Official list as of 10:45 am

[Velcro]

Two Quarterbacks Lead Early Signees for USF Football

All-State quarterbacks Matt Grothe and Carlton Hill were among the first nine high school players to get their signed National Letter of Intent to the University of South Florida. Grothe was Florida's Class 4A Player of the Year and led his Lake Gibson team to the state championship game. Hill won Class A all-state honors at Jefferson County High School in Monticello.

The complete list of signees now includes a total of 13 players. Updates will me made as the day progresses.

MIKE BENZER

PLACEKICKER

5-8, 185

LONGWOOD, FLA.

LYMAN HIGH SCHOOL

Class 5A second team all-state…First team all-conference and all-district…Made 11 of 15 field goals as a senior, including career-long from 55 (school record)…Had six field goals of 50 yards or longer…Had 42 touchbacks on kickoffs…Lyman’s Outstanding Special Teams Player as a junior and senior…Rated number one kicker in Florida by OneonOneKicking.com…Listed among top kickers nationally by Street & Smith…Outstanding student with a 3.5 gpa and a 1220 on his SAT…Also plays soccer.

ANTWANE COX

DEFENSIVE BACK

6-0, 170

MIAMI, FLA.

KILLIAN HIGH SCHOOL

Second team all-Dade County for Class 4A-6A (Miami Herald)…Played in Dade-Broward All-Star Game…Helped team to Class 6A state title in 2004…Born February 11, 1986…Given name is Antwane Lamar Cox…Also ran track.

CHRIS DeARMAS

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

6-4, 275

MIAMI, FLA.

SOUTHWEST HIGH SCOOL

Played for Team Florida in the CaliFlorida Bowl this year…Also named to Nike South Florida All-Star Game…Three-star prospect by Rivals.com, ranked as the 19th best offensive guard in the nation and the 49th ranked prospect in Florida, regardless of position…Ranked as 33rd best prospect in Florida by Orlando Sentinel…Class 6A third team all-state in senior season…Two-time all-Dade County selection…Played in 2004 Dade-Broward All-Star Game.

MATT GROTHE

QUARTERBACK

6-1, 190

LAKELAND, FLA.

LAKE GIBSON, FLA.

Class 4A Player of the Year and a finalist for Florida’s Mr. Football…First team Class 4A all-state as a junior and senior…Led team to state title game against Armwood High…Lakeland Ledger Player of the Year as a junior and senior…Ranked 23rd best prospect in Florida by Orlando Sentinel…Ranked 24th dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com…93rd overall prospect in Florida according to Rivals…Threw for 2700 yards and ran for 1,250 as a senior…33 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns…Passed for 2,004 yards as a junior, along with 1,100 rushing yards…25 passing touchdowns as a junior and 14 more on the ground….Born September 8, 1986…Coached by Demyer.

JESSIE HESTER, JR.

WIDE RECEIVER

6-0, 270

BELLE GLADE, FLA.

GLADES CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Ranked as the 57th best receiver in the nation by Rivals.com, who rankes him 76th best player in Florida, regardless of position…Ranked as 97th top prospect in Florida by Orlando Sentinel…Played senior year at Glades Central after two years at Wellington High…First team all-county and all-conference…Ran sprints for track team…Born November 1, 1986…Son of former Florida State (1981-84) great Jessie Hester, who played for the Raiders, Falcons, Colts and Rams, as well as the Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) between 1984-95…He led the Seminoles in receiving in 1983 and 1984 when he had a combined 73 receptions and 15 touchdowns.

CARLTON HILL

QUARTERBACK

6-3, 215

MONTICELLO, FLA.

JEFFERSON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

Class A first team all-state…Four-star ranking by Rivals.com…Also rated as 20th best “athlete in the nation” and 25th player at any position in Florida…Ranked as the 14th best prospect in Florida by St. Petersburg Times… Ranked 53rd in Florida by Orlando Sentinel…Threw for 1,765 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2004…Also ran for 888 yards and 12 touchdowns…Born May 9, 1985…Coached by Jeff Schaum.

