Signing class part of football overhaul at The Citadel

Citadel coach Kevin Higgins introduced a 24-player signing class Wednesday that is just one part of an overhaul of Bulldogs football.

The class was shaped by Higgins' decision to scrap the spread-option offense he's run for five years in favor of a triple-option not too different from the one that helped The Citadel win its last Southern Conference title in 1992. It includes three quarterbacks, led by Burke High School star Del'Javon Simmons, and four running backs, including one-time Wofford commitment Terrance Martin of Cowan, Tenn.

Higgins, 24-32 at The Citadel, also is reshaping his coaching staff with new offensive and defensive coordinators coming on board. Defensive coordinator Isaac Collins was hired this week by Division III Widener, and offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini has a line on a job as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at another school.

Bob Bodine, well-versed in the triple-option at VMI and Georgia Southern, has been hired as assistant offensive coordinator, and Higgins plans to name new offensive and defensive bosses soon.

Higgins was tempted to move to the triple-option after the Bulldogs went from 7-4 in 2007 to 4-8 in 2008, and said the departure of All-America receiver Andre Roberts and quarterback Bart Blanchard after last year's 4-7 finish convinced him that now was the time.

"I think at our school, because our guys are disciplined and fundamentally sound, we can recruit guys who can fit in easier to a triple-option offense than to our former offense," he said. "We spent a lot of time trying to develop 6-4, 6-5 offensive tackles and get them up to 290 pounds, and we still were one of the top teams in giving up sacks two years in a row. Now, we won't be concerned with pass-blocking every day as a major skill. We will be working on run-blocking and coming off the ball."

QB Miguel Starks, returning for his redshirt sophomore season, will get first crack at running the option when spring practice starts Feb. 25. Veteran Cam Turner, who moved to receiver after injuring his shoulder, will return in the spring to give QB another shot. But Higgins fully expects Simmons and fellow QB signees Ben Dupree and Matt Thompson to compete for the job in the fall.

"These are outstanding athletes," Higgins said. "All three have outstanding feet, great eye-hand coordination, and they can all three throw the football, and all three will have the opportunity to do that when they get in camp."

Simmons, 5-9 and 205 pounds, accounted for 3,184 total yards and 52 TDs as a senior at Burke; Dupree (5-9, 175) was first-team all-state in Pennsylvania after piling up 4,120 all-purpose yards as a senior; and Thompson (6-1, 185) threw for 2,398 yards and 26 TDs, and ran for 721 yards and nine more scores, as a senior in Orlando Beach, Fla.

The switch to the triple- option made running backs key in this class, and the 6-0, 195-pound Martin might be the best of the four signed. He ran for 2,036 yards and 23 TDs, and was commited to Wofford before switching late to The Citadel.