Eastern football coach Kim Dameron announced his first recruiting class less than a month after being hired.

The Panthers added 15 new players to the roster, including two junior college transfers.

Eastern will begin its season Aug. 28, when they play the Big 10’s Minnesota in TCF Bank Stadium.

Dameron said he is excited about the recruiting class and for the future of the program.

“We addressed some needs that going forward we needed to address,” he said. “ We feel we signed a really athletic class and one that will reap benefits for EIU football for years to come.”

Quarterbacks

Jeremy Joseph from Lee-Scott Academy, stands at 6-feet, 6 inches, verbally committed to San Diego State and announced it through his Twitter account on Jan. 29. Within the week the quarterback from Auburn, Ala., then changed his mind and committed to Eastern.

During his senior season, Joseph passed for 904 yards, throwing nine touchdowns and rushing for 483 yards and scoring seven rushing touchdowns.

Joseph was a three-year starter, earning All-Area first team honors in his senior year.

JoWahn Brown, who is another high school quarterback, also signed with Eastern. Coming from Thornton High School in Chicago, Brown was named first team All-Southwest Suburban Red selection and was named to the Sun Times’ Top-100 list.

During his senior season with the Wildcats, he passed for 1,855 yards and threw 16 touchdowns.

Brown also rushed for 487 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns. Although he was a quarterback in high school, Brown is listed as an athlete in Eastern’s roster.

Offensive Linemen

Austin Askin is 6-feet, 7 inches tall, making him the tallest offensive linemen in Dameron’s recruiting class. Askin, who is a native of Louisville, Ky., attended Saint Xavier High School, where he played both guard and tackle during his career.

Ben Jones hails from Ocala, Fla., where he went to Belleview High School. Jones was a three-year starter during high school playing tackle. In his senior season he earned Florida Football Magazine All-North Central Region honors.

Rivals.com also rated Jones a two-star offensive line prospect.

Kevin Pickett is a native of Cincinnati, where he played on the offensive line on his team that reached the second round of the Ohio Division I State playoffs in both of his last two years.

Louis Vailopa is the fourth offensive lineman that signed with Eastern. Vailopa earned first team All-State honors as a senior at offensive guard at Saint Louis High School in Honolulu. He was also named second team All-ILH as a junior.

Secondary

Eastern signed three safeties in Bradley Dewberry, Jonathan Draper and Wilbert Vails.

Draper comes in as the most heralded of the three, as he was part of a 14-0 Crete-Monee team that won the IHSA Class 6A state championship during his junior year. Draper.

DySaun Smith also signed as a defensive back. Smith played at Lake Cormorant High School in Lake Cormorant, Miss.

Smith also played in special teams and as a kick returner he had a 98-yard kick for a touchdown during his senior season. He was also named second team All-Region.

Linebackers/Defensive Ends

Brandon Mathews and Tony Bradford were the two linebackers to join Eastern. Mathews attended West St. John High School in Edgard, La., where he helped the team advance to the Louisiana Class 1A state semifinals as a junior and senior.

Bradford helped North Gwinett High School reach the Georgia Class 6A State Championship game as a senior, but was limited to seven games during his senior year because of injuries.

Anthony Love Jr. is a defensive end from Romeoville, where he went to Romeoville High School. Love was an IHSA Class 6A All-State selection after earning Southwest Prairie Conference Defensive MVP honors as a senior.

Junior College Transfers

Thomas Coronado and Antoine Johnson are transfers from Fresno City College and Nassau Community College, respectively.

Coronado is a defensive end, while Johnson is a cornerback. Johnson has two years of eligibility left along with Coronado.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.