Grambling State University's Doug Williams guided his Tigers to an unlikely Southwestern Athletic Conference in his first season back as head coach of the Tigers.

Now he's working on rebuilding the football program's fan base.

That showed Wednesday as the Tigers added a solid group of regional talent on National Signing Day for college football.

“If you look at the list of players we signed, one thing we wanted to do was make it regional,” Williams said. “We want Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie to be able to come see these kids play. We want to bring that fan base – that pride – back to Grambling football. We recruited regionally, and we recruited locally with players out of Ruston, Shreveport and Farmerville. That's good for Gramlbing.”

The only non-Gulf Coast players GSU picked up on the first day of signing were receiver Dominique Leake of Memphis, Tenn. and athlete Shawheem Dowdy of Owings, Md.

Looking to replenish a depleted offensive line, the Tigers added Richwood's 6-1, 280-pound Trey Goins and Ruston's 6-3, 301-pound Justin Miller among its six offensive linemen while Farmerville defensive tackle Cen'terio (Trae) Ford's (6-3, 320) was a big addition to the defensive front.

“We were looking for players who might be able to step in and play right away – make an impact right away,” Williams said. ”We're not afraid to play freshmen, so a lot of these guys will get a chance right away.”

Ford added 20 pounds his senior season for the Farmers, but GSU defensive coordinator Andre Robinson said he plans on helping Ford on becoming even quicker.
“We're going to work him and ask him to lose 10-20 pounds and become even quicker,” Robinson said. “He was still fast after gaining the weight last year, but the college game is quicker, so we hope to make him even faster while keeping him as strong as he already is.”

Tackles Ernest Echols (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Curtis Stapleton (Ozark, Ala.) and end Samuel Reese (Center Point, Ala.) will join Ford as new defensive linemen for the Tigers.

Robinson also worked to restock his secondary, with defensive backs Nicholas Peoples (Shreveport), Tyler Olivier (New Iberia) and Joshua Alexander joining the Tigers.

Other additions to GSU's offensive line were William Cowan (Alexandria), Marlon Brown (Dallas), Dwight Brazile II (Houston) and Akil Hawkins (Georgia).
The Tigers also moved to bolster its receiving corps with the addition of Dominique Leake from Memphis and Travondre Rabon from Dallas.

“We didn't get to recruit much last year because I took over so late, so we feel very good about this signing class,” Williams said. “The thing is, as happy as we are with this class, we don't want today to overshadow what our players accomplished last season. When we were 1-4, our slogan became 'We're All We Got.' We wrote our own chapter in GSU football history and I think we can write even more chapters with this kind of signing class. There's still a lot more history to make.”
                                         


                                                 Grambling State 2012 Football Signees
 
• Joshua Alexander, DB, 5-10, 175, Houston (Sharpstown HS)
 
• Dwight Bazilee II, OL, 6-2, 285, Channelview, Texas (North Shore HS)
 
• Marlon Brown, 6-2, 230, Dallas (Skyline HS)
 
• Brandon Byrdsong, TE, 6-2, 225, Fayetteville, Ga. (Sandy Creek HS)
 
• William Cowan, OL, 6-2, 300, Alexandria, La., Peabody HS
 
• Ka'Jandre Domino, ATH, 5-10, 170, Baton Rouge, La. (Scotlandville HS)
 
• Shawheem Dowdy, ATH, 6-2, 220, Owings, MD (New Town HS)
 
• Ernest Echols, DT, 6-3, 330, Stone Mountain, Ga. (Martin Luther King HS)
 
• Justin Fortson, ATH, 5-8,165, Shreveport, La. (Fair Park HS)
 
• Cen'terio Ford, DT, 6-3, 320, Marion, La. (Farmerville HS)
    — Totaled 63 tackles (15 solo) and a team-high six quarterback sacks along with a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and a pass breakup as a senior Class 3A All-State performer for Farmerville High School.
 
• Vickey Gilbert II, LB, 6-2, 220, Rogersville, Ala. (Laurderale HS)
 
• Trevion Goins, OL, 6-1, 280, Monroe, La. (Richwood HS)
 
• Marcus Gordon, OL, 6-2, 380, Arlington, Texas (Bowie HS)
 
• Akil Hawkins, OL, 6-4, 285, Fayetteville, Ga. (Fayette County HS)
 
• Quadre Heath, WR, 6-2, 170, Shreveport, La. (Green Oaks HS)
 
• Noble Johnson, 6'1, 245, RB, Winnsboro, LA (Franklin Parish HS)
    — Rushed for 1,686 rushing yards and 22 TDs this season, while leading the Patriots to their first playoff victory since the school's consolidation in 2005.
 
• Dominique Leake, WR, 5-10, 165, Memphis, Tenn. (Southwind HS)
    — Had 39 catches for 636 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011, helping the Jaguars to a 7-4 record and an appearance in the Class 6A playoffs.
 
• Jamichael Edwards-Lott, DT, 6-4, 320, Richmond, Texas (First Assembly Christian Academy)
 
• Devaughn Madise, DT, 6-2, 255, Houston (Stephen F. Austin HS)
 
• Justin Miller, OL, 6-3, 301, Simsboro, La. (Ruston HS)
 
• Tyler Olivier, DB,  5-10, 180, New Iberia, La.
 
• Nicholas Peoples, DB, 5-10, 185, Shreveport, La. (Byrd HS)
    — Was the Shreveport Times' All-City Defensive Player of the Year after recording 62 tackles and intercepting four passes for the state semifinalist Yellow Jackets.
 
• Travondre Rabon, 6-2, 190, WR, Dallas, Texas (Skyline HS)
 
• Samuel Reese, DE, 6-2, 236 Center Point, Ala. (Center Point HS)
- Had 36 tackles, two sacks and one interception for the 11-2 Eagles.
 
• Trenton Scott, OL, 6-4, 330, Huntsville, Ala. (Lee HS)
 
• Dylan Spearman, DB, 5-11, 200, Ruston, La., (Cedar Creek)
 
• Curtis Stapleton, DT, 6-1, 250, Ozark, Ala. (Carroll HS)
 
• Henry Taylor, LB, 6-1, 205, Baton Rouge, La. (Scotlandville HS)
 
• Robert Wilcox, DE, 6-1, 252, Princeton, Texas (Princeton HS)
    — Totaled 57 tackles (22 solo) and five quarterback sacks in his senior season for the 7-5 Panthers.