Owls Ink December 2022 Class

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University football, led by Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Tom Herman, solidified its December 2022 signing class with 16 players that will represent the Owls in 2023, which is FAU’s first season in the American Athletic Conference.

Two signees, Kiemar Richardson and Chris Tooley, will enroll in January classes and will begin working with the Owls prior to “Spring Practice.” The remaining 14 players will join after their spring commencement ceremonies, first with summer conditioning and then preseason camp.

TOM’S TAKEHagerty Family Head Football Coach Tom Herman
On the signing class primarily recruited by the outgoing staff
“I think when a young man commits to a university, I think it is our responsibility to uphold that commitment,” said Herman. “For me, even watching all the commits that were from the previous staff/previous era, it was very apparent that all of these guys could help us win and help us win early. I just wanted to make sure that we were true to our word as a university as they were when they committed.”

It didn’t seem as if there was drama or surprises today. That’s always good?
“It’s really good. The best part of signing day is when you can be done by 10 a.m., no surprises, no drama, everyone has signed on the dotted line. We are really, really excited about this class.”

Plans going forward?
“I do think that we need a couple of pieces in the transfer portal, regardless of years left and all of that. We need some immediate help in certain areas. I think you build a culture through high school guys and through guys that have been in your program for three, four, five years. We don’t want to be transfer U. We do know that we can use the portal and transfers to fill some immediate needs.”

BY THE NUMBERS

14 from the Florida Atlantic Territory (Created by FAU’s inaugural head coach Howard Schnellenberger, which encompasses the area from Orlando, follows I-4 to Tampa and south)
6 Tri-county high school alums
2 (Jabari Smith and Chris Tooley) from Jones High School joining nearly a handful currently on the roster. Note on Tooley: he is the second player of the same name to play at FAU and both as DBs
2 (Germari Sands and Xavier Terrell) from the highly acclaimed St. Thomas Aquinas High School. They are the first St. Thomas duo to join the Owls on Signing Day. The Raiders are coached by Roger Harriott, who was an FAU assistant head coach in 2014, focusing his attention on the running backs
1 (Fabian Scott) played for current FAU assistant coach Brandon Harris‘ father

THE CLASSOrder received

Signee	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown. \| High School \| Previous School
Luke Rucker	QB	6-4	200	Fr.	Sanford, Fla. \| Sanford Seminole
Curtis Roberts	LB	6-4	195	Fr.	Clearwater, Fla. \| Central Catholic
Zeke Moore	TE	6-2	240	Fr.	Roswell, Ga. \| Roswell
Fin Jones	TE	6-6	235	Fr.	Venice, Fla. \| Venice
Xavier Terrell	RB	5-8	175	Fr.	Fort Lauderdale, Fla. \| St. Thomas Aquinas
Fabian Scott	S	6-3	170	Fr.	Miami, Fla. \| Booker T. Washington
Antonio Smith	S	6-3	190	Fr.	Miami, Fla. \| Gulliver Prep
Jabari Smith, Jr.	WR	5-10	185	Fr.	Orlando, Fla. \| Jones
Ovie Dubre	OL	6-4	330	Fr.	Powder Springs, Ga. \| McEachern
Kiemar Richardson *	DL	6-5	255	Fr.	Arcadia, Fla. \| Desoto High School \| Georgia Military College
Darius McClendon	CB	6-1	168	Jr.	Boynton, Fla. \| Forest Hill \| New Mexico Military Institute
Chris Tooley *	CB	6-0	160	Fr..	Orlando, Fla. \| Jones High School
Jordan Church	OL	6-4	325	Fr.	Bradenton, Fla. \| IMG Academy
Wallace Unamba	OL	6-6	332	Jr.	Rowlett, Texas \| Rowlett \| Kilgore CC
Arthur “AJ” Jenkins	WR	6-3	190	Fr.	Fort Lauderdale, Fla. \| Dillard
Gemari Sands	RB	5-10	190	Fr.	Davie, Fla. \| St. Thomas Aquinas

*mid-year enrollee

GET TO KNOW

Meet the Newest Owls
(Alphabetically)Ovie Dubre
Freshman | 6-4 | 330 | OL
Powder Springs, Ga. | McEachern High School

Holds a 166th rank in the state of Georgia by 247 and a top-10 OL ranking for GHSA
GHSA Region 2-7A First Team selection
As a senior, started at RT for McEachern who finished the year 4-6 in Georgia’s 7A classification
Brother Ese Dubre currently at Stanford
Used both unofficial and official visits to narrow his choice to FAU after visiting places like Arkansas and FSU and holding offers from Charlotte, Charleston Southern, and Grambling State among others

