Football

Signs Of The Times: A Look At National Signing Day 2014

A look at how American Athletic Conference teams fared on National Signing Day

A look at how American Athletic Conference teams fared on Signing Day 2014.
 
UCF • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Errol Clarke LB 6-3 240 Miami, Fla./Miami Central
JoeyConnros DE 6-4 270 Powder Springs, Ga./Harrison
Chris Davis Jr. WR 6-1 180 Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo
Chavis Dickey OL 6-4 300 Byron, Ga./Peach County
Jordan Franks ATH 6-4 210 Crawfordville, Fla./Wakulla
Kyle Gibson DB 6-0 180 Tampa, Fla./Armwood
Tyler Harris QB 6-4 220 Blackshear, Ga./Pierce County
C.J. Jones RB 5-10 195 Daytona Beach, Fla./Atlantic
Lance McDowell DL 6-4 310 Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon/Nassau CC
Wyatt Miller OL 6-6 280 Douglas, Ga./Coffee
Tre Neal DB 6-2 185 Buford, Ga./Buford
Luke Palmer OL 6-4 280 Wauchula, Fla./Hardee
Jamiyus Pittman DL 6-2 300 Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County
Mike Rogers DB 6-0 180 Smyrna, Ga./Campbell
Tre’Quan Smith WR 6-3 180 Delray Beach, Fla./Village Academy
Chris Williams DB 6-2 180 St. Mary’s, Ga./Village Academy
A.J. Wooten DL 6-5 240 Alapaha, Ga./Berrien
 
"I thought the assistant coaches did an outstanding job of securing talent to help the needs for next season. And that's what recruiting is about - did you meet the needs for next season as far as from a depth standpoint to help you maintain the consistency that we've had here. I’m very pleased with the class for what we’re looking for and what we want to attain. I think we acquired a lot of talent"
- Head Coach George O’Leary
 

Cincinnati • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Marcus Tappan * LB 6-2 235 Pasadena, Calif./La Salle/Glendale College
Hakeem Allonce DT 6-5 290 Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt/Pierce College)
Mike Boone RB 5-10 205 Glen Saint Mary, Fla./Baker County
Ja’Merez Bowen DT 6-4 270 Shaker Hts., Ohio/Shaker Heights
Landon Brazile DE 6-6 230 Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall
Cortez Broughton DT 6-3 280 Warner Robins, Ga./Veterans
Luke Callahan OL 6-5 278 Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty
Jeff Duncan OL 6-6 270 Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont
Jarred Evans * QB 6-2 190 Queens, N.Y./West High/Santa Barbara CC
Chris Ferguson DT 6-4 275 Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona
Kimoni Fitz DE 6-4 230 Ringgold, Va./Dan River
Tyrell Gilbert S 6-1 200 Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton
Casey Gladney WR 6-2 185 Columbia, S.C./Columbia/Copiah Lincoln CC
Tyler Hill LS 6-3 240 Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph Collegiate
Carter Jacobs S 6-1 193 Fort Lauderdale, Fla./American Heritage
John Kurtz OL 6-5 258 Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier
Frank Labady WR 5-7 170 Hialeah, Fla./Champagnat Catholic
Isaac Little LB 6-3 205 Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton
Keith Minor DT 6-5 250 Tyler, Texas/Chapel Hill
Kevin Mouhon LB 6-2 225 Norcross, Ga./Norcross
Hayden Moore * QB 6-3 193 Clay, Ala./Clay-Chalkville
JJ Pinckney  CB 6-3 185 Sylvania, Ohio/Southview
Odell Spencer CB 6-0 170 Shaker Hts., Ohio/Shaker Heights
Linden Stephens * CB 6-0 185 Euclid, Ohio/Euclid/Fork Union Military
Ryan Stout OL 6-5 265 Sylvania, Ohio/Southview
Alex Thomas CB 6-1 185 Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade Madonna
Davon Witherspoon ATH 6-3 200 Miami, Fla./McArthur
Luke Wright QB 6-4 210 Atlanta, Ga./Holy Innocents’ Episcopal
 
“It’s a solid class that will help us. There are some very skilled guys with athletic ability who we believe will grow and develop into pretty good football players. We were able to identify our needs and go after them. We recruit as much speed and quickness as possible. It always starts with speed, whether a lineman or skill player. That is my philosophy.”
- Head Coach Tommy Tuberville
 
 

