Ruston football stars stay in-state on Signing Day

Four of Ruston High’s best senior football players officially made their college futures official Wednesday morning by signing their National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day, with each staying in-state to pursue their academic and athletic futures.

Linebacker Zheric Hill will stay in Ruston after signing with Louisiana Tech, quarterback Josh Brantley signed with Tulane, cornerback Aidan Anding inked with LSU, and offensive lineman Sam Nations signed with Northwestern State. That makes seven Division I football signees from RHS in the last two senior classes.

Ruston athletic director and head football coach Jerrod Baugh credited each senior for their hard work and leadership that allowed them to make Wednesday a reality.

“You look at this senior class and they’ve accomplished a lot of different things throughout their playing career. Hopefully we get an opportunity to finish that the next couple weeks. But what they’ve given to this football program, right along with some of the past seniors, but this group in particular has been a big part of the last two trips to the state championship. The things that they’ve accomplished are too much to list,” Baugh said. “There’s a lot of first time evers with this group and obviously these four are a big part of all those things.”

Anding, rated as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation and the top corner in Louisiana, has played in just 26 varsity football games but has produced at a level like a four-year veteran with 67 tackles, 9 interceptions, 12 pass breakups, 3 punt return touchdowns, and a kick return touchdown.

A year and a half ago, he wasn’t playing football. Now, he’s on his way to being an LSU Tiger under Brian Kelly.

“When I came up to football, I never thought about playing college ball. I just came back to help win a championship and be an impact player to help get the guys win a championship,” Anding said. “I actually wanted to go to the Marines. But it’s just crazy. Just looking back, I just trusted in my coaches. They’ve been there and done that and so just trusting what they had to say and applying it to the field. It got me this far.”

Brantley, Ruston’s dual-threat quarterback over the last two seasons, officially signed with Tulane after putting up 49 total touchdowns through the last two seasons, including 29 total touchdowns this year with 2,262 yards from scrimmage.

“It’s a dream come true. It’s something I always talked about when I was younger and just wanted to go out there and seize the moment and it’s amazing,” Brantley said.

So, why Tulane? For Brantley, someone accustomed to winning with the Bearcats, riding the Green Wave’s momentum seemed like the perfect fit.

“They’re a team with a lot of winning history. Here at Ruston High, that’s what we do. We win,” Brantley said. “It won’t be a big transition but just ready to go down there and accomplish my goals that I set a long time ago. Just keep the tradition going, the tradition of winning.”

As far as his future position at Tulane, Brantley said the coaching staff plans to use him in different roles.

“It’s not a set position really. I’m pretty sure I’ll be everywhere,” Brantley said.

Nations, a dependable starter on Ruston’s offensive line over the past three years, became the first Ruston offensive lineman to sign a full-ride scholarship with a DI program since Ray Kelly signed with Louisiana Tech in 2019.

Making a new path is nothing new to Nations, who’s helped Ruston average at least 5 yards per carry in nine of the team’s 12 games this fall. Ahead of Friday’s semifinal game, Ruston comes in averaging 6.6 yards per carry over its last five games.

“It’s pretty cool, considering it’s been a long time since an offensive lineman at Ruston got to play DI football. I’m proud of that,” Nations said. “It was one of my main goals for this season, and we’re not done yet.”

Nations likes the NSU coaching staff and program model, along with the school’s academic offerings.

“Academically, it’s everything I want to do,” Nations said. “They have a great Pre-OT (Occupational Therapy) school. Financially, it’s perfect. It’s not too far from home. It fits well.”

For Hill, there’s no place like home and playing for his hometown college at Louisiana Tech, with hopes of carrying on the team’s defensive success.

“The deal is done. It’s settled,” Hill said. “I can focus on finishing my high school career and then I go onto the next chapter. It’s home. Yeah, they didn’t have the best season but at the same time if you go in there with that mindset of focusing on the record, you’re not doing yourself any favors. I’m going in there with a mindset of changing the program around.”

Hill certainly helped change the standard of what a Ruston linebacker can do, with 328 career tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions up to this point. A two-time All-State Honorable Mention, Hill will eventually join a unit that finished 11th in the country in total defense this fall, with former Bearcat teammates Christian Davis and Jadon Mayfield waiting in the wings for their opportunity as well.

With a packed crowd of fellow students and teammates on hand to watch him and others sign, Hill hopes the younger Bearcats took in the moment seriously and study what it took to reach the dream of signing to play Division I college football.

“In this class, in my opinion, we’re taking our stuff seriously on and off the field,” Hill said. “I hope that really encourages the younger generation to be better than us and have more people that sign so they can leave their own legacy.”