After a two-year stay in the junior college ranks, Michael Ware is getting a chance to play Division I football.

The former Warren Central star, who spent the past two seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College, signed with Central Arkansas on Wednesday.

Ware, a 5-foot-11, 177-pound sophomore safety, was a first-team MACJC All-State selection this season. He led the Bears with 82 tackles and also had one tackle for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Central Arkansas plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, the second tier of Division I. The Bears went 10-3 this season and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs where they lost to Eastern Washington.

Wednesday was the first day junior college players were allowed to sign with four-year schools, and senior colleges across the country plundered through the two-year rosters for talent.

Mississippi State was especially busy. It signed eight juco players as part of its 2017 signing class. All eight of the players are tabbed in the Top 100 of the Scout.com and 247Sports junior college rankings. Five of the eight prospects are ranked in the top 50, including the No. 1 safety in America, Johnathan Abram of Jones County.

The other Mississippi State signees are offensive lineman Tommy Champion, defensive back Jaquarius Landrews, and defensive linemen Deion Pope and Montez Sweat of Copiah-Lincoln; offensive lineman Tyre Phillips and defensive back Brian Cole of East Mississippi; and defensive lineman Lee Autry of Itawamba.

“We are very excited about the new Bulldogs we signed today,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said in a release. “When you look at this group and with the young team we had this year, there are a lot of guys that have the opportunity to contribute right away, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It’s a huge advantage to have this group begin classes in January and go through spring practice and summer conditioning with us. It will put them in a position to make an impact when we begin camp in August.”

Ole Miss signed three players — defensive back Javien Hamilton and defensive end Markel Winters of Jones County, and East Mississippi linebacker Brenden Williams.

All three players are ranked among the top 25 junior college recruits in the country by ESPN.
Three players from Hinds Community College — offensive lineman Lorenz Jones, defensive lineman LonTray Jones, and linebacker Alvin Wilson — all signed.

Lorenz Jones is headed to Southeastern Louisiana and Wilson to Alcorn State. LonTray Jones signed with Jackson State.

“I’m happy to just be able to go to Alcorn and contribute to the team,” Wilson told WJTV-12 in Jackson. “It’s a great program. They’re very family-orientated down there, so I really like it down there.”
Jackson State signed three junior college players and one high schooler.

In addition to LonTray Jones from Hinds, the Tigers got defensive lineman Maurice Rivers from Northwest Mississippi and offensive lineman Jadarius Little from Itawamba.

JSU also got linebacker Brandon Frazier from John Curtis High School in Louisiana. Frazier will enroll at JSU in January and become the first early-enrollee player in the program’s history.