Good morning FlamesNation! It is Signing Day 2016! This is our Live Blog where we will update this post frequently as the NLI’s roll in. So, go ahead and keep this tab open and hit that refresh button frequently! In the meantime, head over to FlameFans to discuss the days’ events in our Signing Day 2016 thread. Also, be sure to check out our Signing Day Primer if you missed it yesterday.

Mid-Year Enrollee

QB Rudiger Yearick   

Yearick chose Liberty over IVY League offers and he has enrolled with the Flames for the Spring semester. Yearick had hand surgery at the conclusion of his senior season, but should be ready to go for spring practice. The 6’4″, 190 pound QB is from Indian Trail, North Carolina where he attended Metrolina Christian Academy. He will compete for the starting QB spot this spring & summer. Yearick was named to the all-state team his final 3 years in high school.

S Solomon McGinty (JUCO)

McGinty is a veteran defensive back who has 2 years of eligibility remaining. He is from Texas where he spent 3 seasons at Tyler Junior College including 1 year as a medical redshirt. McGinty is on campus and enrolled for the Spring semester. The 6’1″, 210 pound prospect will be expected to compete for playing time in the defensive backfield immediately. He finished this past season at Tyler Junior College with 57 tackles and 2 interceptions while earning 2nd team all-conference honors. He played wide receiver and linebacker in high school.

NLIs Received:

DE Michael Anderson

Anderson committed to the Flames December 15th. Liberty was the only offer for the 6’3″ defensive end product out of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. He visited Lynchburg this past weekend. Anderson attended Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale. He finished his senior year with 15 sacks, 4 pass deflections, a fumble recovery, and a blocked field goal.

LB Korell Evans

Evans committed to the Flames in December after being offered by Coach Gill in November. Evans is from Hallandale, Florida. He visited Lynchburg this past weekend. He is 6’1″ and 215 pounds. Evans played both defensive end and wide receiver as a senior and was a 3-year starter for Hallandale High School.

OL Ethan Crawford

Crawford was the first commitment in this class, as he committed back in early June. He also had offers from East Tennessee State, Charleston Southern, and Robert Morris. He visited Lynchburg this past weekend. Crawford is listed at 6’3″, 315 pounds. He’s from Augusta, Georgia. Crawford played on both sides of the line during all four years of high school. He was named all-region, all-area, all-CSRA, and honorable mention all-state as a senior.

OL Daniel Zapata

The 6’2″, 270 pound Zapata committed to Coach Gill and the Flames over Air Force, Army, Colgate, Robert Morris, and Monmouth. He attends Paramus Catholic in Paramus, New Jersey. He finished his senior season with 11 pancake blocks and won the Best Lineman in the Big North.

K Alex Probert    

As the Flames look to find a replacement for John Lunsford, they have picked up a commitment from Probert who recently picked up 3 stars from ESPN. Probert visited Lynchburg this past weekend. He’s listed at 5’9″ and 170 pounds. 80% of his kickoffs as a senior resulted in a touchback.

OL Damian Bounds, Jr

The Flames have picked up 5 pledges from offensive linemen in the class including Bounds who was named 1st-team All State following the conclusion of his senior season. He visited Lynchburg this past weekend. Bounds is listed at 6’2″ and 260 pounds. He’s from Ellenwood, Georgia where he attends Stockbridge High School. Bounds was named first-team all-state as a senior, and he helped lead his team to a state title during his junior season.

WR Lionell McConnell   

McConnell switched his committed from Missouri State to Liberty following his visit this past weekend. The Flames heavily pursued McConnell after David Harvey flipped from Liberty to Nevada in January. McConnell is 5’10” and 180 pounds and is from Allen High School in Allen, Texas. He finished his senior year with 767 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns while earning first-team all-district honors.