Jordan Church
Freshman | 6-4 | 325 | OL
Bradenton, Fla. | IMG Academy

Transferred to IMG Academy for his final season of prep competition
Built a composite national rank of 0.8485 (1,117th)
As a junior, named a News-Press SW Florida Offensive Player of the Year nominee following a season in which he never gave up a sack from the left tackle position
Led Dunbar to a district title and a 6A playoff berth
Earned First Team All-County, Third Team All-State honors
Preseason “Big 15” News Press Selection
Chose FAU over FSU, Louisville, Pitt, Tennessee, FAMU, Buffalo, and Arkansas State

Arthur “AJ” Jenkins
Freshman | 6-3 | 190 | WR
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Dillard High School

Final collegiate season saw Jenkins hold a 248th rank among Florida players by 247
As a junior, played for Deerfield Beach after time at Pompano Beach and Coral Glades
As a sophomore, caught 16 passes for 230 yards and two scores, helping Fort Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons win a Sunshine State 4A title
In the finals, had five receptions for a total of 63 yards to help defeat Bolles
Considered FAU, Temple and Coastal Carolina

Fin Jones
Freshman | 6-6 | 235 | TE
Venice, Fla. | Venice High School

Finished his prep career at Venice High School
Indians dropped two of their first three games and then finished the season winning eight of their last nine in route to the state championship game and as Regional Champions were propelled into the State 4A Final versus Lakeland
As a junior, attended Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney High School where he was a two-sport athlete (football and basketball)
Considered several schools through camp visits like Clemson and FSU, as well as Coastal Carolina and FIU

At NMI, played multiple secondary positions
Saw action in eight games and totaled 33 tackles, seven pass breakups, and four INTs
Named Second Team All-SWJCFC
Originally signed with Middle Tennessee, played in nine games as a 2020 freshman and recorded eight tackles
Graded out a winner seven times and played 121 total snaps
As a freshman (2019), saw action in three games and was redshirted

High School

Earned all-state and all-county honors at Forest Hill High School
Also named all-academic
Named Defensive MVP of the Palm Beach County All-Star game

Personal

Son of Dwayne McClendon and Amanda Henry
Born on Oct. 24, 2000

Zeke Moore
Freshman | 6-2 | 240 | TE
Roswell, Ga. | Roswell High School

Will have the opportunity to follow in the steps of another Georgia tight end, Harrison Bryant, who concluded his FAU career as the John Mackey 2019 honoree
First Team All-Offense H-Back after recording 316 yards on 25 catches and scored twice
Multi-sport athlete (football and track) ran a 12.41 in the 100-meter dash and 25.17 in the 200-meter dash
As a junior, caught 23 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns while helping Roswell to a 10-3 record and a trip to the 7A playoffs
Brought to Paradise by tight end and special teams coach Chad Lunsford, himself a Georgia native
Also considered Kansas State, North Alabama, Campbell, and Austin Peay

Used the season at Georgia Military to put on size
Saw action in 10 games, tallied 29 tackles, including 16 for a loss of 89 yards of which nine were credited as sacks for a loss of 78 yards
In takeaways, he forced and recovered a fumble, with a one-yard return
Bulldogs’ squad finished the season with an 8-2 record and were 7-0 at home
Part of a unit that held opponents to 66.8 rushing yards, 158.4 passing yards and just 13.3 points
Finished his senior campaign on a squad that was 7-4 and second in the district

Curtis Roberts
Freshman | 6-4 | 195 | LB
Clearwater, Fla. | Central Catholic

Athlete that played multiple positions as a senior
Finished his senior season with a 12-2 record, including going 7-0 at home
Member of state championship team
Two-sport athlete (football and track), with hopes of adding baseball to his resume
Specializes in long jump
Committed to FAU in the summer after considering more than 20 offers including Mississippi State, UCF, Kansas State, Michigan State, Appalachian State, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, and East Carolina

Luke Rucker
Freshman | 6-4 | 200 | QB
Sanford, Fla. | Sanford Seminole High School

Named First Team All-Seminole Athletic Conference, Honorable Mention All-State 8A
As a senior, passed for 1,385 yards and 12 touchdowns for the top school in Seminole County, despite not playing a full slate of games
Listed as a Florida passing leader by MaxPrep
Named to the Orlando Sentinel Super 60 in 2022
Following a 7V7 season that he posted 1,050 yards and 10 TDs was ranked No. 14 QB in Florida
As a junior, led Seminole to an 11-2 record in Florida’s highest classification and split time with another quarterback
Tossed for 1,849 yards, 26 touchdowns with just four INTs
Named squad’s Offensive MVP
As a sophomore, attended Oviedo High School where he posted a 5-5 record, threw for 2,392 yards with 22 TDs against 12 INTs

