Recruiting roundup: Temple’s Stan Drayton secures two more Power 5 transfers; St. Joe’s basketball signs Australian forward Louis Bleechmore

It was a busy Wednesday recruiting-wise for Philadelphia schools on the gridiron and the basketball court.

Temple football announced three more transfer additions to new head coach Stan Drayton’s first incoming recruiting class, as running back Jakari Norwood, wide receiver Adonicas Sanders, and safety Brenyen Scott all committed to the Owls for the 2022-23 season. Drayton has hit the transfer portal hard this season having already received commitments from 10 transfers.

Norwood, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound back out of Pompano Beach, Fla., played the last four seasons at the University of Illinois and is the second transfer running back to join the Owls program following Darvon Hubbard (Texas A&M). A redshirt junior, Norwood played sparingly for the Illini, amassing just 49 career carries for 244 yards.

Sanders, a transfer from Georgia Tech, recorded 29 catches for a career-high 362 yards and three touchdowns last season. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Sanders joins Ian Stewart (Michigan State) as former Power 5 wideouts to commit to Temple this offseason.

The 6-1, 200-pound Scott racked up 39 tackles (26 solos), 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 2 interceptions for Coffeyville Community College (Kansas) last season.

Billy Lange’s newest signee for St. Joseph’s has come a long way both geographically and figuratively to land in the Big 5. That is because Louis Bleechmore, who officially signed to play basketball for the Hawks on Wednesday, hails from Sydney, Australia, located 10,000 miles away from Philadelphia.

But Bleechmore’s path to St. Joe’s wasn’t a direct one. The 6-foot-6 wing actually played the past few years just down the road from Hagan Arena at Harcum College, where he averaged 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds over the past two seasons. Last season, Bleechmore averaged 12.8 points per game, helping the Bears to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division I Championship.

“We are thrilled to add Louis to our basketball family. He is a mature young man who embodies the resilient spirit of Hawk Hill,” Lange said. “He plays with a strong, athletic, attacking mindset and is a positive on-court connector. His time at Harcum, under their great coaching staff, will serve him will as he transitions to our program.”

Bleechmore, is the seventh addition for the Hawks entering the 2022-23 season following the commitments of incoming freshman Christian Winborne, Rasheer Fleming, Quin Berger, and Christ Essandoko, and transfers Lynn Greer III (Dayton) and Shane Dezonie (Vanderbilt). St. Joe’s finished 11-19 (5-13 Atlantic 10) in 2021-22 under Lange.