RB Mitchell Lewis

Lewis picked up his only Division I offer from Liberty just a couple weeks ago, and he committed shortly thereafter. He seemed to enjoy his official visit this weekend. Lewis is 6’0″, 220 pounds and from Auburn, Alabama where he attended Lee-Scott Academy. As a senior, he finished with 2,773 all-purpose yards and 34 touchdowns while rushing for 1,913 yards and 31 touchdowns on 217 carries. He was named to the AISA All-Star team as a senior and also received first-team all-area honors.

S Ceneca Espinoza, Jr

Espinoza committed following his official visit this past weekend. The Flames began looking for another safety to add to the class after Jalen Camp committed to Georgia Tech. Espinoza is a 6’1″, 215 pound prospect from Arlington, Virginia where he attends Washington & Lee High School. He played both running back and defensive back his senior year. He was named Defensive Player of the Year and 2nd team all-conference running back following his senior season.

OL Julio Lozano

Lozano became the 5th member of the offensive line in the class after committing this past weekend following his official visit. He’s listed at 6’4″, 270 pounds and is from Bellaire, Texas where he attended Bellaire High School. Lozano spent this past season at  Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas. He is expected to play offensive tackle at Liberty.

OL Aidan Burroughs

Burroughs has been listed at 6’3″ and 290 pounds. The offensive lineman product hails from Norfolk, Nebraska where he attended Catholic High. He visited Lynchburg this past weekend. He was named first-team all-district and all-state following his senior season, and he was also selected as Norfolk Catholic’s Most Dedicated Player. Burroughs also participated in track and wrestling during high school.

DL DeCarlo Hamilton

Hamilton chose Liberty over UNC Charlotte, Southeast Missouri State and Florida A&M. At 6’3″ and 315 pounds, he could play on either side of the line, but will begin his career on the defensive line at nose guard. Hamilton is from Plantation, Florida where he attends American Heritage School. As a senior, he finished with 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, and 5 QB hurries.

WR Antonio Gandy-Golden   

The 6’4″ receiver committed to the Flames recently over offers from Elon, Kennesaw State, Mercer, Samford, and Murray State. He’s listed at 6’4″ and 190 pounds. Gandy-Golden is from Dallas, Georgia where he attends Paulding County High School. He finished his senior season with 1,083 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns as he wasy named 5A All-Region and Team MVP. Gandy-Golden concludes his high school career the owner of six school records. He had 230 receiving yards in the Max Preps National High School All-Star game.

QB Stephen Calvert    

With Josh Woodrum graduating and Stephon Masha the only scholarship QB on the roster, the Flames made the position a high priority stating from the outset they wanted to sign 2 quarterbacks. Calvert had a standout senior season leading Carol City into the playoffs. He will join the team in the summer with the intention of competing for the starting job from day 1. Calvert chose Liberty over offers from Florida International and South Florida. Calvert is 6’2″, 175 pounds from Plantation, Florida. He threw for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior and was an All-Dade County honoree.

S Brandon Tillmon   

Tillmon is expected to be a 2-sport star at Liberty, playing both football and baseball. Following a successful senior season, Tillmon was named to the All-State team. We seemed to dodge a huge bullet with no FBS schools jumping into the mix with Tillmon over the last several weeks. Still one more hurdle to clear, as he could be selected in the MLB draft and choose to forgo college to begin his baseball career. We’ll worry about that later, but it’s great to have his NLI! Tillmon is 6’1″ and 210 pounds and is from Lexington, South Carolina where he attended River Bluff High School. He played both quarterback and linebacker during his final 3 seasons in high school. Tillmon was named All-Midlands and was a Shrine Bowl selection following his senior season where he passed for 1,478 yards and 9 touchdowns and rushed for 888 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also recorded 16 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and 4 sacks. Tillmon was a multi-sport start in high school, as he was also named the Region V AAAA Player of the Year in baseball as a junior and an all-region honoree in basketball.

DB Jimmy Faulks, Jr

Faulks committed to Liberty in August over reported offers from Florida International, Pittsburgh, and Western Kentucky. He first landed on the coaching staff’s radar as part of the team that won the 7-on-7 tournament at Liberty last July.