 10 games at defensive tackle as a freshman
- Was involved in 17 total tackles
- Credited with 10 solo stops and seven assisted
10:47 a.m.
Zack Gilbert
DL // 6' 1" // 255
Charlotte, N.C. // South Mecklenburg (Arizona Western)
Notable
- Rated the No. 27 overall prospect in North Carolina by
Rivals and No. 29 by
ESPN
- Son of former NFL and Pitt defensive lineman Sean Gilbert
2018 at Arizona Western
- Played in 11 games as a redshirt-freshman
- Was credited with four tackles
- Three of those tackles were of the solo variety
High School
- Four-year starter at defensive end for South Mecklenburg, where he compiled a school-record 40.5 career sacks
- As a senior, recorded 89 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three pass deflections
- Played tailback in South Mecklenburg's wishbone power offense and scored seven touchdowns
- Led team to a 9-3 record and the North Carolina 4AA playoffs
- Named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA North Carolina Football Team
- SoMeck 8 All-Conference
11:31 a.m.
Jamar Shegog
LB // 6' 1" // 210
Pittsburgh, Pa. // Seton LaSalle High School
High School
- Two-time All-Three Rivers Conference First Team selection
- Was the Rebels Defensive Most Valuable Player in 2018
- As a running back, carried 84 times for 585 yards
- Averaged 7.1 yards per carry
- Led the Rebels with eight touchdowns
12:08 p.m.
Supilani Mailei
DL // 6' 1" // 290
Ewa Beach, Hawaii // St. Francis (Pima Community College)
2018 at Pima
- Was credited with 46 tackles for the 6-4 Aztecs
- Led the team with 4.0 sacks for 14 yards
- Forced one fumble and recovered two others
- Finished with 27 solo tackles
- Was named to the All-ACCAC Team at a defensive lineman
High School
- Was a two-time ILH Division II All-Star at St. Francis
- Also played basketball for the Saints
- Was ranked the third best center coming out of Hawaii by
MaxPreps in 2017
1:20 p.m.
Victor Solarin
DL // 6' 0" // 250
Newark, N.J. // Barringer (Orange Coast College)
2018 at Orange Coast
- Tallied 32 tackles as a defensive lineman in 2018
- Tied for second most sacks on the team with two
- Had 5.5 tackles for loss
- 14 stops were solo and 18 were assisted
