Five members of the Bolts' 2018 draft class officially signed their contracts Friday as LB Uchenna Nwosu, LB Kyzir White, G/C Scott Quessenberry, WR Dylan Cantrell and RB Justin Jackson put pen to paper on four-year contracts.
Along with S Derwin James and DT Justin Jones, all seven members of the draft class are expected to participate in the team's rookie minicamp, which begins today.
Uchenna Nwosu was the Bolts' second-round pick after a dominant career at USC. The 6-3, 251-pound athletic, linebacker was a favorite of scouts during the draft process as they lauded his quickness off the edge as well as the manner he explodes into ball carriers. Over four years with the Trojans, Nwosu totaled 168 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 20 passes defensed and 12.5 sacks in 53 career games.
A fourth-round pick out of West Virginia, Kyzir White played a hybrid safety/linebacker role in college. However, the Bolts plan to use him full-time as a WILL linebacker. Regarded as a hard-hitting thumper who plays a physical brand of ball, the 6-2, 216-pounder totaled 94 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and two forced fumbles in 2017.
Meanwhile, signing his contract is a true dream come true for fifth-round pick Scott Quessenberry, who grew up a die-hard Chargers fan. In fact, his family owned season tickets. The UCLA product started all 13 games at center in 2017, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 recognition.
At 6-3, 226-pounds, Cantrell figures to be a big-bodied target with a wide catch radius for Philip Rivers. The sixth-round wideout showed the ability to make the contested catch on a regular basis throughout his Texas Tech career. Cantrell hauled in 71 passes a year ago for 816 yards and seven touchdowns.
Finally, seventh-round pick Justin Jackson joins the Chargers after one of the most prolific rushing careers in Big Ten history. As the leading rusher in Northwestern history with 5,440 career yards, the 6-0, 199-pounder is only the ninth player in NCAA history to eclipse 1,000 yards all four years he played. Most recently, he was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2017 with 287 carries for 1,311 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The 2018 rookie class arrives at Hoag Performance Center as they begin preparation for Rookie Minicamp.
