Salukis’ 2020 signing class grows to 23 players

The Southern Illinois football 2020 signing class grew to 23 players on Wednesday with the addition of running back Robert Jones III (5-11, 205, Fr.) and wide receiver Cade Carter (5-9, 190, Fr.).

During the early signing period that began on Dec. 18, SIU head coach Nick Hill announced that 18 players had signed National Letters of Intent. Since then, three transfers — senior defensive tackle Jajuan Blankenship (Tulsa), senior cornerback Roderick Campbell (Northwestern) and sophomore defensive tackle Devin Love (Monroe College) — were added during the month of January.

This week's addition of Jones III and Carter comes at the beginning of the second signing period that lasts through April 1.

Robert Jones III
Running Back
5-11, 205, Freshman
Boynton Beach, Fla. | Cedar Grove HS (GA)
Jones III originally signed with Army in 2019, but attended military prep school in the fall. As a senior at Cedar Grove High School (Ga.) in 2018, he recorded 1,182 rushing yards (11.3 ave.), 400 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Jones III helped lead his team to a 10-1 record and Class 3A state championship in 2018 and was named All-State, All-Conference and the Running Back of the Year in Dekalb County. He was also selected to play in the Elite Raw Talent all-star game.

Coach Hill: "Robert is a kid that we recruited last year and really liked. He ended up at the prep school at Army. We continued to follow him and when he opened up his recruiting, we had a spot, needed to sign a running back. We're excited about him being here and the possibility of him getting into some spring ball practices after spring break. He had an unbelievable high school career. His high school coach is now a full-time coach at Arkansas, so he was well-coached. He has the physical traits to be a good back in this league. He has the toughness. He can be a weapon out of the backfield and in pass protection. He's a back who can be on the field all three downs."

Cade Carter
Wide Receiver
5-9, 190, Freshman
Fairfield, Ill. | Fairfield Community HS
Carter is a Southern Illinois native who starred at Fairfield High School, where he earned First-team All-Conference honors in 2018 and 2019 and was the Captain of the Conference in 2019. He led the team his senior year with 14 TDs and four interceptions. He played on the varsity all four years and helped his team to a 37-5 record and four conference titles. He was named Academic All-State as a junior and senior.

Coach Hill: "We tell all of our (walk-ons), you gotta have a mindset to come in and do whatever it takes. You look at guys on our team — Coleton Jeralds is a perfect example — he contributes to our team in every way. Cade has that opportunity. He's tough, he can do multiple things, he can be a good special teams player, he's a winner who knows how to work. Any time you can add players like that, they're a value to your team."

Jajuan Blankenship
Defensive Tackle
6-0, 287, Senior (GR)
Anderson, S.C. | T.L Hanna HS | Tulsa
Blankenship played in 16 games the last two seasons at Tulsa and recorded 17 tackles. He missed four games with an ankle injury in 2018 but had a season high four tackles at Navy. He had three tackles versus Oklahoma State in 2019 for a season-best performance. Blankenship spent one season at South Carolina, where he redshirted in 2016, and one season at Independence Community College, where he earned a three-star Rivals.com rating.

Coach Hill: "Jajuan is another kid I followed for a while. Sometimes in recruiting you don't get them the first time around, but if you keep tabs on them and if the opportunity comes back up, you've already established a little bit of a relationship with them. Out of junior college, we felt he could've been a really good player here in the Missouri Valley. Any time you add a grad transfer, your expectation is for them to come in and add value right away. We'll get him here in summertime and look for him to make an impact in the fall."

Roderick Campbell
Cornerback
5-11, 190, Senior (GR)
St. Louis, Mo. | Chaminade Prep HS | Northwestern
Campbell played in 32 career games at Northwestern, including 12 games in 2018 and 10 games in 2019. He totaled 12 career tackles and two pass breakups with nine tackles last season, including a career-high four stops versus UNLV. He had two tackles each at Nebraska and at Indiana. The St. Louis native earned a four-star rating from Rivals, which ranked him as the No. 3 player in the state of Missouri and the No. 19 cornerback prospect in the country.

Coach Hill: "He was a highly touted recruit from St. Louis in the 2016 recruiting class. As soon as I saw he was available, I got a hold of coach (Pat) Fitzgerald and he said this is a guy you want on your team. He was a valuable piece to them, he's won championships, been in bowl games. He graduated from a tremendous institution, is focused on what he wants to do post-football. He can be a leader on our team once he gets here and establishes himself. We've found in the past few seasons, you have to have great depth at the cornerback position, and multiple guys have to play starter-type reps."

Devin Love
Defensive Tackle
6-1, 300, Sophomore
Woodbury, N.J. | Woodbury HS | Monroe College (NY)
Love played one season at Monroe College where he earned 1st-Team Northeast Football Conference honors in 2019. He recorded 38 tackles, 7.0 TFL and 3.5 sacks. As a senior at Woodbury High School (N.J.) in 2018, he recorded 80 tackles and 10.0 sacks and was an All-State selection. His grandfather, Ken Love, played football for the Salukis and his brother, Ricky Tunstall, signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of Delaware.

Coach Hill: "Devin's here now, so we've gotten to know him, and he's off to a great start. He has an unbelievable attitude and willingness to learn. He has three years left to play and we get him for 3.5 years, so he's like a high school kid to us. I think he has the size and ability to be a really good player, and we're excited to get to develop him in spring football and find his role on this team."

Hill on the 2020 recruiting class: "Everybody is excited about their class, but what sets you apart is how you develop and utilize them and grow them as men. You only get so many days with them out on the field, so they have to be the complete package. We feel like we signed 23 guys who fit that mold and love to be coached and pushed in every aspect of their life — academically, socially and athletically."

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