Full Football Signing Class for 2020 Takes Shape

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Wednesday's February National Signing Day for Florida Atlantic University football and 2020 first-year head coach Willie Taggart has added nine new players to those previously announced through December and January.

In addition to the members of the class announced throughout today and the nine players inked on December's early signing day (plus one more in January), the Owls have thus far welcomed in five four-year transfers with the addition on Wednesday of T.J. Chase (a graduate student wide receiver coming from Clemson). The quartet of wide receiver D'Marcus Adams (Florida State), defensive lineman Malcolm Lamar (Florida State), wide receiver Yanez Rogers (Cincinnati) and wide receiver Aaron Young (Duke) have all enrolled and are already working out with the squad.

"Very, very excited about our class," said Taggart. "Really impressed with our staff, especially with the short amount of time of putting together a class ... It was challenging, but it was also good to see that our guys were able to go out and accomplish some of the things that we needed to when it came to recruiting and filling some of the needs that we had to fill. Not only did we fill the needs with good football players, we filled the needs with great character kids and kids that are going to be about the right things. Really excited about it."

Coach Taggart's full press conference can be viewed here:

Here is the full signing class to this point, including the earlier announcements:

Name	Pos	Ht	Wt	Cl	Hometown / High School (Previous School)
Evan Anderson	DL	6-3	325	FR	Orlando, Fla. / Jones High School
Alex Atcavage	OL	6-5	285	FR	Honesdale, Pa. / IMG Academy
**Alvin Dempsey III	DL	6-1	288	JR	Port St. Joe, Fla. / Port St. Joe High School (East Central CC)
**Sebastien Dolcine	OL	6-5	295	JR	Plantation, Fla. / Miramar High School (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
***Eli Fields	OL	6-5	297	R-SO	Linden, N.J. / Linden High School (Butler CC)
*Decarius Hawthorne	DL	6-2	280	FR	Center Point, Ala. / Center Point High School
Ja'Marquis Johnson	LB	6-4	204	FR	Nashville, Ga. / Berrien High School
Chris Jones	LB	6-4	215	FR	Pompano Beach, Fla. / Coconut Creek High School
Malik Jones	OL	6-2	296	FR	Zephyrhills, Fla. / Zephyrhills Christian Academy
*Marlon Krakue	LB	6-2	210	FR	Marietta, Ga. / Sprayberry High School
*Andre Lamas	OL	6-3	270	FR	Miami, Fla. / Columbus High School
**Joe Lewis	LB	6-1	191	FR	Tampa, Fla. / Tampa Bay Tech High School
*Travis Lockhart	DL	6-3	225	FR	Villa Rica, Ga. / Carrollton High School
**Justin McKithen	WR	5-10	155	FR	Savannah, Ga. / New Hampstead High School
Trevor Reaves	DB	6-2	175	FR	Miami, Fla. / Edison High School
Willie Taggart, Jr.	QB	6-1	157	FR	Tallahassee, Fla. / Florida State University High School
*Charles Toombs	DB	5-9	155	FR	Immokalee Flats, Fla. / Immokalee High School
Peter Warrick, Jr.	DB	5-10	183	FR	Marietta, Ga. / Marietta High School
Jaden Wheeler	DL	6-3	265	FR	Nashville, Ga. / Berrien High School

					* - December Signee
					** - December Signee and Early Enrollee
					*** - January Signee and Early Enrollee

Evan Anderson

FR | 6-3 | 325 | DL | Orlando, Fla. / Jones High School

Evan Anderson
High School

Totaled 84 tackles his senior season, with four tackles for loss that included two sacks
Also forced two fumbles
Led Jones squad to a 13-2 record – a school record for wins – and a state finals appearance, the first in school history

Personal

Also was considered by USF, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Toledo, among others
Ranked three stars by 247Sports

Alex Atcavage

FR | 6-5 | 285 | OL | Honesdale, Pa. / IMG Academy

Alex Atcavage
High School

Led IMG Academy as a senior to a 9-1 record, and MaxPreps rankings of No. 2 in Florida and No. 7 in the nation
Previously had played for his hometown school, Honesdale High School in Pennsylvania
Led that squad to the state playoffs in 2018

Personal

Also offered by Florida State, UCF, USF, Minnesota, Louisville, NC State and Illinois, among a host of more than 20 other schools
Three-star guard ranked No. 118 at that position by 247 Sports
Also rated three stars by ESPN, as their No. 125 guard

