The Missouri S&T football team on Thursday confirmed what the Daily News announced over the weekend in the signing of Pacific High School standout defensive end Jacob Nutt (6-2, 190) to a national letter of intent.
In a story on area recruit prospects over the weekend Pacific head coach George Hinkle told the Daily News that Nutt had given a verbal commitment to S&T.
Also, late Thursday afternoon Miner head coach Kirby Cannon confirmed that the school had all the paperwork in on another recruit signing, running back/receiver Dawan Ferguson from St. Louis Riverview Gardens.
Nutt “High-Motor Guy”
“I am really surprised that (Nutt) wasn’t recruited more than he was,” Hinkle said. “He’s a really, really good player. I think S&T is getting a real good one.”
Nutt had 54 tackles -- including 11 quarterback sacks -- last season in earning Missouri Football Coaches Association All-State honors and helping the Indians to their best season in decades.
Pacific finished 8-3 and made the Missouri Class 4 state playoffs.
“He’s a high-motor speed kid who’s got growth potential,” Cannon said. Right now he’s close to 6-3 and about 220 pounds. We had great success with Matt Loula at that position, and he may not have been that big. Nutt’s a quality athlete, which is critical in a three-man front scheme.”
Ferguson Adds Speed
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first announced the Miners’ signing of Ferguson in Thursday morning’s edition.
Ferguson (5-9, 175) was a speedy running back for the Riverview Gardens Rams.
As a senior Ferguson had 1,533 yards of total offense, rushing for 830 yards (6.7 yards-per-carry) and six touchdowns and catching 48 passes for 703 yards and eight more TDs.
Cannon says the Miners have Ferguson pegged for the slot receiver position that has helped several S&T receivers, such as Chad Shockley and Ashton Gronewold, pile up big receiving numbers in recent years.
“Dawan was a very good tailback in high school,” Cannon said. “He’s got speed and we’ll try him in that inside slot receiving spot and see if he can make that transition.”
The addition of Nutt and Ferguson brings the total of freshman recruit signings for the Miner football team to five. Wednesday was the first day prep recruits could sign with NCAA programs.
S&T is coming off an injury-plagued 4-7 season.
Cannon said the Miners expect to release additional recruit signings in the next few days.