Gemari Sands
Freshman | 5-10 | 190 | RB
Davie, Fla. | St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Played for head coach Roger Harriett, a one-time FAU assistant coach, who focused on running backs
2022 saw Sands play among a strong rotation that guided Aquinas to a state championship over Homestead
He averaged 14.3 yards per carry and 40.1 yards per game for Aquinas as a senior
In 2021 scored twice versus Cardinal Gibbons at FAU
Part of a historically strong prep program that continued its winning ways in 2021 with a 7A Championship
In 13 games, totaled 465 yards and four scores while averaging 12.2 yards per carry, added four receptions for a total of 50 yards and two TDs and averaged 29.5 yards per kick return, finding the endzone once
Considered the 103rd best running back by On3
Also considered Colorado, FIU, and Jackson State

Fabian Scott
Freshman | 6-3 | 170 | S
Miami, Fla. | Booker T. Washington High School

Part of the program transformation last spring and summer under the direction of Coach Tim “Ice” Harris Sr., father of current FAU secondary coach Brandon Harris
Ended final prep season on a team that went 9-3
Will be among the top-two in height for the Owl secondary
Attended FSU’s summer camp, as well as UF’s

Antonio Smith
Freshman | 6-3 | 190 | S
Miami, Fla. | Gulliver Prep

Ranked No. 108 as a safety per 247 Sports Composite rankings
As a senior, saw action in 12 games averaging 8.0 tackles per game and was credited with two interceptions, while picking up a fumble
As a junior, recorded 23 tackles and four INTs in four games
Team finished 2021 with an 11-2 record and made the Sunshine State 4A playoffs
Weighed 17 offers including UF, Boston College, West Virginia, and UCF

Jabari Smith, Jr.
Freshman | 5-10 | 185 | WR
Orlando, Fla. | Jones High School

High School

Tallied 2,354 career yards on 157 catches, an average of 60.4 yards per game while stepping into the endzone 11 times
Member of the Elite 100 Prospects position midseason rankings
As a junior, recorded 1,044 yards and five scores and was chosen First Team All-State
Considered Kansas State and FIU, as well as Howard and Alcorn State

Xavier Terrell
Freshman | 5-8 | 175 | RB
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | St. Thomas Aquinas High School

High School

Played for head coach Roger Harriett, a one-time FAU assistant coach, who focused on running backs
Part of a unit that guided Aquinas to a state championship over Homestead
Recipient of the teams CAP (Character, Attitude, Performance) Award
First attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Where he rushed for 120 yards and had three touchdowns in five games for a team that finished 8-0 and held a No. 1 ranking by Max Preps Xcellent 25, during his sophomore campaign
As a freshman, played for IMG’s white team where he averaged 9.6 yards per carry totaling 1,670 yards and 21 scores through nine games
Also considered Georgia Tech and Marshall before solidifying his final decision
Multi-sport athlete, also running USA Track & Field where he is a two-time All-American

Chris Tooley
Freshman | 6-0 | 160 | CB
Orlando, Fla. | Jones High School

Note: He is the second player by the name of Chris Tooley to play at FAU, both defensive backs. The first Chris Tooley played at FAU from 2016-19 and was a member of two C-USA Championship teams as well as two Boca Raton Bowl Championship teams

High School

Played for Jones High School, a former high school for multiple current and former Owls
Competed in the Sunshine State’s 3M classification
Transitioned from quarterback to cornerback while at Jones
Earned SBLive Florida Athlete of the Week honors following a four-TD performance
Listed by Elite 100 Prospects among the mid-season position rankings
Member of a regional championship squad
Prior to Jones, played for Oak Ridge where he worked as a quarterback
Considered USF, Illinois, and Connecticut, as well as HBC’s Alabama State and Prairie View A&M

Squad finished 8-4 and 4-3 in conference play
Provided protection for an offense that averaged 154.6 passing yards and 202.8 rushing yards
Built a resume that earned NJCAA All-American Honors

Freshman (2021)

Saw action for Kilgore and fielded offers from Maryland and Massachusetts

High School

Played for Rowlett High School

Personal

Listed as a two-time JUCO All-American, three-time first team All-Conference selection, conference champion, and did not allow a sack in three seasons
Took each of his five official visits, spending time in Boca Raton, as well as North Texas, Texas State, East Carolina, and Georgia Southern
Holds his AA degree

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