After the University of Alabama-Birmingham lost its football team last season, it appeared football in central Alabama was all but lost.  That was until the NCAA reinstated the football program at UAB.

This is when Lafayette offensive lineman Jordan Jamison landed on the Blazers’ radar and his decision was made.

It will be a unique situation for Jamison as there will not be a football season this fall as UAB has to wait until the 2017 season to begin playing games. It does allow him to get to school an extra year with the scholarship he was awarded.

“I’d seen a program that failed but was coming back up,” Jamison said of UAB. “I felt like I could really be a big hand bringing that program back up and make it better than ever.”
Jamison plans to major in psychology while attending UAB.

“I think that’s a great deal,” Lafayette coach Eric Robertson said of Jamison signing with UAB. “He’s going to a great coaching staff at UAB. I think it’s neat that all of those recruits get to come in for a year and bond closer instead of closer to six months and, boom, they’re playing. Jordan doesn’t turn 18 until May, so he’s still growing and maturing as a young man.”

Former Commodore offensive lineman and Ole Miss early enrollee Eli Johnson had a signing ceremony before seven other teammates announced their decisions.

There was not much drama for Johnson as it has been known for a long time Ole Miss was the place he wanted to be, and once the Rebels reciprocated, he committed immediately.

“To get the opportunity to do that is really hard to pass up,” Johnson said of playing for the Rebels. “It’s just really one of those things where you finally get the opportunity that it’s not a hard decision to make.”

Harmon staying home
When offers from other schools started falling through, Oxford defensive end Korbin Harmon turned to a more local option to play football at the next level.

That option happened to be Ole Miss, where he will be a preferred walk-on this fall. Harmon will be following in his father’s footsteps as Michael Harmon was a wide receiver for the Rebels in the early 1980s.

“Just with (my dad) playing (at Ole Miss) and been around him my whole life,” Harmon said of what influenced his choice to play at Ole Miss. “Plus, my mom went to school there. It all played into it. (Ole Miss) really wanted me there, too, so that’s why I chose them.”

Gatlin chooses MC
While Harmon will be playing football inside the city limits of Oxford, teammate Tag Gatlin decided he wanted to venture a little farther from home.

The offensive lineman signed with Mississippi College on Wednesday and will spend the next four years in Clinton. The Choctaws are a program that moved up from Division III to Division II, which piqued Gatlin’s interest to join them in uncharted waters.

“My gut feeling was always MC,” Gatlin said. “I love the small campus feel. It feels like home. … They’re moving in the right direction and they’re updating facilities and they’re winning ballgames. I love that about the program.”

Other Chargers that signed were Jacquez Neilson with Itawamba Community College and former running back Kenzie Phillips with Northwest Community College.