UConn • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
James Atkins DL 6-5 255 Saugus, Mass./Blair Academy
Alec Bloom TE 6-6 235 Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley
Chris Britton LB 6-2 235 Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg
Luke Carrezola LB 6-3 230 Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy
Ryan Crozier OL 6-4 297 Plantation, Fla./Saint Thomas Aquinas
Vontae Diggs LB 6-4 215 Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North
Steve Hashemi OL 6-5 260 Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph
Ron Johnson RB 6-0 215 Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge
Sheriden Lawley DT 6-4 252 Abbotsford, British Columbia/Lawrenceville Prep
Brice McAllister RB 5-11 195 East Longmeadow, Mass./Suffield Academy
Arkeel Newsome RB 5-7 170 Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia
Daniel Oak OL 6-3 265 Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Meyers
Tom Rodrick LB 6-3 240 Leicester, Mass./Leicester
Trey Rutherford OL 6-4 290 Markham, Ontario/Kent School
Jamar Summers CB 5-11 178 East Orange, N.J./East Orange
Anthony Watkins CB 6-1 190 Fort Meade, Md./Fort Meade/Lawrenceville Prep
 
"This class, we're very excited about. We had an opportunity to get to know the players who were already committed from the previous staff and it was really nice to do. To think we've only really known them for a month but to feel as committed as we do to them is pretty awesome. It shows a great alignment, the guys really represent our kind of guy, which is nice. It's a great group of guys.”
- Head Coach Bob Diaco
 

East Carolina • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Steve Baggett TE 6-5 225 Beaufort, S.C./Beaufort
Des Barmore OL 6-6 284 Columbus, Ga./Hardaway
Yiannis Bowden OLB 6-5 215 Kernersville, N.C./Glenn
Trevon Brown * WR 6-2 192 Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover
Curtis Burston * WR 6-1 212 Apex, N.C./Middle Creek
Joe Carter ILB 6-2 220 Ponte Vedra, Fla./Ponte Vedra
Kyle Erickson OL 6-4 286 Fayetteville, N.C./Jack Britt
Alex Evans DE  6-6 215 Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook
Malik Gray WR 6-1 194 Inman, S.C./Chapman
Terrell Green WR 6-4 190 Charleston, S.C./Hanahan
Shaun James  DL 6-4 235 Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run
Quay Johnson WR 5-10 170 Knightdale, N.C./Knightdale
Erik Lenzen OL 6-5 265 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,/Cardinal Gibbons
Dontae Levingston OL 6-4 280 Harbor City, Calif./Santa Monica College
Dre Massey WR 6-0 175 Mauldin, S.C./Mauldin
Garrett McGhin OL 6-5 270 Tallahassee, Fla./Florida State
Quincy McKinney OL 6-4 311 Columbus, Ga./Hutchinson CC
Blake Norwood * DB 6-0 189 Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola
Cody Purdie * DB 5-11 183 New Bern, N.C./New Bern
Messiah Rice OT 6-5 255 Orangeburg, S.C./Wilkinson
Anthony Scott RB 5-9 180 Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run
Corey Seargent DB 6-0 180 Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern
Kyron Speller ILB  6-1 235 Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville
Ray Tillman ILB 6-1 193 Lithonia, Ga./Miller Grove
Drew Turnage DB 6-0 185 Ayden, N.C./Ayden-Grifton
Masaddiq Walton OLB 6-3 245 Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes
Markel Winters OLB/DL 6-3 226 Tallahassee, Fla./Rickards
 
"I feel confident we answered our immediate needs in several areas.  I can't wait to get everyone here as a collective group and get back to work. Maybe the biggest testament we have that speaks for the progress of our program is the opportunity we now have to develop younger players - in life, in the classroom, with (strength coach) Jeff Connors and on the field. You build quality programs with quality individuals, and this group reflects that very clearly."
- Head Coach Ruffin McNeil
 

Houston • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Matthew Adams LB 6-2 205 Missouri City, Texas/Hightower
Davious Ballard DT 6-4 300 Irving, Texas/Irving
Romello Brooker WR 6-4 205 Houston, Texas/Alief Taylor
Jerard Carter DL 6-3 266 Houston, Texas/Dekaney
Garrett Davis DB 6-0 188 Red Oak, Texas/Red Oak
Mason Denley DL 6-5 255 Columbus, Texas/Columbus
Steven Dunbar WR 6-3 182 Metairie, La./Rummel
Elton Dyer WR 6-3 195 South Houston, Texas/South Houston
Bear Fenimore QB 6-2 222 Austin, Texas/Westwood
Colton Freeman OL 6-4 293 San Angelo, Texas/Central
Isaiah Johnson WR 6-3 185 Bryan, Texas/Rudder
Darius Joiner DL 6-4 270 Temple, Texas/Temple
Kaliq Kokuma RB 6-0 180 League City, Texas/Clear Creek
Latrell Martin WR 6-1 196 Pflugerville, Texas/Hendrickson
Tarrin Mitchell DB 5-10 175 Dallas, Texas/Roosevelt
Michael Moana DL 6-3 260 Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower
Marcus Oliver OL 6-4 275 Houston, Texas/Westfield
Ja’Von Shelley LB 6-3 220 Klein, Texas/Klein Oak
Zach Vaughan DL 6-5 248 Round Rock, Texas/McNeil
Carter Wall OL 6-4 304 Richmond, Texas/Navarro JC
Joeal Williams DB 5-10 185 Missouri City, Texas/Hightower
Khalil Williams DB 6-0 180 Missouri City, Texas/Hightower
Howard Wilson DB 6-1 175 DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto
Jeremy Winchester DB 6-0 175 Spring, Texas/Klein Collins
 
