Back in 2020, Grambling State landing Noah Bodden was considered a potential game-changing signing for HBCUs. Now the New York native is in the transfer portal as new-look GSU has picked up another three-star signal-caller.
Amani Gilmore, a Amite, Louisiana native, has committed to GSU. Gilmore signed with the University of Kentucky back in 2018 as part of its 2019 class. He transferred after one season at Kentucky, landing at North Texas in 2020. After sitting out the 2021 season, he appears ready to give it a go at Grambling State.
Gilmore’s entrance came on the heels of an exit note from Bodden. He committed to former head coach Broderick Fobbs back in 2020 and arrived in 2021 with much fanfare. His high school coach was none other than GSU legend Bruce Eugene, and his co-sign, along with Bodden’s impressive high school resume, had GSU fans hoping they had found their next great quarterback.
Bodden sat during the early portion of Grambling State’s season before getting onto the field in the State Fair Classic against Prairie View A&M. Bodden was given the starting nod heading into a matchup against defending SWAC champion Alabama A&M, and responded by throwing three touchdowns in an upset victory for GSU. Fobbs called him the future of the program. That would be the high mark of the season for the freshman as he would throw just one more pass through the rest of the season.
Fobbs was fired prior to the Bayou Classic, and Hue Jackson took over the program back in December. Jackson, considered a quarterback guru, has brought in a few quarterbacks to compete – including former UCLA quarterback Kajiya Hollowayne. Gilmore will now be added to the mix as well.
As for Bodden, he’s still a young signal-caller with plenty of eligibility left. He had offers from Power Five schools like Oregon, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Kentucky and Kansas coming out of high school.