RUSTON, (Dec. 21, 2022) – Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie spoke with the media on the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday.


Opening Statement…
"We are excited about our 2023 signing class. Our staff really got to know our class on a personal level really more than what they just did on film and what they did on the field. That is one of the things we really set out to do in our first full year here. We felt like the guys we got our very talented but they also are good kids that are hard workers and know how to win… Ten of our kids we signed are from Louisiana which we felt like was very important to be able to recruit this state. We feel like this is one of the best states in the country in terms of talent. We were also able to hit a couple of kids from east Texas and a few smaller towns around the Dallas and Fort Worth area. I am really excited about this group. It is fun to make things official. We got to know all of them through camps whether they came to our camps or we saw them at another school's camp. We watched them in spring practice and had them on campus numerous times and recently had most of them on campus for an official visit weekend. I felt like we have been able to be around these kids and their families quite a lot and there are a lot of inspiring stories in this signing class. We look forward to getting them here in June and getting them immersed into our culture at Louisiana Tech."

On signing five offensive linemen…
"Every year, I would like to sign four or five offensive linemen just because of attrition. Offensive line and defensive line are the most important positions. You can't ever turn down good offensive or defensive linemen just because of what your numbers say. This offensive line class is one that I am as excited about as any place I have been. Hayden Christman from Tioga, La., is a big athletic lineman that also plays basketball. He has been to our camps and made numerous visits. I am very excited about him and his upside. Ja'Marion Kennedy also known as Sugar Bear from Northwood High School is very athletic and gives us flexibility to play all five positions on the line. Troy Smith from New Orleans is very athletic and gives us versatility. He projects as a guy that can play both inside and outside at tackle with his length and athleticism. Keystone Allison is coming from a state championship program in Carthage, Texas. He played left tackle there and knows what it is like to win. He has done a very good job in terms of pass protection. Roy Brackins from Baton Rouge is really a prototype for us at center. He is big with a physical presence. He earned a scholarship in June when he came down to our camp with his father. I am really excited about our offensive line class. Coach Young and Coach Barrett did a really good job of communicating with them and has allowed us to sign a high school offensive line class that I feel very strong about."

On Hayden Christman's size…
"We have seen a few. There are few and far in between. With his athleticism and competitiveness. He has a learning curve in terms of pass protection but he is willing to learn. What makes me so excited about Hayden is that he has gone other places with visits but at the end of the day he kept coming back and this is where he wants to be. I am excited about Hayden and his family. He will fit in really well. Him Ja'Marion, Troy, Roy and Keystone did a really good job of recruiting each other."
 
On Evan Bullock and the Quarterbacks…
"Coach (Scott) Parr's brother being the head coach at Anna High School really helped us there. We had a detailed report on his day to day habits to go along with his ability to throw the football. As the season went on Evan was 13-1. They lost in the state quarterfinals which is the furthest that his high school has ever gone in the playoffs in Texas. That is exciting because he led his team and won a lot of football games. The biggest thing with Evan is he just needed reps and needed to be able to play. He improved as the season went on. His release quickened up, he is accurate, has the ability to stay in the pocket and has courage. He can stand in there and take a hit but also has the ability to create with his feet some as well. I am excited about Evan. We have a lot of information on him from camps and spring practice. We were also able to evaluate him during the season. He is a big strong kid that throws the ball well. We now have four guys on scholarship now at that position. We are always looking to try to better our team so we will continue to evaluate that position and keep looking around. If there is an older experienced player that we can come across that is a good fit then we may look at bringing one in. With Matthew Downing coming back, Landry Lyddy, Jack Turner, Lonnie Ratliff IV and adding Evan into the mix I feel strongly about our room."

On DeMardrick Blunt and Cam Hill…
"Their athletic ability just jumps out on film. Cam Hill, we saw at our camps and other schools' camps. Coach (Paul) Turner and Coach (Scott) Power we able to work with him.  He is coming from a great program at Union Parish, he has won a lot of football games and knows what it takes to be successful on a daily basis. He has great athleticism and upside. He played corner but we project him as a safety.  He can be a long rangy safety with a lot of speed. I am excited about Cam. DeMardick Blunt has played a lot of positions a Carroll High School and is very versatile. He came to our camp and performed really well. We project him as a linebacker. Coach Power worked him out at our camp and he ran really well. With the proximity to our campus DeMardrick was able to come visit multiple times so we had opportunities to get to know him and his families. Those are the things that we try to take advantage of with north Louisiana talent is getting them to visit multiple times and getting to know them and their families. I am excited about both of those players that had success and we hope to transition that success to our place as well. They are both very talented and when they get working with Coach (Dave) Scholz and our strength staff their upside is huge."

