Spartans football team welcomes quartet of newcomers

NORFOLK

The Norfolk State football team needs to rebuild on defense - quickly if it hopes to defend its MEAC title.

The Spartans put potential building blocks in place this week with four newcomers, including a trio from big-name schools.

All four play defense, three play linebacker, and three should be able to help out immediately.

"I was trying to think myself (if we've ever had three) from BCS schools," coach Pete Adrian said. "Obviously, we had (wide receiver) Xavier (Boyce) last year and we had (quarterback) Dennis Brown before that, but three in a year, I'm not sure."

Lynden Trail transferred from Florida and will have three years of eligibility at NSU. Brent Singleton transferred from Minnesota and has two years of eligibility left.

Neither played a down last season.

Lamonte Clark, a defensive end, originally committed to Kansas State but never began school.

He can redshirt without penalty at Norfolk State if he chooses.

The final newcomer, linebacker Justin Gant, played for Atlanta Sports Academy, a prep school in Georgia.

Given their big-school pedigrees, it's not surprising that the players were hot commodities coming out of high school.

None was bigger than Trail, ranked the No. 7 weakside defensive end in the country by Rivals. Trail, 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds, struggled to put weight on at Florida, and NSU will use him at outside linebacker, adding depth to a group that might already have been the class of the MEAC.

Trail could be the highest-profile player ever to land at Norfolk State. He also arrives with the most notoriety of the bunch, although his biggest splash isn't a proud moment.

While in high school, Trail posted a photo on My Space of himself wearing a bandana and flashing a gang sign.

The photo wound up on the popular website Deadspin, in a post that questioned the character of the players Florida was recruiting.

Afterward, Trail later defended himself to Sports Illustrated, saying the photo was taken four years earlier in eighth grade when he was a "wanna-be."

"It was a long time ago," Trail said Sunday. "The photo, yeah, it was stupid. When it comes up, I try to say, 'Don't let a dark past get in the way of a bright future.' "

Trail has no criminal record and, by all indications, left Florida on good terms. He grew up in a rough section of Miami and said part of the reason he picked NSU is because he and his mother wanted him to stay away from Miami.

Trail could have gone to community college for a year before transferring to another Football Bowl Subdivision program, but decided he wanted to play immediately.

"I have two parts to my dream, getting my degree and playing football," Trail said. "I'm looking forward to getting on the field and making the second part happen."

Clark was ranked the No. 39defensive tackle by ESPN before last season, and Singleton was ranked the No. 59 outside linebacker by Rivals.

Adrian said he considers Clark a candidate to replace Joey Christine at defensive end, while Singleton will help replace inside linebackers Corwin Hammond and Onyemechi Anyaugo, the top playmakers on last year's unit.

The arrivals are a stark contrast to the way NSU built last year's championship team, which was led by a host of fourth- and fifth-year seniors, but Adrian said they fit NSU's formula.

"To be honest, a couple of these have a chance to be with us a while," Adrian said. "Only one will be a two-year guy. The transfers we've brought in have played. We look at where do we have a need for someone a little older. They don't need to be a star, but there's a big difference between playing an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old. We've really got three. When you bring out 12 or 13 a year, you have problems."

Chris Carlson, 757-446-2367, chris.carlson@pilotonline.com