Guilford College Adds 12 Football Commitments

Greensboro, N.C. — Guilford College head football coach Kevin Kiesel announced the intention of 12 incoming freshmen to play football for the Quakers Monday. All 12 students have paid their deposit to the college and will enroll for classes in August.

Scott Barnes (Silver Spring, Md.) lettered three seasons at Paint Branch High School for coaches Mike Nesmith and Ernie Williams and twice earned honorable mention all-state honors. The 6-1, 195-pound quarterback set school records for career passing yards (4,585) and touchdowns (45) and three times captured All-Montgomery County 3A Conference recognition. A 2007 Second Team All-Gazette pick, Barnes set school marks with 1,677 passing yards and 21 touchdowns in the Panthers’ 7-3 2007 campaign. He also lettered three times with Paint Branch’s baseball team and has earned honorable mention all-county laurels.

Barnes’ teammate, Jordan Tidwell (Burtonsville, Md.), is also coming to Guilford following after lettering three seasons at Paint Branch. The 5-10, 170-pound receiver/cornerback caught 35 passes for 486 yards and six touchdowns as a senior and won the team’s Outstanding Contribution Award. Tidwell received honorable mention All-Gazette honors as a senior and lettered three years with the Panthers’ two-time division champion baseball team. He considered James Madison University, Bridgewater College, McDaniel College and Towson State University before choosing Guilford.

Evan Bowers (Siler City, N.C.) lettered two seasons on the offensive line at Jordan-Matthews High School for coach Marty Scotten. The 6-1, 220-pound guard earned All-Yadkin Valley Conference recognition and helped the Jets to 10-3-1 record as a senior. Jordan-Matthews posted a 21-5-1 record in Bowers’ two varsity seasons. He considered East Carolina University, Campbell University, and North Carolina Wesleyan College before choosing Guilford.

Robert Boyett (Summerfield, N.C.) twice lettered at Northwest Guilford High School for coach Joe Woodruff. The 6-4, 180-pound receiver/punter also competed with the Vikings’ track and field teams for two seasons. He started his scholastic career at Topsail High School and helped the team to a first-round state playoff appearance as a two-way performer. Boyett’s great uncle, Ron Moseley, played football at the United States Naval Academy and his second cousin, Sammy Joe Odom, spent a season with the Houston Oilers’ offensive line in the American Football League.

Josh Franks (Lexington, N.C.) lettered three seasons at Central Davidson High School for coach Eugene Everhart, twice as a captain. The 6-1, 200-pound linebacker/tight end twice earned All-Central Carolina League honors and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior. Franks played on the Spartans’ 2007-08 conference-champion basketball team and lettered once in track. He considered East Carolina, Appalachian State University, Davidson College and Richmond University before choosing Guilford.

Kenneth Hyman (Williamston, N.C.) lettered four years for coach Brian Paschal’s Roanoke High School team. The 6-1, 170-pound wingback/cornerback received Second Team Washington Daily News All-Area, All-Tobacco Belt and All-Atlantic Eight Conference laurels and helped Roanoke to the 2007 state regional playoffs. Also a standout member of the basketball team, Hyman helped his club to the 2007-08 Atlantic Eight Conference regular-season and tournament titles. He won Roanoke’s Wendy’s High School Heisman in 2007 and lettered three years with the baseball team. A high school teammate of Guilford’s Will Paschal ’11, Hyman was recruited by Chowan University, North Carolina Wesleyan and Winston-Salem State University.

Brandon Martin (Germantown, Md.) twice lettered for coach Larry Hurd’s football team at Clarksburg High School. The 6-0, 170-pound safety/wide receiver captured Second Team All-Area honors from the Frederick News-Post as a senior and helped the second-year Coyotes to a 12-1 record and the Montgomery County 2A/1A West Conference title. Martin made seven interceptions as a senior and won the team’s sportsmanship award. He also played two years with the basketball team and considered Averett University and Frostburg State University before choosing Guilford.

David Moore (Greensboro, N.C.) stays close to home as the four-year Grimsley High School standout joins the Quakers. He captured All-Metro 4A Conference honors three times and helped the Whirlies to the 2005 4A state title game. Grimsley went 45-10 in Moore’s four seasons, including 11-2 in 2007 under coach Mark Saunders. The National Honor Society member was also recruited by Campbell and Wofford College.

Joe Reinheimer (Burlington, N.C.) also enjoyed a highly successful scholastic career as he helped coach Hal Capps’ Western Alamance High School team to the 2007 3A state title. The 6-2, 270-pound offensive lineman lettered three years for the Warriors and played in the state final every season. Also a member of the National Honor Society, Reinheimer earned all-region and All-Triad 3A Conference recognition. He chose the Quakers over Averett, Catawba College, East Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reinheimer’s aunt, Mary Hawkins ’75, is a Guilford graduate.

Jake Routh (Randleman, N.C.) earned All-Randolph County and honorable mention All-Mid-Piedmont 3A Conference recognition for coach Eddie Williamson in his lone Randleman High School football season. The 6-0, 170-pound receiver caught 37 passes for 631 yards with six touchdowns. He also lettered twice in basketball and once in track and field.

Johnathan Shine (Goose Creek, S.C.) played five seasons at Goose Creek High School for coach Chuck Reedy. The 5-9, 200-pound running back captured Second Team 2007 Post and Courier All-Lowcountry honors after leading the Gators to an 8-4 record and the state playoffs. Also an accomplished wrestler, he placed fifth at 189 pounds in the 2008 South Carolina High School League 4A State Tournament.

Luke Vandall (Graham, N.C.) lettered three seasons for Guilford alumnus Daniel Barrow ’80 and Tony Perrou at Southern Alamance High School. The 5-11, 175-pound quarterback was named the team’s player of the year in 2007 after completing 176 of 310 passes for 1,372 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was a three-year letterwinner and All-Mid-State Conference point guard with the basketball team and an all-star catcher with the baseball team. Vandall was recruited by Averett, Campbell, Methodist University and Randolph-Macon College.

The Quakers concluded the 2007 season with a 6-4 overall record, 2-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), and posted their first back-to-back winning campaigns since 1990-91. Guilford lost nine seniors from the 2007 team and expects as many as 82 letter winners back in 2008. The Quakers set or tied at least 26 team and individual school records last year and led NCAA Division III in passing yards per game for the second straight season (376.9 ypg). Guilford opens the 2008 campaign at home Sept. 6 under the lights of Armfield Athletic Center versus crosstown-rival Greensboro College.