On Safeties…
"It is important that we have guys that our sure tacklers. We have to get better at tackling at the safety position and our three guys that we are bringing in will give us the opportunity to do that. Jacob Fields played safety, corner, running back and returned kicks. He is all over the field and came to our camp and ran very well. When a kid in high school plays multiple positions there is a great chance the kid is very smart from a football standpoint. Michael Richard from Edna Karr is a guy that you watch his film and very quickly you see how he plays with wreck less abandon. He is another guy that will have to get with Coach Scholz and the nutrition play that he has for him to add weight and strength and they will do that. They play the game with fearlessness, fast and physical which is what we look for in all of our players. They upgrade our speed on defense. We are still in the process of doing that and still have ways to go but those three guys do that."
 
On Delvin Whitaker…
"He went to one of the camps we went to this summer and was doing one-on-one with some top-notch running backs and he was covering them pretty well. He projects as a defensive tackle for us once we get him here and add some weight to him. He is extremely athletic and powerful. Being able to move him and create some pass rush is where he really fits in for us. When you watch his film, he is a big athletic guy that makes plays all over the field… Coach Casey Walker did a nice job building a relationship with Delvin. He is very athletic, explosive and getting him here in June and getting him going will give us some pop and twitch inside which we need."

On Message to Recruits…
"We are evaluating players as much as they evaluate us. We are looking for a guy that is a right fit for Ruston, our campus and how we want to run a program. When we bring kids on campus and they see our facility and how it looks over Joe Aillet Stadium it is a beautiful facility… The kids love being on our campus with 10,000 students approximately. We are looking for kids that want to be in that environment and be in a city that is going to wrap their arms around them, embrace them, and support them… Players that what to be a part of that is what we try to identify. At the end of the day it is going to be about relationships and honesty. I try to be very clear with them about the expectations I have for them and all program has for them. Our recruiting staff has done a phenomenal job of making our recruits feel comfortable and making them feel at home on our campus. That is what we sell. We also sell our ability to develop them too because at the end of the day that is going to make you a better football player. In some positions there is opportunities to play earlier than others so that is something else that you have to talk about… When you are talking to a kid no matter what the level is they are coming from the expectation is that we want them to play well… This place is an easy place to sell because of the people and the success we have had through the years. We have to start winning ball games more to allow that to sell. At the end of the day, if you look at the class we signed I think it is one of the best classes in our league. It is quality players that are quality people from winning programs with a lot of upside."

On Needs Going Forward…
"It is primarily on the defensive side. We need to sign two defensive tackles and three defensive ends in addition to linebackers and safeties. We would like to have them older so they can come in, compete and build our depth. We will sign some guys that won't be released until later. Offensively, if we can fine a lineman that can come in and push the group to compete we will definitely take that. We probably need an older tight end with a bigger body. We want to make sure the guys we identify in the second signing wave as well that are guys fit the same profile that our others guys fit from ability to their willingness to be coached and developed. That is what we are looking for in this next wave that is already ongoing right now. We have to be better on defense and build our roster through the middle form this next month on and through February to get them ready for practice."

On the Current State of College Football Recruiting and the Transfer Portal…
"You notice it in the recruiting trail at every turn. There is a lot of better high school players that are still available and are still being overlooked. You have schools going after transfer portal kids that might miss them then go after high school kids without developing a relationship but they might sign with them because they are a power five school. The chances of those things working out long term are not very high. With NIL and the transfer portal, at some point the system is going to have to have a reset. From the amount of money going around to high school kids is amazing. This is very naive and I know we are about winning and we have to win and do better. When you look out at the educational piece that college football provides to people I just get concerned that that piece of it is not important to most levels… A lot of things going on in college football right now are very short term. We do not have a lot of long-term views of hey what will my life look like 20 years down the road if I do not have a college education? Some of those things are very concerning. That is what is so exciting about some of the players that we signed is the opportunity. We are trying to win and develop players as much as anybody but also the opportunity off the field. Then you have kids on your roster and other schools are trying to talk to them during the season which is very disheartening and alarming. At the end of the day it goes on and it is very hard and makes your job more challenging. With the players we have in our locker room and has stuck it out, I am very excited about our players and our team. We will continue to try to take care of them the best we can and continue to keep the number one focus of developing them on and off the field. If we do that I feel like we will churn out some wins and get this program going in the right direction while doing it the right way."