AMARRI JACKSON

WIDE RECEIVER

6-5, 190

SARASOTA, FLA.

SARASOTA RIVERVIEW HIGH SCHOOL

A high school football star, he has played basketball the past two seasons at Hillsborough Community College…Lettered four times in football, three in basketball and four in track at Riverview…All-district, all-area and all-conference in football as a junior and senior…Two-time all-state in basketball…Born May 18, 1985…Given name is Amarri Nathaniel Jackson….Coached at Riverview by John Sprague.

TAURUS JOHNSON

WIDE RECEIVER

6-1, 185

CAPE CORAL, FLA.

CAPE CORAL HIGH SCHOOL

Ranked as the 35th best receiver prospect in the nation by Rivals.com…Also ranked as 45th best prospect in Florida, regardless of position…Ft. Myers News-Press all-South Florida…All-conference and all-district…Had 24 catches for 258 yards and 10 carries from the receiver position for 96 yards…203 kick return yards, highlighted by a school-record 99-yard TD vs. Barron Collier…Had 58 tackles with three sacks and one interception that went for a TD…Also had four fumble recoveries…As a junior, he had 10 touchdowns…40 receptions for 831 yards, 21 carries for 216 yards and 412 kick return yards…Had 1,459 all-purpose yards…Set school records for yards receiving in a single game (178), long kick return (99), most receptions in a season (40), most receiving yards in a season (831), most career receptions (71) and most career receiving yards (1,128)…Born April 13, 1986…Coached by Nick Gasparato.

SHANE McELWAIN

TIGHT END

6-5, 255

PALM BEACH, FLA.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

First team all-conference and all-county…Outstanding hockey player, he played at Monarch High School in Colorado…Nominated for Pathfinder Award for most exceptional student at Central High… Didn't take up football until senior year and played junior league hockey in Saskatchewan for two seasons with the Notre Dame Hounds, a program that boasts Tampa Bay Lightning stars Brad Richards and Vinny Lecavalier as alumni… Before then he trained as a freshman at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, where he played a little tennis with a classmate named Maria Sharapova…Born October 1, 1986…Coached by John Timmons.

JEROME MURPHY

DEFENSIVE BACK

6-1, 175

ELIZABETH, N.J.

ELIZABETH HIGH SCHOOL

Second team all-state…All-county…89 tackles and eight interceptions as a senior…580 receiving yards with seven touchdowns…Also had one defensive touchdown…Also played basketball and ran track…Born January 13, 1987…Coached by Geoffrey Weiner.

CHRIS ROBINSON

DEFENSIVE BACK

6-3, 230

BUNNELL, FLA.

FLAGLER PALM COAST HIGH SCHOOL

Had 57 tackles and three interceptions as a senior…15 catches for 350 yards as a tight end…Had nine touchdowns as a senior with two interceptions, three rushing and four receiving…Also played basketball and baseball… Born January 26, 1987.

DANNY TOLLEY

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

6-6, 300

WESLEY CHAPEL, FLA.

WESLEY CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL

Class 3A first team all-state…Ranked as 79th best prospect in Florida by Orlando Sentinel…First-team all-Pasco County in Tampa Tribune…Second team All-Suncoast in St. Petersburg Times, who also ranked him as the eight best prospect in the Tampa Bay area…First team all-county and second team All-Suncoast as a junior…Started every game as a sophomore, junior and senior…Made three state playoff appearances…Born January 31, 1987…Given name is Daniel David Tolley.

THEODRIC WATSON

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

6-4, 300

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Second team NJCAA All-American at Northwest Mississippi…First team all-state and all-region…Second team all-state as a freshman…An all-state performer in basketball at Lakewood High…All-Suncoast, all-county and all-district in football and basketball…Played only season of football in high school…Cousin to USF running back Andre Hall…Born July 13, 1985.

[smazza]

not bad

[Zonald]

not bad at all...

[BULLO12]

Good deal....and with Taurus signing it will definitely be the Year of The Bull.

[The_Reaper]

loookink good!