With National Signing Day looming Feb. 1, the Coastal Carolina football program has secured a verbal commitment from a high school quarterback in Missouri as it continues to put together its first recruiting class under new head coach Joe Moglia.
Dalton Demos, a 6-foot-5 dual-threat quarterback from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, came onto the Chanticleers’ radar just a few weeks ago and ultimately chose Coastal over offers from Missouri State and Murray State, he said.
He gave Moglia his commitment Thursday after making an official visit to Conway earlier this week.
“The staff was really big for me,” Demos said over the phone Friday. “I’m going to be spending my time with these guys for the next four to five years of my life. They were very kind and very enthusiastic about Coastal and Coastal’s football program. I also liked Coastal’s facilities, the area, the weather. You can’t beat 70 degrees in January.”
CBC football coach Scott Pingel said Demos had attended multiple camps last summer hosted by big college programs, but those schools had gone a different direction. Pingel then got an e-mail from new CCU assistant coach Brock Olivo, a former Missouri Tigers standout, a few weeks ago and it went from there.
“He was blown away by his visit,” Pingel said. “... He’s really excited. It was really fast.”
Demos, who lived in San Diego when he was younger before moving to the Midwest, said he didn’t know of Coastal Carolina before the Chants started recruiting him, but he liked what he heard and saw.
“They came out of the blue,” Demos said. “Brock Olivo has been recruiting me. His dad lives in Missouri and gave [Olivo] a call and told him they need to check me out. He gave me a call and offered me an official visit right there.”
As a senior at CBC this past season, Demos completed 165 of 311 passes (53.1 percent) for 2,764 yards, 34 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 14 games. He also rushed 60 times for 257 yards and four touchdowns while leading CBC to the Missouri Class 6 (the largest division) state championship game where his team lost 40-37. He was a two-year starter for the school.
Scout.com ranks him as a two-star (out of five) recruit and the 144th best quarterback in the class of 2012, while Rivals.com does not have him rated.
Pingel complimented Demos’ mobility and said he runs about a 4.5-second 40-yard dash (4.58 according to Demos) while calling him “deceptively fast” with the ability to extend plays.
“It was fun to watch him his senior year,” Pingel said. “The thing I could just take away from Dalton is plays are never dead with him. He can throw on the run, he can make things happen on his feet. He is 6-5, 185, but he ran over a couple linebackers. He’s a gritty ballplayer.”
Demos said he is not sure if he will redshirt next season or not as the new coaching staff is still evaluating the Chants’ roster.
“They’re all new, and I’m new too so we’re going to be learning together,” he said. “And I’m excited about that.”
Coastal returns incumbent starting quarterback Aramis Hillary next fall for his senior season, while Cody Craig also saw limited action as a redshirt-freshman in 2011. The previous CCU coaching staff, meanwhile, was also very high on the potential of quarterback Alex Ross, who redshirted last season as a true freshman out of Georgia.
| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com
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