Jacksonville State added 13 players to its roster on the first day of the early signing period Wednesday, including three Division I transfers.

The Gamecocks officially added former Bryant quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, mammoth Cincinnati offensive line transfer Cam Jones and former UAB wide receiver (and Mobile native) Samario “Flip” Rudolph. The Gamecocks’ other 10 players were all from the high school ranks — seven from Georgia, two from Alabama and one from Mississippi.

“I don’t have a particular formula that says x-number of high school guys, x-number of portal transfer guys and x-number of junior college guys,” Jax State coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I just told our staff to try to get the best players they could get that would fit what we do and that we could sign. It turned out that we probably signed a lot more high school guys than a lot of other folks, and I think there’s a lot of good high school players that are getting overlooked.

“It’s a good class. It addressed some of our needs and, as always, we’ll continue to recruit every day up until probably the first week of the first game.”

Jax State recently completed its first season as an FBS program in spectacular fashion, beating Louisiana 34-31 in overtime in the New Orleans Bowl this past Saturday. The Gamecocks went 9-4 overall, finishing third in Conference USA with a 6-2 league record.

Rodriguez said the positive exposure for his team in 2023 probably contributed to its recruiting efforts. Even more important, he said, were five straight nationally-televised games at midseason.

“Not so much the bowl game, but the five midweek games, they were all on national TV,” Rodriguez said. “The fact that there was a lot out there about Jax State throughout the season, I think it really helped, not only helped our recruiting, I hope it helped the school’s enrollment as well. … People know about Jax State a little bit more and that was part of our goal in doing this.”

Eckhaus (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) should make an immediate impact with the Gamecocks, who are set to lose veteran starter Zion Webb, though top backup Logan Smothers (among others) is set to return in 2024. Eckhaus, a California native, passed for 2,907 yards and 28 touchdowns this past season for a Bryant team that went 6-5 on the FCS level.

Jones (6-8, 330) began his career at tight end, but played in 40 games as a backup tackle and special teams contributor the last four seasons. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Rudolph, who played his high school ball at Cottage Hill Christian, caught 22 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown for the Blazers in 2023.

Eckhaus, Jones and Rudolph all have one season of eligibility remaining. Rodriguez said the Gamecocks are also still in the mix for a number of junior-college recruits that might sign soon.

“We need some immediate help,” Rodriguez said. “The transfer guys are going to be able to provide that and I think that the JUCO guys that we’re recruiting right now will be able to provide that too.”

The high school signees include a pair of north Alabamians, Huntsville tight end Alex Moore and James Clemens safety Marc Woods. Linebacker Zedric Washington signed with the Gamecocks out of Parklane Academy in Mississippi.

The remainder of the Gamecocks’ class hails from Georgia, traditionally a hotbed of JSU recruiting. That group includes highly productive running back Justus Savage of Atlanta’s Langston Hughes High School and “athlete” AJ Watkins of Norcross, a former Air Force commitment that Rodriguez said will be “given a look” at quarterback.

“He’ll get a chance to learn the system quickly and then probably could help us in other areas,” Rodriguez said. “But we’ll give him a shot. He’s really athletic. I think he was probably overlooked in a lot of ways, because of the same reason — people weren’t sure what position. But he can really run and he’s an outstanding athlete. So we’ll put him at quarterback and help him learn the system and then go from there.”

Rodriguez added that at least two other players signed with the Gamecocks on Wednesday, but chose to keep the news quiet until the February signing day so that they can enjoy the moment with their high school classmates.

Jax State 2024 December signees (13)

Jeremiah Colbert, WR, 5-10, 165, Buford, Ga./Buford HS

Zevi Eckhaus, QB, 6-1, 205, Los Angeles, Calif./Bryant University

Amare “Bubba” Grayson, OL, 6-3, 293, Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS

Nick Igbeare, DL, 6-4, 260, Suwanee, Ga./Collins Hill HS

Cam Jones, OT, 6-8, 330, Knott County, Ky./Cincinnati

Alex Moore, TE, 6-6, 230, Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville HS

Nick Pace, LB, 5-11, 190, Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County HS

Samario “Flip” Rudolph, WR, 5-9, 180, Mobile, Ala./UAB

Justus Savage, RB, 5-10, 195, Fairburn, Ga./Langston Hughes HS

Wyatt Sonderman, WR, 6-0, 175, Marietta, Ga./Walton HS

Zedric Washington, LB, 6-3, 225, Magnolia, Miss./Parklane Academy

AJ Watkins, ATH, 6-2, 195, Lithonia, Ga./Norcross HS

Marc Woods, SAF, 6-4, 187, Madison, Ala./James Clemens HS