STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern football program announced Wednesday two student-athletes who signed national letters of intent or grants in aid as part of second-year head coach Clay Helton's recruiting class.

Georgia Southern signed two high school seniors on Wednesday, defensive backCaimon Mathis out of DeSoto, Texas, and receiver Keion Wallace out of Springfield, Georgia.

Caimon Mathis
Defensive Back • 6-0 • 175
DeSoto, Texas • DeSoto HS

HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Coach Claude Mathis at DeSoto High, helping lead his team to a 6A Division II state title as a senior … Named the Padilla Poll Texas 6A Defensive MVP and a First-Team All-Area selection by the Dallas Morning News as a senior … Recorded 53 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, along with 19 pass breakups, and four interceptions as a senior … Returned one pick 98 yards for a touchdown … Named Academic All-State his final year … A two-time 11-6A All-District cornerback selection … Led the 11-6A classification with 19 pass break ups … Had 50 tackles and three interceptions as a junior … A Padilla Poll Texas All-State Third-Team selection as a junior … Listed as the No. 129 corner in the country and the No. 227 player in Texas by ESPN Recruiting … Rated the No. 145 cornerback in the country and the No. 231 player in Texas by On3 … Ranked the No. 145 cornerback in the country and the No. 257 player in Texas by 247Sports … As a junior, helped DeSoto to an 11-3 record and a Texas 6A D-I regional final.

Keion Wallace
Wide Receiver • 6-3 • 210
Springfield, Ga. • Effingham County HS

HIGH SCHOOL: Played for Coach John Ford at Effingham County High … A first-team all-region selection as a senior to the 2-6A classification … An honorable mention all-state selection … A two-time Big 22 Selection by WJCL-TV … Had 27 catches for 476 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior … Missed his junior season due to injury … Had four touchdown catches as a sophomore … A 2019 honorable mention all-region selection … A 2020 first-team all-region … Also played basketball … The Region 2-6A's Co-Offensive Player of the Year in basketball after averaging 15.8 points and eight rebounds a game as a junior … A three-time all-region selection.

Since December, the staff has been active. Here's a breakdown on the new additions to the program:

2023 Recruiting Class
December
19 Players Signed (16 High School; 3 JUCO)
11 Offense (5 OL, 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB, 1 QB)
7 Defense (5 DL, 1 LB, 1 DB)
1 Special Teams (1 P)

January Transfers
15 New Transfers
7 Offense (3 QB, 2 WR, 1 OL, 1 TE)
6 Defense (4 DB, 2 LB)
2 Special Teams (1 K, 1 LS)

February
2 Players Signed (2 High School)
1 Offense (1 WR)
1 Defense (1 DB)

Total Number of New Players
36 New Players
18 High School
15 Transfer
3 JUCO

* - 21 of 36 enrolled this semester

19 Offense (6 OL, 5 WR, 4 QB, 3 TE, 1 RB)
14 Defense (6 DB, 5 DL, 3 LB)
3 Special Teams (1 P, 1 K, 1 LS)

State Breakdown
14 Georgia (9 HS, 1 JUCO, 4 Transfer)
7 Florida (4 HS, 1 JUCO, 2 Transfer)
3 South Carolina (1 HS, 2 Transfer)
2 North Carolina (1 HS, 1 Transfer)
2 Texas (1 HS, 1 Transfer)
1 California (1 Transfer)
1 Kentucky (1 Transfer)
1 Maryland (1 Transfer)
1 Missouri (1 JUCO)
1 Nebraska (1 Transfer)
1 Ohio (1 Transfer)
1 Tennessee (1 HS)
1 Australia (1 HS)

For full coverage of the class, go to GSEagles.com/NSD23.