"It’s certainly an exciting and great day for our program. We definitely feel like our program got better today. The people that know me know how important family is to me. The way we run our program, the word family is right at the top of our list of priorities. It's an identity that we have nationally.”
- Head Coach Tony Levine
 
 

Memphis • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Curtis Akins LB 6-2 220 Byhalia, Miss./Byhalia
Genard Avery LB 6-1 220 Grenada, Miss./Grenada
Brujoun Bonner DB 6-3 190 St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood
Christian Boutte DB 5-10 176 Opelousas, La./Opelousas
Thomas Brown LB 6-2 210 Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra /Riverside City Coll.
Jarvis Cooper RB 6-1 255 West Memphis, Ark./West Memphis Senior
Caleb Grant DE 6-4 240 Byhalia, Miss./Byhalia
McKenzie Hill DE 6-3 240 Memphis, Tenn./Evangelical Christian School
Clay Holgorsen QB 6-1 183 Katy, Texas/James E. Taylor
Tyler Jones OL 6-5 271 Albertville, Ala./Albertville
Tyler Kolodny TE 6-3 245 Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real
Greg McKillion WR 6-5 225 Blytheville, Ark./Blytheville /Independence CC
Jace Neville OL 6-6 260 Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge
Isadore Outing DE 6-4 245 Houston, Texas/Spring Dekaney
Roderick Proctor WR 5-11 161 Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips
Noah Robinson LB 6-4 235 Worcester, Mass./Doherty /Atlanta Sports Acad.
Jason Stewart QB 6-3 210 Alexandria, Va./Hayfield Secondary /Fort Scott CC
Trevon Tate OL/DL 6-4 280 Galena Park, Texas/North Shore
Tyler Uselton OL 6-3 330 Great Bend, Kan./Great Bend /Butler CC
Shareef White LB 6-1 220 Grenada, Miss./Grenada
Carlos Williams DB 5-11 185 Covington, Tenn./Covington
 
"We had a clear mission when you look at our current roster. A bunch of our defensive guys were seniors and we felt that it was important to target the front line of our defense for the next couple of years. We are going to be hit pretty heavily on the defensive side during the next two years and it is important to work in new guys for the future."
- Head Coach Justin Fuente
 
 

USF • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Devin Abraham CB 5-9 175 Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake
Jimmy Bayes LB 6-3 185 Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee
Josh Black LB 6-2 225 Tampa, Fla./Sickles
Rohan Blackwood DE 6-5 220 Brooksville, Fla./Nature Coast
Ryeshene Bronson WR 6-3 180 Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar
Juwuan Brown LB 6-2 210 Tampa, Fla./Jefferson
Jamie Byrd DB 5-11 190 Dade City, Fla./Iowa Western CC
Stanley Clerveaux WR 6-3 185 North Miami, Fla./North Miami
Elkanah Dillon TE 6-5 225 Ocala, Fla./Vanguard
Quinton Flowers QB 6-0 210 Miami, Fla./Miami Jackson
Tajee Fullwood CB 6-2 175 Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech
Michael Galati OG 6-3 283 Bradenton, Fla./Manatee
LaGrande Harley LB 6-1 230 Durham, N.C./Georgia Military College
Demetrius Hill DE 6-3 255 Kankakee, Ill./Fort Scott CC
Nick Holman LB 6-2 230 Madison, Ala./Bob Jones
Zach Hudson OT 6-5 285 Tampa, Fla./Sickles
Vincent Jackson DE 6-2 235 Tampa, Fla./Jesuit
D'Ernest Johnson RB 5-10 180 Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee
Benjamin Knox OT 6-6 260 DeLand, Fla./DeLand
Marlon Mack RB 6-0 195 Sarasota, Fla./Booker
Eric Mayes DE 6-5 240 Sarasota, Fla./Milford Academy
Tyre McCants WR 5-11 200 Niceville, Fla./Niceville
Nick Nataro TE 6-4 240 Estero, Fla./Estero
Deatrick Nichols CB 5-10 180 Miami, Fla./Miami Central
Marlon Pope TE 6-4 265 Hattiesburg, Miss./Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
Michael Smith OG 6-3 294 Miami, Fla./Miami Central
Kendall Sawyer CB 6-1 180 Lehigh Acres, Fla./East Lee County
Mazzi Wilkins CB 6-0 160 Tampa, Fla./Plant
 
