Murray State University Athletics
Racers Announce 22 Signees For 2004
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State football head coach Joe Pannunzio announced the signing of 14 student-athletes to national letters of intent on Wednesday, the first day of the spring signing period, as well as the addition of eight spring semester transfers.
Pannunzio, entering his fifth season at MSU, met with members of the media today in the Racer Room at Roy Stewart Stadium to discuss the 22 signees.
"This is big day for us because we knew we had some holes to fill for the upcoming season, and I think we did that," Pannunzio said. "We started this recruiting class in January when we signed eight kids that are on campus now, and we feel like those guys can make an immediate impact for us. Today, we added 14 signees from both the high school ranks and the junior college route, and we think we've added several guys that will make us better in the very near future."
MSU signed a pair of local standouts in defensive lineman Marvin Burns and defensive back Chris Fountain from Tilghman High School in Paducah, Ky.
The Racers also signed 6-5 wide receiver Lee McGinnis from Glenbard South HS in Wheaton, Ill. McGinnis is the son of former MSU track and field athlete Lee Roy McGinnis, a 1970 NCAA All-American as a member of MSU's Indoor Mile Relay squad.
"As we were watching film of potential recruits, we discovered Lee and he looked a lot like Terrell Owens on film,," Pannunzio said. "We made some calls and found that not only had he gone under the radar of most of the I-A schools we expected, but that his father ran track here at Murray State. We were very fortunate to get him because he's a great athlete."
Overall, MSU signed added six high school student-athletes, 14 junior college student-athletes and two Division I-A transfers.
Leading the way for the spring semester signees are three wide receivers, Jonathan Eiland (Pearl River CC), DeSean Hammons (Butler County CC) and Daniel Rumley (University of North Carolina).
"All three of those guys are players that we feel like can help us immediately at the receiver position," Pannunzio said. "We lost Deandre Green and Andrew Nowacki and we knew that was a void that we had to fill, and we think we've done that."
Another one of the key additions is an athletic transfer from Marshall University, Fernando Durden. Pannunzio expects Durden to provide immediate help in several areas, potentially on both sides of the ball at receiver and at defensive back.
Another key addition for the Racers is along the offensive line, where MSU added five players for the 2004 season.
"I didn't feel like our offensive line was mean enough and tough enough last season," Pannunzio said. "With all of the kids we've signed, I promise you they'll finish blocks and they've got some toughness about them that we desperately needed."
Pannunzio said he expects to potentially add a few more signees over the coming days. He also announced that spring practice for 2004 will tentatively begin on March 21 and run through April 18.
2004 Murray State Football Signees
As of Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. CT
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