Bulldogs bring in big 2020 class

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast reloaded Wednesday on National Signing Day, bringing in 20 new players for the Bulldogs' defense of its national championship.

"It's a very solid class that filled a lot of our needs," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "I feel like at a lot of positions we couldn't do any better. We signed a lot long, big, thick bodies that are just hard to replicate."

In addition, Wright announced six other players who enrolled at Gulf Coast for the spring and will take part in spring practices.

Six student-athletes enrolled at Gulf Coast at the start of the spring semester:

Marquise Blackmore, 6'2, 311, Vicksburg

High School: As a senior, named to the All-Region 2-5A Second Team ... Played for Coach Timothy Hughes.

John Brown, 6'2, 260, Provine

High School: As a senior, made 26 tackles, 34 assists, 15 TFL, 11.5 sacks, 2 PD, 3 FR and 1 FG block … As a junior, had 36 tackles, 25 assists, 8.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR and 3 FF … As a sophomore, had 8 tackles, 14 assists and 4 TFL … Played for Coach Timothy Brown.

Kyle Bruce, 6'6, 325, Florence

High School: Played for Coach Rod Davis.

Kylan Cooper, 5'11, 175, Lawrence County

High School: As a senior, ran 241 times for 2,234 yards and 26 touchdowns … Named to the Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 4A All-State First Team ... Selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game ... Named the Daily Leader All-Area Most Valuable Player ... As a junior, ran 163 times for 1,242 yards and 13 touchdowns … Named the Daily Leader All-Area Offensive Player of the Year ... As a sophomore, ran 66 times for 356 yards and 4 touchdowns … Played for Coach Jesse Anderson.

JaQuan Copeland, 6'0, 180, Hazlehurst

High School: As a senior, caught 29 passes for 627 yards and 5 TD and ran 4 times for 55 yards and 2 TD … Had 44 tackles, 3 INT and 1 FR … Named to Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 3A All-State Second Team … Selected to play in Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game where he had an interception ...As a sophomore, had 33 tackles, 12 INT and 2 PD ... Named to MaxPreps Sophomore All-American Second Team ... As a freshman, had 28 tackles ... Played for Coach Damien Gary.

Jacob Cox, 6'3, 309, Amory

High School: As a senior, named to the Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 3A All-State First Team ... Selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game … Played for Coach Allen Glenn.

Chris Johnson, 6'2, 177, Columbus

High School: As a senior, made 24 tackles, 10 assists, 1.5 TFL, 12 PD and 1 FF … Played for Coach Joshua Pulphus.

Percy Lewis, 6'8, 380, McAdams

High School: As a senior, made 54 tackles, 36 assists, 5 TFL, 3 sacks, 6 QBH, 1 FR and 5 FF … Named to the Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 1A All-State First Team … As a junior, made 45 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 FR and 1 FF ... Named to the Star-Herald Super 24 Team ... Played for Coach Kenneth Nelson.

Leviticus Madison, 6'3, 350, Meridian

High School: As a sophomore, made 62 tackles, 27 assists, 14 TFL, 6 sacks and 7 QBH … Played for Coach John Douglass.

Jay McGee, 5'11, 210, St. Martin

High School: As a senior, ran 168 times for 1,209 yards and 14 touchdowns … As a junior, ran 94 times for 642 yards and 7 touchdowns, while making 19 tackles, 15 assists, 7 TFL, 2 sacks and 1 FR … Played for Coach Eddie Whitehead.

Micah McGowan, 6'0, 196, Petal

High School: As a senior, ran 292 times for 1819 yards and 22 TD … Named to Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 6A All-State First Team and Clarion-Ledger All-State Second Team … Selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game ... As a junior, ran 229 times for 1,219 yards and 13 TD … As a sophomore, ran 50 times for 227 yards and 4 TD ...

Peyton McKinion, 6'7, 280, Brandon

High School: Played for Coach Tyler Peterson.

DeCarlos Nicholson, 6'4, 185, Petal

High School: As a senior, completed 127 of 217 passes for 1,942 yards, 17 TD and 6 INT while running 63 times for 411 yards and 6 TD … Led Petal to Class 6A South State championship game ... As a junior, completed 113 of 215 passes for 1,446 yards, 11 TD and 4 INT while running 107 times for 507 yards and 4 TD … Played for Coach Marcus Boyles.

Melvin Quinn, 6'3, 240, Tylertown

High School: As a senior, made 48 tackles, 32 assists, 16 TFL, 7 sacks, 12 QBH, 1 PD, 1 FR, 5 FF and 1 punt block … Selected to play in Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game … As a junior, made 18 tackles, 29 assists, 4 TFL, 5 QBH, 3 PD, 1 FR and 1 FG block ... Played for Coach Osborne Holmes.

