Defending Southland champion Colonels add nine new players on early signing day

The Nicholls football team added nine players Wednesday on the opening day of the three-day early signing period for the class of 2024.

“When you go back and you look at last year, we kind of went ahead and were kind of heavy on the defensive line. So this year not as many. We went ahead and signed a couple of offensive linemen. We have three offensive linemen signed, and still may look to add a couple more to that with the next signing,” Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said.

Of the nine signees, only one, Joseph Bradford, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound offensive lineman, is a junior college player.

“He’ll be an interior player for us, a center-guard,” Rebowe said of Bradford.

The prep linemen are Kevin Gray of East Ascension, and Jacob Carpenter of Evangel Christian.

“I just think that there were some guys we identified early in camp, and we had them over the summer, and they came to a couple of games, and we like the development. Kevin Gray is going to be a good, young player for us on the inside. Jacob Carpenter is another one and he comes from a good program at Evangel. He’s a smart football player. We think he will be able to help us pretty soon,” said Rebowe.

New Colonels such as Paxton Lafont, Talan Bingham, and Shane Lee won’t have to travel far to play at the Thibodaux school which has built its program around local talent.

LaFont is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver from E.D. White in Thibodaux.

He hauled in 45 catches for 901 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior season. Lafont had 30 catches 349 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 despite missing time after suffering a collarbone break in Week 6 but managed to return in time to play in EDW’s 38-7 loss to St. Thomas More in the semifinals.

“Paxton is a legacy. His dad played here,” Rebowe said, referring to Toby Lafont, who was a tight end for the Colonels from 1993-95. “He had a fantastic season. He has just grown so much. I’m not talking about size-wise. Just the things that he’s done over the year. I’m really counting on him to come in and play early for us.”

Bingham is a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive lineman from Terrebonne High.

“He’s a physical, tough, hard-nosed football player. One of the best, I think, in the state I really do,” said Rebowe. “I’m super excited to have him because I think he’s one of those that was under the radar. I really do. And you just go put the film on you, go watch him play. He’s hard to block. He’s a tremendous effort guy. This is a guy who’s going to make an impact on our defensive line.”

Lee is a 5-foot-10, 200-pound running back out of Destrehan, who also is a standout on the Wildcats’ baseball team.

“He’s tough, hard-nosed. He reminds me of some of the guys we’ve had in the past. A Julien Gums-type player. He’s got deceptive speed. He has a burst. He will be able to cut. Again (from) another good program that knows how to win some football games,” Rebowe said.

Also signing with Nicholls on Wednesday was Preston Welch. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback out of Teurlings Catholic, passed for 8,052 yards and 91 touchdowns in his career.

“We built a relationship with him all year long,” Rebowe explained. “He came to the Pro Football Camp this summer. He had a really, really good year. I think a lot of the local people around here are going to know him from when Teurlings played E.D. White. He had a really, really good game this year.

“He’s a guy with a big, strong on him I think he’s going to be kind of like a dual threat quarterback for us.”

Nicholls signed a pair of defensive backs in safety Marcus Dawson and cornerback Anthony Rogers.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Dawson, a product of University High in Baton Rouge, was listed as the No. 32 overall recruit in the state of Louisiana and boasted a three-star rating from 247Sports.

“He’s tall, he’s rangy. He’s physical,” said Rebowe. “He’s coming from a pretty good football program. He knows how to win. He knows how to have success.

“We see him fitting into some of the mold of the of the Ethan Lees, and the Matt Melancons, and Tyler Martin – guys that we have already.”

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Rogers is from Laurel High in Mississippi.

“Anthony is another one that committed to us early in the summer. He came from a good program. I think they played for the state championship in Laurel. He’s a hard-nosed, tough, hungry athlete,” Rebowe said.

The Colonels may sign another player before the early signing period ends Friday and may sign about 15 players for the 2024 recruiting class, according to Rebowe.

“We have a couple of guys that have committed verbally to us that just want to come visit and haven’t wanted to sign yet. So, we have some more guys on the radar. I think there will be a few more that are going to pop up with up through the portal before it closes January 2.”