The Los Angeles Chargers today signed 15 players to the practice squad.
All of the signees spent training camp with the Bolts — linebacker Asmar Bilal, running back Darius Bradwell, cornerback John Brannon, linebacker Cole Christiansen, wide receiver Jeff Cotton, nose tackle Breiden Fehoko, guard Nate Gilliam, guard Ryan Groy, wide receiver Tyron Johnson, defensive end Jessie Lemonier, defensive back Quenton Meeks, fullback Gabe Nabers, defensive tackle TJ Smith, center/guard Cole Toner and cornerback Donte Vaughn.
Bilal played in 51 games with 10 starts and totaled 176 tackles (91 solo) in four years at Notre Dame. He added 17.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries for the Fighting Irish.
Over four seasons at Tulane, Bradwell ran for 2,062 yards and 17 touchdowns on 289 attempts (5.2 avg.). He posted 1,134 yards in 2018, the eighth 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
Brannon spent the last four seasons at Western Carolina, totaling 86 tackles and seven interceptions — including two pick-sixes — in 38 career games. He earned All-Southern Conference as a senior behind 55 tackles (30 solo), a tackle for loss, three interceptions and eight passes defensed.
A two-time All-Independent recipient, Christiansen posted 275 tackles (153 solo), 3.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss in four seasons (2016-19) at Army. He served as a team captain as a junior and senior and added an interception, five passes defensed, three forced fumbles and a recovery.
Cotton spent the last two seasons of his collegiate career at Idaho after transferring from Pima Community College in his hometown Tuscon, Ariz. He played in 21 games for the Vandals, catching 137 passes for 1,797 yards (13.1 avg.) and 14 touchdowns.
Fehoko ended his college career at Louisiana State, playing two seasons (2018-19) and helping the Tigers win the National Championship this past season. He totaled 33 tackles (10 solo), two sacks and nine tackles for loss over the last two years. Fehoko began his career by starting all 25 games at Texas Tech from 2015-16, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 as a freshman.
Gilliam saw action in 47 career games with 28 starts over four seasons (2016-19) at Wake Forest, earning third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as a senior. In 2019, he played on a line that blocked for three 500-yard rushers and for quarterback Jamie Newman to rank second in the conference with 286.8 total offensive yards-per-game.
With 64 games played and 17 starts in his six-year NFL career, Groy spent his first season with the Bolts in 2019, appearing in nine games. He started along a Bills offensive line in 2016 that set a single-game team record with 589 total net yards against the Dolphins in Week 16.
Johnson spent the 2019 season on practice squads for Buffalo, Houston and Carolina before finishing the year on the Chargers' practice squad. He caught 71 passes for 1,138 yards (16.0 avg.) and 10 touchdowns in two years (2017-18) at Oklahoma State after transferring from Louisiana State.
A former athlete at Ventura (Calif.) College, Lemonier transferred and played two seasons (2018-19) at Liberty to close out his collegiate career. He totaled 135 tackles (74 solo), 20.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss while playing for the Flames.
Before spending the majority of the 2019 season on the Chargers' practice squad, Meeks appeared in eight games and made a start for Jacksonville in 2018 as a rookie. Meeks recorded four solo stops and two passes defensed on defense and four special teams tackles for the Jaguars. The son of former Bolts defensive backs coach Ron Meeks, he posted 122 tackles (75 solo), 19 passes defensed and seven interceptions — including two returned for touchdowns — while at Stanford.
Nabers appeared in 41 career games at Florida State, starting five contests. A versatile option in the passing game, he finished his Seminoles career with 19 catches for 269 yards (14.2 avg.) and three touchdown grabs.
Over four seasons (2016-19) at Arkansas, Smith appeared in 40 games and made starts in 24 contests. Totaled 76 tackles (26 solo), five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Toner has spent time with the Chargers in three seasons, doing so on the active roster throughout the 2018 season. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by Arizona, becoming the 15th Harvard player drafted in the common draft era (since 1967).
A four-year letterman for the Fighting Irish, Vaughn played in 41 career games with eight starts. He registered 57 tackles (28 solo) and an interception, with the pick coming in 2016 against Duke's Daniel Jones.
