We're one week removed from the late national signing period opening up, and the recruiting classes of the Southern Conference have come into better focus. The SoCon is loaded with outstanding incoming high school prospects, and this conference will figure prominently into our national rankings next Wednesday.
[divider]MORE: Compare Any Two FCS Players or Any Two FCS Teams[divider]
2018 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 25 recruits
2017 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 250 recruits
2017 FCS RECRUITING: HERO Sports ranked the Top 50 teams
Here are a couple of things to know:
- HERO Sports will publish an FCS national Top 50 classes piece and a FCS Top 250 incoming freshmen piece on Feb. 21. Leading up to that, we'll be breaking down each conference — all 13 — from an "top individuals" standpoint.
- How did we come up with our ranking list below? Simple — it's subjective, but all recruiting rankings are that way. We combined 247Sports, Rivals, the players' offer lists and our own thoughts to come up with our version of the FCS recruiting rankings. We provide some of their other top offers in the charts. This is our third year doing this.
- We don't include junior college or 4-year school transfers in any of this work. This is strictly incoming high school graduates.
So below are the rankings for the Southern Conference.
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QUICK THOUGHTS ON THE SOCON: Hats off to Chattanooga and Mercer on their recruiting prowess in the 2018 class. It is very hard to choose between the two when it comes to who came out ahead, but in the end I have to give the slight edge to the Mocs — and I do mean by a sliver. Kudos to Coach Tom Arth and Coach Bobby Lamb respectively, as well as their staffs, for a fine job. Mercer did a great job in state, and Chattanooga really did a great job both in state and out of state — particularly in Florida. These were not the only two programs that succeeded through, as The Citadel nailed down two outstanding running backs to help make that vaunted backfield go, Wofford fortified its line on both sides, Western Carolina landed the league's top-rated QB in 6-foot-4 A.J. Curry and Furman also added a slew of athletes that the service academies were drooling over. All-in-all it was a wonderful effort by the entire SoCon.
[divider]Swipe left to right on mobile devices to see "other offers":
THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TOP 30
| RK | FCS CHOICE | POS | PROSPECT | HOMETOWN | HGT | WGT | OTHER OFFERS |
| 1 | CHATTANOOGA | DT | Josh Walker | Bradenton, FL | 6'2" | 285 | Arizona decommit – 41 total offers |
| 2 | THE CITADEL | RB | Emeka Nwanze | Roswell, GA | 5'11" | 205 | Penn decommit; several ACC offers |
| 3 | THE CITADEL | RB | Clay Harris | Atlanta, GA | 6'0" | 205 | Purdue decommitment – 3 FBS offers |
| 4 | CHATTANOOGA | S | Kohl Henke | Chattanooga, TN | 6'2" | 190 | Virginia, Navy, JSU, APSU, Mercer |
| 5 | THE CITADEL | LB | Caleb Deveaux | Waxhaw, NC | 6'0" | 195 | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | MERCER | WR | Tony Jones | Fairburn, GA | 6'0" | 175 | Tennessee – 15 offers |
| 7 | MERCER | RB | Kareem Rogers | Stockbridge, GA | 5'10" | 180 | Syracuse, Navy, S. Alabama, Tulane, JMU |
| 8 | WESTERN CAROLINA | QB | A.J. Curry | Mount Airy, GA | 6'4" | 200 | FAU, S. Alabama |
| 9 | CHATTANOOGA | DE | Mychal Austin | Apopka, FL | 6'1" | 250 | Minnesota – 9 offers |
| 10 | WOFFORD | OL | Al Hogan | Fairburn, GA | 6'3" | 285 | Virginia, Air Force, Citadel, Buffalo, Kennesaw, Fordham |
| 11 | WESTERN CAROLINA | WR | Mahari Stribling | Loganville, GA | 6'3" | 180 | Boston College, Tulane |
| 12 | MERCER | WR | DeMond Ellison | Canton, GA | 6'3" | 200 | Ga. Southern, Chattanooga |
| 13 | WESTERN CAROLINA | DB | Charles Gadie | Douglasville, GA | 5'9" | 165 | Purdue, Tulane – 5 FBS offers |
| 14 | MERCER | TE | Brandon Shelnutt | Lawrenceville, GA | 6'4" | 230 | 3 FBS – 7 total offers |
| 15 | CHATTANOOGA | WR | Genuine Potts | Powder Springs, GA | 6'3" | 195 | Wake Forest, West Virg – 27 offers |
| 16 | MERCER | QB | Bryce Lawrence | McDonough, GA | 6'3" | 185 | FAU, Western Illinois, Eastern Ky |
| 17 | CHATTANOOGA | WR | Logan Pitts | Trussville, AL | 6'1" | 210 | Citadel, Tenn. Tech – committed early |
| 18 | ETSU | ATH | Chris Armstrong | Foley, AL | 6'0" | 200 | 8 FBS offers, 14 total |
| 19 | FURMAN | QB | Hamp Sisson | Birmingham, AL | 5'11" | 185 | Air Force, Army – 7 total offers |
| 20 | SAMFORD | OL | Gavin Orr | Gadsden, AL | 6'4" | 270 | 6 FBS offers – 13 offers total |
| 21 | WOFFORD | OL | Elijah Ball | Rome, GA | 6'3" | 290 | Navy, Ga. Southern, Ball St., Austin Peay |
| 22 | SAMFORD | DE | Justin Hayes | Smyrna, GA | 6'3" | 250 | UCF, Navy – 10 total offers |
| 23 | FURMAN | DE | Cameron Coleman | Clarksville, TN | 6'3" | 285 | UTSA, ETSU |
| 24 | WOFFORD | RB | Colby Wood | Jefferson, GA | 5'10" | 180 | Navy |
| 25 | FURMAN | RB | Corey Watkins | Evans, GA | 5'8" | 185 | Academies – 6 total offers |
| 26 | VMI | DB | Ethan Caselberry | Harvest, AL | 6'3" | 190 | Marshall PWO, Samford, UT Martin |
| 27 | WOFFORD | DT | Corey Prince | Hollywood, FL | 6'0" | 265 | FAU |
| 28 | WESTERN CAROLINA | DB | Ronald Kent | Harrisburg, PA | 5'10" | 170 | 8 total offers |
| 29 | MERCER | DE | Coby Germany | Evans, GA | 6'3" | 245 | Georgia State, Samford |
| 30 | ETSU | QB | Cam Lewis | McDonough, GA | 6'3" | 200 | Old Dominion, Southern, Jackson St |