“I’m very excited about our class. We got everybody we wanted and everyone that wanted to be here, which is the beauty of it. As coaches, you go out and set a vision of what you want and to go out and accomplish those things is really gratifying. We filled a lot of needs in this class. We have a very talented recruiting class and each one of those guys is going to have an opportunity to compete for a starting job.”
- Head Coach Willie Taggart
 
 

SMU • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Elijah Anglin LB 6-3 224 Pearland, Texas/U.S. Military Academy Prep/Renaissance
Bozidar Antunovic DL 6-6 270 Indjija, Serbia/UTA/Arizona/Sremska Mitrovica
William Barns OL 6-3 260 Dallas, Texas/Highland Park
Evan Brown OL 6-2 305 Southlake, Texas/Carroll
Darrel Colbert QB 5-11 189 Houston, Texas/Lamar
Darius Durall RB 5-9 183 Houston, Texas/South Houston
Michael Epley DE 6-3 247 Leander, Texas/Leander
Daniel Gresham RB 5-10 237 Ft. Worth, Texas/All Saints
Braylon Hyder OL 6-2 303 Houston, Texas/Lamar
Jordan Ingram WR 5-10 156 Dallas, Texas/Carter
Shaun Kagawa DB 5-11 188 Hilo, Hawaii/U.S. Military Academy Prep/Kamehameha
Jackson Koonce P 6-1 160 Oceanside, Calif./Oceanside
Kyran Mitchell LB 5-11 185 Houston, Texas/Lamar
Nick Natour OL 6-4 294 Frisco, Texas/Lone Star
Inoke Ngalo LB 5-11 218 Euless, Texas/Trinity
Chad Pursley OL 6-4 258 Mansfield, Texas/Legacy
Anthony Rhone LB 6-0 210 Texarkana, Texas/Texas
Tony Richards OL 6-5 237 Dallas, Texas/Highland Park
Jordan Severt QB 6-4 248 Austin, Texas/Westlake
Courtland Sutton S 6-3 201 Brenham, Texas/Brenham
Caleb Tuiasosopo LB 6-2 252 Tyler, Texas/Tyler JC
Shelby Walker WR 6-0 147 Houston, Texas/Lamar
Anthony Wilkinson, Jr. WR 5-11 175 Broken Arrow, Okla./U.S. Military Academy Prep/Lincoln Christian
Jordan Wyatt DB 6-0 178 Wylie, Texas/East
 
"We believe in this class. There is some tremendous talent in this group and we think they will become great players at SMU. We have developed numerous NFL players in our time here and this group will be no different. This class will help us compete for championships."
- Head Coach June Jones
 
 

Temple • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Shamir Bearfield DB 5-11 175 Jersey City, NJ
Freddie Booth-Lloyd DL 6-0 315 Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa
Ventell Bryant WR 6-3 180 Tampa, Fla./Jefferson
Sean Chandler DB 5-11 173 Camden, N.J./Camden
Anthony Davis DB 5-11 180 Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Michael Dogbe DL/LB 6-3 240 Morris Plains, N.J./Parsippany Hills
Matt Eaton WR 6-4 200 Pascagoula, Miss./Pascagoula
Jared Folks LB 6-2 218 Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township
David Hood RB 5-9 185 Galloway, N.J./Absegami
Derrick Ingram WR 6-1 193 Tampa, Fla./Jefferson
Cequan Jefferson * DB 5-10 170 Richmond, Va./Henrico/Fork Union Military
Shahid Lovett * DB 6-2 205 Vineland, N.J./Vineland/Lackawanna CC
Khiry Lucas DB 6-1 180 Cleveland, Miss./East Side/Hinds CC
Jacob Martin DL 6-3 230 Aurora, Colo//Cherokee Trail
James McHale OL 6-6 300 Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore
Frank Nutile QB 6-4 199 Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep
Delvon Randall WR 6-0 190 Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Jaelin Robinson OL 6-7 300 West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross
Aaron Ruff OL 6-3 300 Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep
Derrek Thomas * WR 6-4 185 Albany, N.Y./Bishop Maginn/Milford
Jyquis Thomas DB 6-1 182 Plant City, Fla./Plant City
Brenon Thrift DL 6-3 230 Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Alex Wells * DB 6-0 202 Baltimore, Md./Overlea/ASA College
Lenny Williams QB 5-10 196 McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto Rox
Brodrick Yancy WR 5-11 184 Bradenton, Fla./Manatee
 
