MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones announced Tuesday that three student-athletes from NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A) schools have enrolled in school and will join the program in the fall.

Jake Johnson comes to Mobile from Virginia Tech, while Ben Giles and Kendall Houston arrive from Sun Belt Conference members Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State, respectively.

A linebacker from Fredericksburg, Va., Johnson started eight games and made 11 appearances in 2009 as a sophomore at Virginia Tech, helping the Hokies to a 10-3 final record, a 6-2 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division and a win over Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.  He finished tied for fifth on the team with 55 total tackles, which included 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and two sacks, and broke up three passes.  Johnson led VT on three occasions in tackles, including in its season-opener against fifth-ranked Alabama.

As a freshman the previous fall, he played in 11 games — the Hokies would go 10-4, winning both the ACC championship game and the Orange Bowl — on three different special teams units, making the first tackle of his career at Nebraska.  As a prep player, Johnson was ranked among the top linebacker prospects nationally and in Virginia by SuperPrep, Rivals.com and Scout.com after recording 20 tackles for loss and more than 100 total stops his senior season at Stafford High.

He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“Jake is a big linebacker and a very powerful inside player,” commented Jones.  “Obviously he brings a wealth of experience having played in the ACC and against Alabama last year.  We’re very excited about Jake coming here, he’s going to be a great addition to our program.”

Giles sat out last season at ULM as a redshirt, though he was part of a Warhawk program that posted a 6-6 overall record while going 5-3 in the Sun Belt.  A 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker from Pace, Fla., he collected 89 stops as a senior at Pace High School, which included 14 behind the line and 11 sacks, to be named first-team all-area.  Giles, who also lettered in weightlifting for the Patriots, was credited with 70 total tackles as a junior.

Giles will be able to play four seasons for the Jags.

“We feel good about adding Ben to our program.  He’s a hard-nosed inside linebacker,” Jones said.  “While watching him in high school, we were very impressed by his toughness and the way he loved the game.  We’re glad to have him.

“We’ve got a couple of linebackers who started last year that will be seniors this fall, so we needed to fill in behind those guys looking to the future and replenish our corps inside.”

Houston attended ASU last semester, participating in spring practice, but has not competed in a game and will have five seasons of eligibility with the Jaguars.  A 5-foot-10, 180-pound native of Mobile, Houston carried five times for the victorious team from Alabama in the 2008 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game after leading Vigor High to a 15-0 campaign and the state 5A championship his senior season — in the title contest, a 50-30 win, he was selected the game’s most valuable player after rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 26 attempts.  He was chosen to the Orlando Sentinel’s All-Southern Team and first-team all-state after collecting 2,190 yards and 25 scores that year.

“Kendall was a great running back in high school, we watched him play back then,” observed Jones.  “He has great speed and burst, we feel very lucky to get him at this point.  And it’s always great having a local player in our program, any time we can get a kid from Mobile we’re excited about that.”

The trio joins a program that went 7-0 in its inaugural season last fall, outscoring the opposition 321-41.  USA will play 10 games — all against four-year schools — this season, beginning with a Sept. 4 contest against Pikeville (Ky.) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium that will kick off at 4 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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