Booneville, Miss., --Northeast Mississippi Community College head football coach Ricky Smither celebrated 2013 National Signing Day with 37 signees during a signing ceremony on the second floor of the T. Jack Ramsey Student Services Building on the Booneville campus.

Smither inked a variety of athletes from Northeast's five-county area and mixed in players from the Magnolia State and Tennessee for his 2013 signing class.

Smither went with a focus on the line during his most recent signing class.

During the early morning ceremony, Smither signed 12 offensive linemen, five tight ends, four defensive linemen and a long snapper.

Included in his dozen offensive linemen include Booneville Ross Smith a 6-6, 300-pound offensive lineman from the Prentiss County school and Kossuth's Dillon Hughes, a 6-4, 300-pound Aggie.

Joining the Tigers' offensive line include a Noxubee County pair of Martize Mitchell (6-1, 290) and Jercovie Stewart (6-3, 285), two from South Panola in Damien Rayford (6-3, 300) and Justin Barksdale (6-3, 300) and a pair of Water Valley standouts in Andre Jones (6-1, 280) and Randy Williams (6-5, 320).

Byhalia's Dayon Davis (6-3, 300), Hernando's John Gale (6-4, 300), Southaven's Trent Scott (6-2, 290) and West Harrison's Lakendrick Preston (6-7, 260) rounded out Smither's offensive line singees.

Smither's tight end signees include Baldwyn's Reggie Richey (6-4, 220), Itawamba's Houston Orr (6-4, 235), Southaven's Hunter Bull (6-5, 235) and Golden, Mississippi's Matthew Belue (6-2, 240).

Tishomingo County's Chandler Dexter (6-4, 230) rounded out Smither's tight end class.

In addition to his offensive line signees, Smither turned his focus to replacing National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) All-American honorable mention defensive end Lavon Hooks, with four defensive linemen.

Pontotoc's Sterling Peters (6-3, 230) is listed as a defensive end while Madison Central's Lemetrius Hollins (6-1, 270) and Tupelo's Jeremiah Dent (6-2, 290) are slated to drop at the defensive tackle spots.

Northeast received a big signee when Noxubee County's Deshawn Hopkins (6-7, 370) agreed to become part of the Tiger defensive line.

Baldwyn's Cody Edge (6-1, 245) will anchor the Tiger special team's line at long snapper.

Smither placed a big focus on linebackers inking five during the four-hour signing ceremony. Noxubee County's Javoris Glenn (6-0, 220) and Antonio Ryland (6-0, 230) along with Booneville's Jordan Miller (6-2, 205), South Panola's Je'Tavious Turner and Memphis East's Marcus Robinson (6-3, 225) will compete for playing time with the Tigers.

With the signing class, Smither also signed a trio of defensive backs and wide receivers. Aberdeen's Aaron McMillian (6-0, 180), Starkville's Johnny Smith (5-11, 175) and Southaven's Elgin Lamar (6-2, 185) will man the Tiger defensive backfield while Bruce's Rashad Turner (6-4, 180) and Shaquille Bush (6-1, 180) along with Ripley's Ralpheal Green (6-3, 185) will be on the offensive side of the ball for the Tigers.

Northeast added a pair of running backs to its list with South Panola's Ledarius Strong (5-10, 180) and West Point's Delentez Lane (5-11, 180).

Bruce's Jonathan Bobo (6-3, 290) was the Tigers' long safety signee.

Smither also added a quarterback to the 2013 signing class when Bruce's Davis Brown (6-3, 185) agreed to become a Tiger.

"This was really a great effort by all of my staff," Smither said.  "I mean these guys went out and put in some hard work and lots of hours and we all benefited from it today with this great signing class.  I can't wait to get these players in here and start geting ready for a successful season in 2013."

CUTLINE:

Northeast Mississippi Community College head football coach Ricky Smither talks with Northeast director of finance Chris Murphy about the plans to build a new football field house at Tiger Stadium during a 2013 National Signing Day Ceremony held on the second floor of the T. Jack Ramsey Student Services Building on Wednesday, February 6. Smither and company signed 37 high school athletes to the 2013 Tiger football team during the signing ceremony.