College Football News – Guilford Adds Seven to Incoming Football Recruiting Class

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College head football coach Chris Rusiewicz announced the intention of seven more incoming students to play football for the Quakers Monday. The students have made their deposits to the college and will enroll for classes beginning in August. The third group of commitments in Rusiewicz’s fourth recruiting class at Guilford raises the number of commitments to 18 students.

Austin Burke (Apex, N.C.) lettered three seasons under head coach Joe Kilby at Apex High School. The 5-11, 200-pound linebacker was named a captain both his junior and senior years. He led the team in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks in 2013. Burke earned Academic All-Southwest Wake Athletic Conference (SWAC) awards all four years and was named an honorable mention All-SWAC pick in 2012 and 2013. The Bill Dooley Chapter of the National Football Foundation recently awarded him its 2013-14 scholarship for Apex High School. Burke has been named to the National Technical Honor Society and intends to study criminal justice at Guilford.
Ryan Foley (Kernersville, N.C.) lettered three years at Robert Glenn High under head coach Aldine Payne ‘85. The 5-11, 250-pound offensive lineman earned All-Piedmont Triad Conference recognition in 2013. He also lettered for Glenn’s wrestling and golf teams. Foley’s father, K. Alan Foley ‘87, was a four-year starting offensive lineman and three-time captain for Guilford. He was inducted into Guilford’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.

Austin Hollifield (Bostic, N.C.) lettered three years at East Rutherford High School under head coach Clint Bland. The 6-2, 175-pound quarterback/punter earned All-South Mountain Athletic Conference recognition in 2013. He served as a team captain and a two-time team Most Valuable Player. Hollifield finished the 2013 season ranked eighth among state punting leaders, averaging 40.38 yards per punt with a season long of 62 yards. Hollifield was also student vice president and captain of the shooting team (archery).
Bryce Parrott (Oxford, N.C.) lettered all four years under head coach John Hammett at Granville Central High School. The 5-9, 195-pound running back/linebacker was a three-time All-Tar Roanoke Athletic Conference selection as well as a three-time team captain. In 2013, Parrott led the conference with a league-record 156 tackles, which placed 10th in the state. He also finished with 1,478 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns, which stood second in his class (1A) and 15th in the state. Parrott led his team to its first appearance in the state playoffs, a single-season wins record, and pushed the Panthers to the top of the conference in offensive yards. He also earned the WRAL Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award and is a member of the National Honor Society. Parrott, who also lettered in basketball, track and baseball, plans to study sport management at Guilford.

Demetri Sheridan Jr. (Lumberton, N.C) lettered three years at Lumberton Senior High School under head coach Mike Setzer. The 5-11, 220-pound linebacker earned All-Robeson County and All-Southeastern Conference recognition in 2013. Sheridan was named the county’s 2013 Defensive Player of the Year after finishing with a league-high 187 tackles, the state’s fourth-highest total. His performance earned an invitation to the 2014 North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game. He was recognized last January as the Mountaire Farms/Civitas Media Scholar-Athlete of the Month. Sheridan was also an all-county basketball player, part of the Academic Booster Club, Beta Club, National Honor Society, and volunteered at Lumberton soup kitchens.

Marcus Starr (Durham, N.C.) lettered three years at Northern High School under head coach Raymond Wilson. The 5-9, 180-pound running back/defensive back was named to the All- PAC 6 team as a cornerback. He was also named Most Valuable Player of Northern’s special teams. A four-year track letter winner as a sprinter, he is also a member of the National Honor Society. His father, Eric Starr, played briefly with the Chicago Bears and in the Canadian Football League.

DeJohn Whitted (Parkton, N.C) lettered three years at South View High School under head coach Randy Ledford. The 6-0, 310-pound defensive lineman earned All-Mid South Athletic Conference recognition and played in the 2013 Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Whitted served as a team captain in 2013 and finished the season with 63 tackles. He helped the Tigers to a 9-4 record and the second round of the state 4A playoffs. Whitted is already taking college courses while in high school and looks to earn a degree in criminal justice at Guilford.

The Quakers finished the 2013 season with a 6-4 overall record, their best since 2007. Guilford could return as many as 18 starters and opens the 2014 campaign against cross-town rival Greensboro College in the Gate City Soup Bowl Sept. 6.