BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University football team added four players to the roster as the school’s spring semester began Monday.
Two of the new players, linebacker Brandon Perce and punter Cooper Lee, come from junior colleges. Quarterback Bryce Veasley graduated from West Bloomfield High School in Michigan and also enrolled, as has placekicker Nate Needham.
Perce played at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minn., in the fall, making 128 tackles — including 36 for loss — to earn National Junior College Athletic Association All-Region XIII honors.
Lee earned NJCAA All-America honorable mention honors at Coffeyville Junior College in Coffeyville, Kan., as a punter, averaging 39.4 yards per punt.
Veasley led West Bloomfield to the Division 1 state title game last season, throwing for 2,573 yards and 23 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
Needham will be a preferred walk-on for the Falcons after transferring from Erie Community College in Erie, Pa. Needham served as a kicker at Youngstown State in 2016, where he made 6-of-7 extra-point attempts but missed all three field goals he tried.
Needham also kicked off 50 times for the Penguins in 2016, averaging 58.3 yards per kick with five touchbacks.
By enrolling in school, all four players will be able to practice with the Falcons this spring.
Four players who will not return to the Falcons are quarterbacks James Morgan and Elijah Cunningham, offensive lineman Andrew Lucke, and running back Terence Stephens.
Cunningham is a redshirt freshman who announced on Twitter he is transferring to Saginaw Valley State University, a Division II school. Cunningham did not take a game snap for BG in his two seasons with the program.
Lucke is a redshirt junior who graduated from Bowling Green in December. Lucke, who did not play in a game for the Falcons, announced he is transferring to Ohio Dominican University, a Division II school.
Stephens announced he is transferring to Robert Morris University, an FCS school. Last season as a sophomore, he played in 11 games with the Falcons, carrying the ball 13 times for 80 yards. Stephens also had four kickoff returns for 78 yards and had two tackles on special teams.
Morgan remains enrolled at BG but has confirmed he will not return to the program. Morgan will complete requirements for an undergraduate degree in May, then transfer as a graduate transfer with immediate eligibility with two years of eligibility remaining.
Morgan, who last season threw for 1,260 yards and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions, said he has not chosen a school to transfer to at this time.
Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.
First Published January 8, 2018, 8:30 p.m.