Philip Short, 6'1, 205, Madison-Ridgeland Academy

High School: As a senior, completed 206 of 355 passes for 3,545 yards, 31 TD and 4 INT while running for 2 TD … Led Madison-Ridgeland to the MAIS Class 6A state championship by completing 28-of-40 passes for 528 yards and 5 TD in the title game ... Named the MAIS Class 6A Offensive Player of the Year and the Jackson Quarterback Club Player of the Year ... Named to the Clarion-Ledger All-State Second Team and the MaxPreps All-State Second Team ... Selected to play in the MAIS All-Star Game ... As a junior, threw for 2,878 yards and 41 TD ... As a sophomore, completed 50 of 100 passes for 590 yards, 3 TD and 3 INT while running for 1 TD … Played for Coach Herbert Davis.

Queston Skipper, 5'10, 174, Clarksdale

High School: As a senior, ran 143 times for 1,306 yards and 13 TD, and had a punt return and kickoff return for touchdowns … As a junior, ran 81 times for 551 yards … Played for Coach Henry Johnson.

Cameron Thomas, 5'8, 167, Picayune

High School: As a senior, set a Mississippi record by running for 3,517 yards, which tied for the national lead … Carried the ball 291 times (12.1 ypc) and scored 48 touchdowns … Helped lead Picayune to the Class 5A state championship game... Named the Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year and MaxPreps Mississippi Player of the Year … Named to the Clarion-Ledger All-State First Team … Selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game ... As a junior, made 31 tackles, 19 assists, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH, 1 IN and 5 PD ... Played for Coach Dodd Lee.

Kelin Williams, 6'8, 364, South Pike

High School: Played for Coach Brinson Wall.

Zacchaeus Williams, 6'4, 300, Callaway

High School: Played for Coach Chadwick Germany.

Deven Wright, 6'4, 220, Desoto Central

As a senior, made 17 tackles, 34 assists, 11 sacks, 2 PD and 1 FF … Played for Coach Shelby Ford.

Jammal Abrams, 6'4, 240, Jackson-Olin

High School: Played for Coach Tim Vakakes.

Jashon Baker, 6'0, 190, Tylertown

College: Played in 9 games as a freshman at Jackson State, compiling 10 tackles, 4 assists, 1 FR, 2 INT and 2 PBU … Had 4 total tackles and a 42-yard interception return against Prairie View. High School: As a senior, had 12 tackles, 12 assists, 4 PD and 1 blocked field goal, while completing 86-of-160 passes for 1,276 yards, 16 TD and 8 INT and running 107 times for 692 yards and five touchdowns ... As a junior, had 35 tackles, 20 assists, 1 TFL, 1 QBH, 2 interceptions, 6 PD, 1 FR, 3 FF and 1 blocked field goal, while completing 31-of-55 passes for 852 yards and 7 TD ... As a sophomore, had 27 tackles, 24 assists, 1 TFL, 4 interceptions and 5 PD ... Played for Coach Osborne Holmes.

Jordan Calomese, 6'4, 240, Bay

High School: As a senior, had 16 tackles, 27 assists, 11 TFL, 1 sack and 1 FF … As a junior, had 22 tackles, 18 assists, 9 TFL, 4.5 sacks 14 QBH, 1 PD, 2 FF and 1 blocked punt … As a freshman, had 24 tackles, 21 assists, 4 TFL, 1 sack … Played for Coach Eric Collins.

Jeremy Moore, 6'3, 300, Baldwin County

High School: As a senior, selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game … Named to AL.com Coastal Alabama All-Region Second Team ... As a junior, named to AL.com Coastal Alabama All-Region Honorable Mention team … Played for Coach Nathan McDaniel.

Drake Thornton, 6'1, 210, Gautier

High School: As a senior, had 55 tackles, 74 assists, 1 INT, 2 FR, 1 TD on an interception return, and 1 TD on a fumble return, while also scoring 3 rushing touchdowns and one kickoff return touchdown … Selected to play in Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game … Named to Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 5A All-State First Team and Sun Herald All-South Mississippi Team … As a junior, had 58 tackles and 45 assists, while also scoring 4 rushing touchdowns … Won the Class 5A state championship in the 100 meters … As a sophomore, had 9 tackles, 28 assists, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FR and 3 FF, while also scoring 3 rushing touchdowns ... Played for Coach Marc High.

Derrien Lee, 6'0, 180, Bay Springs

High School: As a senior, had 28 total tackles, 6 INT and 6 PD and had 28 catches for 616 yards and 10 TD plus 2 kickoff return touchdowns … Named to the All USA Mississippi Second Team ... Selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game ... As a junior, had 25 total tackles, 4 INT, 4 PD, 4 FR and 1 FF and had 18 catches for 203 yards and 2 TD … As a sophomore, had 52 total tackles, 8INT, 3 PD and 1 FR … Helped lead Bay Springs to the Class 2A state championship game ... Played for Coach Dan Brady.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.