Delaware football recruiting class includes one major surprise: See who Blue Hens signed

A fraction of the University of Delaware's evolving football future began to take shape Wednesday.

Eight high school seniors signed a National Letter of Intent, confirming their acceptance of a football scholarship, according to UD social-media outlets.

Delaware is building toward a 2025 climb to the Football Bowl Subdivision as a Conference USA member after a final Football Championship Subdivision/Coastal Athletic Association season in 2024, when the Blue Hens will be ineligible for the league title or NCAA Tournament.

Only one of Wednesday morning's eight signees was a player whose commitment to Delaware hadn't been previously revealed. And it reflects the competitive climb Delaware is poised to make.

He is Meikhi Cuttino, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive back from Paramus Catholic in New Jersey who also had offers from Power-Four programs Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, Syracuse and West Virginia, according to rivals.com.

“He was dealing with some FBS stuff up until recently and we got a chance to kind of steal him away from those," Delaware coach Ryan Carty said Wednesday. "Just a fit thing. He had been on campus . . . Pretty excited to add the kind versatility he has."

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Delaware football signees

Tyler Burnham, 6-6, 300, OL, Red Bank Catholic (New Jersey)

Meikhi Cuttino, 6-3, 200, DB, Paramus Catholic (New Jersey)

Colin Gallagher, 6-1, 220, LB, Middletown South (New Jersey)

Kaeden Singleton, 6-2, 228, DE, Canon-McMillan (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania)

Greg Spiller, 6-0, 195, RB, John Champe (Aldie, Virginia)

Braden Streeter, 6-2, 190, QB, Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tennessee)

Nick Tyree, 5-9, 165, WR, Thomas Dale (Chester, Virginia)

Jackson Whitacre, 6-4, 235, TE, Shore Regional (West Long Branch, New Jersey)

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Most commits before CUSA move

All except Cuttino committed to Delaware this summer and fall before the school announced Nov. 28 it was moving to FBS. Most picked Delaware despite also having FBS-level opportunities.

"All of these student-athletes were taken with FBS-caliber in mind," Carty said.

Three UD signees — Streeter, Cuttino and Burnham — were judged three-star prospects by various recruiting outlets.

Carty lauded how “nimble” Burnham is for a player his size, which also was evident watching him play basketball. His other suitors included West Virginia, Pitt and Duke.

Streeter chose Delaware over FBS-level Appalachian State before raising his status with a big senior season.

“I’m really proud of [quarterbacks] coach [Sean] Goldrich and our staff for hanging on to Braden," Carty said. "It's hard to hang on to a three-star quarterback with the amount of time that we’ve had him connected to us and committed to us [Streeter committed in June]. He’s really darn good.”

A second signing day looms on Wednesday, Feb. 7 with Delaware likely to add more players, some off the transfer portal, as it increases its scholarship allotment from the FCS maximum of 63 to the FBS-level 85.

Several players coming as recruited walk-ons also have stated they are destined for Delaware on social media. That group includes Middletown quarterback Austin Troyer, Red Lion Christian offensive lineman Carter Sareyk and Skyler Shoulder, a kicker/punter at Pennsylvania powerhouse Saint Joseph’s Prep.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: See who Delaware Blue Hens signed with eye on FBS, CUSA future