The longest of winters yielded to some normalcy for the Miles football program on Wednesday as the Golden Bears announced their new class of signees.

After the 2020 football season was scuttled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, head coach Reginald Ruffin and his coaching staff continued to work to stock more talent in the program as it looks to win a third consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 2021. The Golden Bears welcomed 18 new student-athletes to the fold on Wednesday - 12 who signed National Letters of Intent.

Some of the transfers are already on campus and have begun workouts with the team. Offensive line was the most targeted position, with five student-athletes in the group. One of the most glaring positions of need was quarterback. All three quarterbacks who were atop the depth chart when Miles last played in November 2019 are no longer with the program. So the Golden Bears have two in the group, one transfer, one freshman.  

The remainder fo the group includes a tight end, a linebacker, two defensive linemen, two running backs and two wide receivers. Two interesting names in that group include running back Vondarious Gordon, a transfer from Northern Illinois who is related to Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon, and wide receiver Gabriel Ruffin, son of the head coach. 

The list of Miles 2021 recruiting class is listed below with links to video highlights of each player. More players may still sign with Miles in the coming days. Those names will be added to the list.
 

NAME	POS	HT	WT	HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Jihad Abdul-Haqq	QB	6-2	180	Seattle, WA/Fullerton College
Aaronde Brown	OL	6-4	310	Eufaula, AL/Eufaula HS
Dynte Brown	DB	5-11	180	New Orleans, LA/Landry HS
Julius Buggs	OL	6-1	295	Weir, MS/East Central CC
Kaleb Cline	DL	6-3	280	Jackson, MS/Northeast CC
Jordan Crosby	TE	6-0	220	Laurel, MS/Laurel HS
Vondarious Gordon	RB	6-0	210	North Chicago, IL/Northern Illinois
William Hardy	LB	6-1	210	Birmingham, AL/Ramsay HS
Connor Howard	OL	6-4	300	Mobile, AL/M.T. Blount HS
Jamie Jones	OL	6-4	300	Montgomery, AL/Jefferson Davis HS
Kevin Robertson	OL	6-3	270	Austell, GA/Pebblebrook HS
Gabriel Ruffin	WR	6-3	200	Wilsonville, AL/Chelsea HS
Dexter Scott	QB	6-4	185	Laurel, MS/Laurel HS
Zion Sharpe	DL	6-0	220	Birmingham, AL/Ramsay HS
LeQuincy Shepherd	DB	6-2	180	Franklin, GA/Gardner Webb
Clint Simpson	LB	5-11	210	Trussville, AL/Hewitt-Trussville HS
Blake Speed	RB	5-9	180	Olive Branch, MS/Lewisburg HS
Collins Woods III	WR	6-1	180	Mobile, AL/Itawamba CC