CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois head football coach Kim Dameron has announced the addition of four new players to the Panthers program with three FBS transfers and one junior college player.
 
Joining the Panthers roster for the 2014 season are quarterback Jalen Whitlow a transfer from Kentucky; wide receiver Stephen Bravo-Brown a transfer from South Florida; defensive back Anthony Standifer a transfer from Mississippi; and cornerback Cedric Julius a transfer from San Bernardino College.
 
Whitlow (6'2, 217) is a dynamic quarterback that has started 15 games over the past two seasons at Kentucky.  Last season he started eight games passing for 1,033 yards and five touchdowns while completing 61.6 percent of his passes.  His best passing game was for 225 yards against Missouri.  He finished the season with 457 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.  He had an 88-yard touchdown run against Alabama State which was the longest by a quarterback in school history.  As a true freshman he started seven games passing for 801 yards and three touchdowns.  He rushed for an additional 206 yards and three touchdowns.  His best game of the season was against Tennessee with 225 yards passing.  Whitlow played high school football at Prattville (Ala.) HS helping lead the team to a Class AAAAAA state championship and top-25 national ranking.  He split time as a quarterback and wide receiver and was ranked as the nation's No. 12 dual-threat QB coming out of high school.
 
Bravo-Brown (5'10, 178) is a wide receiver that played three seasons at South Florida and graduated in December.  He played in 31 games over three seasons making 22 catches for 259 yards and one touchdown.  He earned American Athletic Conference All-Academic honors in 2013 after redshirting the 2012 season.  Bravo-Brown played high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., helping his team win a high school national championship in 2008.
 
Standifer (6'1, 175) is a defensive back that played corner at Mississippi seeing action in three games in each of the last two seasons.  As a redshirt freshman he made a season high three tackles against Tulane.  Last season he made a season high three tackles against Southeast Missouri.  Standifer played at Crete-Monee HS earning second team All-State honors as a senior while being selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl.  He was rated the No. 45 cornerback in the nation coming out of high school and the No. 14 rated player in the state.
 
Julius (5'10, 175) is a defensive back that played corner at San Bernardino Valley College in California last season as a freshman.  He will have three years of eligibility remaining at EIU.  During his one season at SBVC Julius made 32 tackles with two interceptions and five pass break-ups.  He helped lead his team to an 8-3 record and appearance in the Patriotic Bowl.  Julius played high school football at Rancho Cucamonga HS in California missing a portion of his senior season due to injury.  During seven games he made 15 tackles with two interceptions and nine pass break-ups for a team that finished 11-2 advancing to the CIF Southern Section semifinals.
 
"We feel that we have added four quality football players that will provide both depth and experience to our roster," said Dameron.  "We have a lot of talented football players returning from last year's team but to continue to compete for Ohio Valley Conference Championships and to make a run into the FCS playoffs we will need to continue to add talented football players to our roster."
 
Eastern Illinois will open the 2014 season on August 28 at Minnesota.  The Panthers return 14 starters from last year's team that went 12-2 advancing to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs.  EIU was ranked No. 4 in the final FCS polls.