Ja'Marquis Johnson

FR | 6-4 | 204 | LB | Nashville, Ga. / Berrien High School

Ja'Marquis Johnson
High School

Two-way player at Berrien, with career defensive totals of 120 tackles, five interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries
On the offensive side of the ball, had over 1,000 all-purpose yards each of his junior and senior seasons
Rushed for 631 yards, had 140 receiving yards and passed for 345 more this past year
Had six rushing touchdowns as well
Listed his senior year as a quarterback, wide receiver and free safety
Teammate of fellow Owl commit Jaden Wheeler

Personal

Chose the Owls over Florida State, Kentucky, USF, Boston College and Georgia Tech
Rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports, as the No. 92 player in all of Georgia
Also ranked as the No. 71 athlete in the nation, No. 97 in Georgia, and given three stars by ESPN

Chris Jones

FR | 6-4 | 215 | LB | Pompano Beach, Fla. / Coconut Creek High School

Chris Jones
High School

His senior year at Coconut Creek, posted 48 tackles, seven for a loss, with eight sacks
Also scooped up a fumble recovery for a 20-yard return

Personal

247Sports gave him a three-star rating, with rankings of No. 48 as a defensive end and No. 114 in the state of Florida
Other interested schools included Florida State, UCF, USF, Minnesota, Indiana, Wake Forest and Kansas

Malik Jones

FR | 6-2 | 296 | OL | Zephyrhills, Fla. / Zephyrhills Christian Academy

Malik Jones
High School

Played both sides of the ball for the Warriors
Credited with six pancake blocks as a senior
Also totaled 113 tackles his final year, 38 for a loss, with 26 sacks
All told, had 68 TFL among 285 career stops during his four years
Was a multi-sport athlete throughout his tenure at Zephyrhills Christian, also competing in basketball, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling

Personal

Rated three stars by 247Sports; listed as the No. 99 defensive tackle and Florida's No. 177 recruit
Also given three stars by ESPN, rated No. 126 at offensive guard
Picked FAU over Kentucky, Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Troy

Trevor Reaves

FR | 6-2 | 175 | DB | Miami, Fla. / Edison High School

Trevor Reaves
High School

Totaled 91 tackles as a senior at Edison, 51 solo, with three for a loss
Also posted two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, a blocked field goal and two quarterback hurries
One of his two fumbles recovered, he took back for a touchdown

Personal

Rated three stars by both 247Sports and ESPN
Also offered by Kentucky, Maryland, Kent State, Southern Miss and UTEP, among others

Willie Taggart, Jr.

FR | 6-1 | 157 | QB | Tallahassee, Fla. / Florida State University High School

Willie Taggart, Jr.
High School

Threw for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior
Added another 876 yards (with a per-carry average of 9.0) and 10 scores on the ground
Led the Seminoles to a 12-2 record and the squad finished as Class 3A runners-up in the school's first ever appearance in the title game

Personal

Rated as the No. 125 athlete in the country and given three stars by 247Sports
Also three stars, and as the No. 36 dual-threat quarterback nationally, by ESPN
Considered Florida State, Oregon and Appalachian State

Peter Warrick, Jr.

FR | 5-10 | 183 | DB | Marietta, Ga. / Marietta High School

Peter Warrick, Jr.
High School

Played linebacker and safety at Marrieta, the No. 1 team in Georgia in 2019 according to MaxPreps
Posted a combined 129 tackles his junior and senior seasons
In addition to 66 tackles, had two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery this past year
The Blue Devils went 14-2, winning the Georgia Class AAAAAAA state championship
Following that win, helped the team to a 53-14 victory over Eastside Catholic (state champions from Washington) in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series
The season prior, had 63 tackles and two interceptions

Personal

Three-star recruit by 247Sports
Also considered Memphis and Rice
Son of Peter Warrick, who was twice a consensus All-American at Florida State before playing five years in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks

Jaden Wheeler

FR | 6-3 | 265 | DL | Nashville, Ga. / Berrien High School

Jaden Wheeler
High School

Had 58 tackles, five for a loss, his senior year
Also caused two fumbles
The year before, had five TFL among 25 stops, with a forced fumble and a blocked punt
Tallied a receiving touchdown each season as well
Took part in the Georgia Elite Classic All-Star Game
Teammate of fellow Owl commit Ja'Marquis Johnson

Personal

Three-star recruit by 247Sports, as the No. 139 nationwide defensive tackle and No. 180 player in Georgia
Picked FAU over Syracuse, USF and Tulane among other many late offers

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

D'Marcus Adams

Alvin Dempsey III

Sebastien Dolcine

Eli Fields

Malcolm Lamar Sr.

Joe Lewis

Justin McKithen

Yanez Rogers, Jr.

Aaron Young

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football at Florida on September 5, 2026 at 7:45 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Navy on September 12, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus FIU on September 19, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at ULM on September 26, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Texas Southern on October 3, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Army on October 17, 2026 at 12 p.m.

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