746410 SOUTH Alabama

By Creg Stephenson South Alabama has added a well-traveled former all-state defensive back to its 2023 football roster. Brian Dillard, who played last season at Independence (Kan.) Community College, is enrolled at South Alabama and participating in off-season workouts. Dillard recently updated his Twitter bio to read “DB @SouthAlabamaFB” and a source confirmed to AL.com he has joined the Jaguars’ program. Dillard (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) has two seasons of eligibility remaining. An all-state pick at Lake Weir (Fla.) High School in 2018, he was originally committed to South Florida before signing with Florida International as a 3-star recruit in the 2019 class. Dillard redshirted at FIU as a freshman, and transferred to Division II West Georgia without playing in a game. After the 2020 season was wiped out by COVID, he totaled 24 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups for the Wolves in 2021. Dillard was on the move again after that season and landed at Independence. He played in four games for the Pirates in 2022, totaling three tackles and two pass breakups. Dillard joins a South Alabama program that is looking for depth at cornerback after the departure of seniors Darrell Luter (a fifth-round pick of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers) and Jamar Richardson after last season. Marquise “Cuddie” Robinson is back after starting part-time in 2022, while sophomore Ricky Fletcher and junior-college transfer Reggie Neely battled for the other first-team spot in the spring. The Jaguars also return program veterans Dallas Gamble and Jason Brooks at cornerback this season, and signed freshman Joshua Bledsoe in December. February signee La’Dareyen Craig, a Mobile native, has not yet graduated from junior college and is uncertain to join the team this fall. South Alabama opens the 2023 season at Tulane on Sept. 2.