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3 ACC transfers headline large UNCP football signing class

The Robesonian, Lumberton, N.C.
·4 min read

Feb. 9—PEMBROKE — Darius Edmundson, Carlo Thompson and J.R. Walker are used to playing on big stages in college towns like Raliegh, Charlottesville and Blacksburg. This fall, they'll be taking the field at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.

The three former ACC players highlight the 17 transfer additions that the UNC Pembroke football program announced this week as part of a signing class that also includes 31 announced incoming freshman.

Edmundson joins the Braves from N.C. State, Thompson from Virginia and Walker from Virginia Tech.

Edmundson is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back from Middlesex who played in five games with the Wolfpack last season. He also previously played at Louisburg College.

Thompson, a 6-foot, 180-pound Richmond, Virginia, native, is also a defensive back, who did not appear in a game in 2022 or 2023 at Virginia.

Walker, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker from Elizabeth City, recorded 18 tackles in eight games for Virginia Tech in 2022.

The Braves also added five more Division-I transfers from the Football Championship Subdivision level:

— Taylor McGriff, OL, 6'4, 280 pounds, Gainesville, Fla./Murray State

— Mike Matthews, LB, 6'1, 250, Fayetteville/Southeast Missouri

— Jayvion McMillian, DB, 5'10, 175, Chapel Hill/Western Carolina

— D'Marcus Harrington, DB, 6'0, 185, Hamlet/Campbell

— Carson Mohler, TE, 6'3, 230, Temple Terrace, Fla./Monmouth

Nine more transfers join the Braves from the Division-II or junior-college level:

— Tristan Boone, DB, 6'1, 185, Tampa, Fla./Franklin Pierce

— Jahari Clemons, DL, 6'0, 285, Gainesville, Fla./Tusculum

— Austin Damron, TE, 6'2, 235, Green Sea, S.C./Erskine

— Elijah Horton, LB, 6'1, 210, Concord/Erskine

— Marcus Martin, QB, 6'2, 190, Los Angeles, Calif./Southwest Minnesota

— Kymon "Petty" Pope, DB, 6'2, 210 pounds, Dinwiddie, Va./Virginia State

— Scott Walker, TE, 6'3, 225, Winston-Salem/Fayetteville State

— Jaquan Albright, WR, 6'0, 180, Winston-Salem/Hutchinson Community College

— Zayden Murrillo, DL, 6'4, 285, Chester, Va./Louisburg

The Braves' deep high-school signing class and its transfer group both saw a recurring theme: the addition of lots of defensive backs. In addition to the six transfer defensive backs joining the program, there are seven incoming freshmen at the position:

— Journey Elder, 5'11, 175, Charlotte/Chambers

— Tarron Green, 6'1, 190, Leland/North Brunswick

— Jason Gonzalez, 5'9, 160, Concord/North Cabarrus

— Jaeden Johnson, 5'10, 155, Winston-Salem/Mount Tabor

— James Johnson, 6'0, 175, Garner/South Garner

— Khalil Moore, 5'8, 180, Richmond, Va./Benedictine

— Fredrick Sellars, 5'11, 165, Greensboro/Grimsley

Those DBs will have company in practice on the other side of the ball, with seven wide receivers joining the Braves program in addition to the transfer Albright.

— Ethan Biggs, 5'8, 165, Cameron/Union Pines

— Malik Brown, 5'9, 170, Riverview, Fla./Sumner

— Logan Cook, 6'1, 180, Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary

— Zach Harrison, 5'11, 175, Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell

— Que Kennedy, 5'10, 170, Ocala, Fla./Hawthorne

— Jaylen Smith, 5'9, 175, Zephyrhillis, Fla./Zephyrhillis

— Jamil Watkins, 6'2, 165, Ocala, Fla./Vanguard

As is the case in most classes, a large group of bodies to help the Braves in the trenches also signed to the team:

— Zack Barbour, DL, 6'4, 240, Wingate/Myrtle Beach Prep

— Nathan Fowler, DL, 6'2, 250, Clinton/Clinton

— Tyquese Gresham, DL, 6'0, 300, Commerce, Ga./East Jackson

— Jakari Hood, DL, 6'4, 230, Hope Mills/South View

— Dejhun McDougal, DL, 6'0, 285, South Chesterfield, Va./Life Christian Academy

— Cavon Reid, DL, 6'3, 205, Charlotte/Rocky River

— Rylan Haight, OL, 6'3, 260, Sugar Hill, Ga./Lanier

— Mikal Masionet, OL, 6'0, 325, New Bern/New Bern

— Cam Taylor, OL, 6'5, 300, Greenville/J.H. Rose

— Thomas Taylor, OL, 6'2, 235, Laurinburg/Scotland

The rest of the Braves' freshman signing class includes:

— Jackson Karshner, LB, 6'2, 215, Hope Mills/Gray's Creek

— Caiden Smith, LB, 6'1, 210, Marshville/Forest Hills

— Shamon Coleman, QB, 6'0, 200, Williston, Fla./Williston

— Tre Robinson, QB, 6'0, 185, Charlotte/Chambers

— Mitchell Brown, RB, 5'9, 160, Ocala, Fla./Vanguard

— Omari Mixon, TE, 6'4, 225, Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland

— Hunter Wyles, TE, 6'4, 205, Wilkesboro/Wilkes Central

This fall the Braves will enter their second season with head coach Mark Hall at the helm. The team was 7-3 last season in the coach's debut, the most wins in a season for the program since 2016.