Rattlers get new transfers

FAMU got an early jump on this year’s recruitment period, when it welcomed three transfer players to the team last week.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Driscoll from Arkansas State, freshman defensive tackle Dexter Wallace from Bowling Green and sophomore running back Alfonso Mounts, Jr. from Miami are now all members of the Rattler football family.

The highlight recruit may be Driscoll, who will battle for the starting job vacated by senior Casey Printers. Driscoll told his coaches in late November about his intentions to leave Arkansas State. Soon after, he made his decision to transfer to FAMU.

In high school, Driscoll accounted for over 6600 total yards and 56 touchdowns. He started as a true freshman for Arkansas State, throwing for 517 yards and running for 199 more before being sidelined with an injury midway through the season. Last year Driscoll only attempted 14 passes and threw for 44 yards, after losing his starting job to sophomore Elliott Jacobs. His best collegiate game statistically was in 2001 against Georgia, where he gained 173 total yards and a touchdown.

Mounts was the 1996 High School Player of the Year and an All-American in football and baseball at Key West High School. He will join a young and crowded backfield, led by freshman walk-on Rashard Pompey, who led the team with 668 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Wallace, who was red-shirted by Bowling Green last season, was a first team All-State defensive tackle at Williston High School, which is just outside of Gainesville. The 6-foot-3, 270-pounder registered 92 tackles and 11 sacks in his senior year. Wallace should provide some depth for a defensive line that was decimated with injuries to key players, including All-American defensive end Sean Kelly.

Driscoll, Wallace and Mounts have all enrolled into FAMU for the spring semester, and are expected to work with the team as early as spring practice. The Rattlers have the task of replacing the 21 seniors from last season’s team.

FAMU has had some success with transfer players in recent years. Last year, the Rattlers got the best transfer quarterback in the nation, according to The Sporting News, in Printers. Two seasons ago, FAMU picked up linebacker Rickey Funches, who played in all but two games last year, and had 39 tackles and a sack.

Every year, in addition to signing high school prospects, FAMU, as well as many other Division I-AA schools, also acquire a number of Division I-A transfers. There is no set signing date for players transferring to other schools, and transfers do not have to wait a season to play like they would if they went to another Division I-A school. The starting date for high school players to officially sign with colleges is February 5.