"With so many people across the country seeing us play this year, we kind of went a little bit more national.  The Temple 'T' really traveled well for us. For the first time, we've taken our brand across the country. People recognize and respect Temple as a whole. The feedback that came to us was outstanding. That's when you know things are going the right way. That should be a source of pride. It's not a good place, it's a great place."
- Head Coach Matt Rhule
 
 

Tulane • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Kendall Ardoin TE 6-6 215 Ville Platte, La./Ville Platte
Eric Bowie LB 6-2 215 Monroe, La./Ouachita Parish
Glen Cuiellette QB 6-1 205 Mandeville, La./Mandeville
Raul Diaz OL 6-2 277 Miami, Fla./Miami Central
Andrew DiRocco K 6-1 180 Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School of Nova Southeastern
Braynon Edwards DT 6-2 350 Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep
Terren Encalade WR 6-0 185 Belle Chasse, La./Belle Chasse
Rene Fleury LB 6-1 210 New Orleans, La./McDonogh 35
Zachery Harris LB 6-0 220 New Orleans, La./Holy Cross
Dontrell Hilliard RB 6-0 185 Baton Rouge, La./Scotlandville
Leondre James ATH 6-0 175 Donaldsonville, La./Donaldsonville
Devon Johnson OL 6-5 330 Amite, La./Amite
Charles Jones TE 6-3 234 New Orleans, La./St. Augustine
Robert Kennedy LB 6-1 230 Belle Chasse, La./Belle Chasse
John Leglue OL 6-6 280 Alexandria, La./Holy Savior Menard Central
Donnie Lewis, Jr. DB 5-11 170 Baton Rouge, La./Central
Stephon Lofton DB 5-11 195 New Orleans, La./Miller-McCoy
Rae Juan Marbley LB 6-0 215 Destrehan, La./Destrehan
Trey Scott TE 6-2 205 Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern
Deondre Skinner TE 6-3 220 Patterson, La./Patterson
Niguel Veal ATH 5-11 175 Harvey, La./West Jefferson
Daren Williams DE 6-4 235 Reserve, La./East St. John
Sean Wilson DE 6-4 265 Port Sulphur, La./South Plaquemines
Peter Woullard DE 6-3 240 New Orleans, La./St. Augustine
 
"It's been a very exciting year for us, and today is a very exciting day. This is one of our biggest gifts. There is no way we should have gotten these kids that we got. Last year's class was a miracle class. This class is beyond that. This class is just awesome.”
- Head Coach Curtis Johnson
 
 

Tulsa • Signing Day Central
 
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown/High School
Tyler Bowling OL 6-6 295 Yukon, Okla./Yukon
D’Angelo Brewer RB 5-9 185 Tulsa, Okla./Central
Jabe Burgess * QB 6-2 210 Greenwood, Ark./Greenwood
Nigel Carter * WR 6-3 198 Tulsa, Okla./McLain
Jordan Dennis DB 6-2 175 Fayetteville, Ark./Fayetteville
Tavarreon Dickerson * RB 5-9 185 Arlington, Texas/Trinity Valley CC
Justin Hobbs WR 6-4 200 Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission West
Terrance Ivery WR 5-8 175 Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield Legacy
Isaac Johnson OL 6-7 275 Springdale, Ark./Har-ber
Bishop Louie WR 5-10 170 Tulsa, Okla./McLain
Chandler Miller OL 6-3 293 Bixby, Okla./Bixby
Jordan Mitchell DB 6-2 180 Owasso, Okla./Owasso
Mildren Montgomery OL 6-5 285 Oklahoma City, Okla./Douglass
Myles Mouton DE 6-3 235 Beaumont, Texas/Ozen
Payton Prince TE 6-4 237 Norman, Okla./Norman North
Tim Quickel LB 6-2 215 Little Rock, Ark./North Little Rock
Michael Rios DT 6-3 290 Wichita, Kan./West
 
"What I'm excited about is that I do think we've met the needs that we identified going into this year. Offensively, we made a real clear decision to get more athletic. We hit home runs with our offensive and defensive linemen. Those were the guys we targeted early and were able to stay on them and sign them. We fought off some really good programs to hang on to the guys we've signed."
- Head Coach Bill Blankenship