Alexander inks 56 for Bulldogs

Wednesday's signing day may have been even more bountiful than Cumberland coach Dewayne Alexander anticipated.
The second-year CU coach figured he had around 45 signatures in hand during a late-afternoon conversation with a reporter. But when he released his final list later Wednesday night, 56 names were counted, plus four others who transferred in at the semester break.
"It was a great day for Cumberland football," Alexander said. "I was really pleased with the presence we had here in the Middle Tennessee area. We took care of our area right around here."
Alexander and his staff signed players from almost all of the Region 4-5A schools, including twin brothers Aaron and Shane Scott from Wilson Central and defensive back Cody Tribble and offensive lineman Dustin Allen from Lebanon. They also got nine players each from East and West Tennessee and nine more from out of state.
"Coach [Damon] Bradford did a tremendous job in West Tennessee, as he always does recruiting," Alexander said. "We got the best of the best in West Tennessee of guys we were trying to get."
Alexander was looking for fill holes in the defensive front seven and offensive line.
"We had a good mixture of what we were looking for, we addressed a lot of the needs that we were looking for," Alexander said. "I'm also very pleased with the caliber of young men that we've been able to bring in with this signing. There are some excellent students with excellent grade-point averages, excellent test scores and also young men who were very well respected by their coaches and their school communities."
Alexander wanted to thank his coaches, including recruiting coordinator Brian White, and especially the general university staff for their help during the recruiting visits. He named President Dr. Harvill Eaton, Dr. Pete Peterson, Dr. Fred Heifner, Dr. Ann Whitefield, Eddie Pawlawski, Beatrice Lachance, James Snider, Athletic Director Pat Lawson and the cafeteria staff.
"We had over 120 kids who came onto our campus on our recruiting Saturdays, plus other days that we had people come and visit," Alexander said. "We got out, did our legwork and homework to get these guys here on campus. But once we got them on campus, we had a lot of people in the six hours that they spent here on their visit that did a lot to try to help these young men and their families feel comfortable here and want to come to our school.
"I think the parents felt good about it. I think the student-athletes felt good about it. We had excellent feedback from everyone who came here for a visit and I really think that was a reason for our success today."
And the recruiting will continue, the coach said.
"We still have some positions we would like to try to [fill] if we find a guy or two still left out there," Alexander said.
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.