When Nathan Brown was introduced as the new head football coach at the University of Central Arkansas at the Farris Center on Dec. 9, he had 11 days to prepare for the NCAA's first early signing period.
"One of the main things I wanted to do as soon as I got hired was get some coaches in place so we could get out that last week of the contact period," said Brown, 31, a former UCA quarterback who served as an offensive assistant since 2009. "My goal was to have some assistants in place, and maybe we could go sign some guys in December. That was something I definitely wanted to get quickly."
UCA Early Signing Class of 2018
Name;Ht.;Wt.;Class;Pos.;Hometown;Previous school
Alex Bridges;6-5;310;Jr.;OL;Tyler, Texas;(Cisco (Texas) Community College)
Will Burgess;6-4;220;Fr.;OL;Hot Springs;(Lake Hamilton)
Dylan Desper;6-4;290;Jr.;OL;Madison, Miss.;(Jones County (Miss.) Community College)
Austin Eldridge;6-3;240;Fr.;TE;Plant City, Fla.;(Plant City)
Jacob Ingram;6-3;305;Fr.;OL;West Monroe, La.;(West Monroe)
Cameron Myers;6-1;200;Fr.;RB;Plant City, Fla.;(Durant)
Alejandro Ramirez;6-2;300;Fr.;DL;Springdale;(Har-Ber)
Bernie Smith;5-8;170;Fr.;WR;Spring, Texas;(Klein Oak)
Duke Upshaw;6-0;180;Jr.;CB;Baldwyn, Miss.;(East Mississippi Community College)
Taylor Wallace;6-1;200;Jr.;P;Jackson, Miss.;(Jones County (Miss.) Community College)
Raleigh Wood;6-2;205;Jr.;LS;Grenada, Miss.;(East Mississippi Community College)
Brown hired eight assistants by Tuesday -- three of whom were on staff when former coach Steve Campbell left for South Alabama on Dec. 7 -- and they spent the past week reaching out to the players they had previously offered and "closing the deal on them."
"There's always a time of indecision whenever there's a coaching change," Brown said. "I was promoted from within, and even with that being said, you still have questions with prospects, their parents. That was definitely some areas we had to answer."
UCA signed 11 players Wednesday. Six players were high school recruits, and five were junior college transfers.
"Our coaches did a great job of doing that in a short amount of time," Brown said. "We hit some positions of need."
The Bears lost five offensive linemen, including three starters, to expired eligibility. Four of Wednesday's signees were offensive linemen.
"That fit the mold we were looking for," Brown said. "My goal, my vision is to get bigger on the offensive line and defensive line. To compete with the North Dakota States and the James Madisons, you have to be physical in the trenches."
One of the two signees that "jump off the map" to Brown is 6-0, 180-pound cornerback Duke Upshaw, who transferred from East Mississippi Community College after the Lions won the NJCAA Championship Game 31-28 over Arizona Western College on Dec. 3. Upshaw finished the season with 33 solo tackles and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. On Tuesday, Upshaw was named first-team NJCAA All-America.
Brown said UCA landed Upshaw over Southern Mississippi, North Texas, Toledo and "a lot of midmajor [conferences] traffic."
Cameron Myers, a high school running back from Plant City, Fla., chose UCA over Arkansas State University, Brown said, partially because his brother, Brandon, recorded five touchdowns as a freshman wide receiver this past season.
Brown said the early signing class is "a good starting point," and he expects UCA will have 22-24 signees by February.
Brown said he has "mixed feelings" about the early signing period.
"You find kids who want to sign early, it's great for them," he said. "The concerns with this time of year, there's a lot of coaching changes. Lots of stress for coaches and kids as well. In the FBS, they're in bowl games, practicing. They can't get out, and that's got to be tough on them."
UCA is coming off a 10-2 season in which the Bears won their first Southland Conference championship since 2012. UCA lost 21-15 to New Hampshire in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
"We're going to take this thing to the next level," Brown said.
Sports on 12/21/2017