Benedictine coach Larry Wilcox’s group of departing players included 12 players that earned all-Heart of America Athletic Conference honors last year, including All-American offensive lineman Ronald Fontenot.

“We were hit hard with graduating, but we were projecting a year out and counting returning players,” Wilcox said.

The Ravens, coming off a NAIA playoff berth and a 9-3 record, added nine junior college transfers — eight from California — at semester and most of them will compete for a starting spot this spring.

The offensive line should be the biggest concern with the Ravens also losing all-conference pick Bubba Pearl and Eric Bossler, while the defense lost nine all-conference players — seven at linebacker and defensive back.

Tom Moten, a safety from Cerritos (Calif.) Community College, represented perhaps the biggest signing. He earned a two-star recruit on Rivals.com.

Chile Muwele (Fullerton CC) and Winston Pinto (Palomar CC) are also defensive back transfers from California junior colleges. Linebacker David Carlen transfers in from Glendale (Ariz.) Community College.

The Ravens also added defensive end Justin Herndon from Santa Ana Community College, looking to fill the void of defensive end Jordan Ancar — last year’s HAAC defensive player of the year. Benedictine’s three offensive lineman transfers all hail from California junior college. Brandon Davidson (6-foot-4, 315 pounds) played with Moten at Cerritos. Zack Butts (6-4, 300) played at Southwestern, while Dan Jimenez (6-2, 330) comes from Hartnell.

The final junior college transfer is Emmanuel Ossai, a tight end/wide receiver from Bakersfield (Calif.) Community College.

Six Highland Community College players also signed scholarships Wednesday.

New Scotties coach Ryan Held said three signees ended up at Division I schools, one at an FCS-school and two at Division II.

Cornerback Colby Brown signed with East Carolina. Brown had 13 pass breakups, two interceptions and a touchdown last year.

Devonta Glover-Wright and wide receiver Alex Wheat also went D-I, both signing with Utah State. All three of the D-I signees hailed from Georgia out of high school.

Running back Latavious Willis inked with Murray State, a Division I FCS school. Willis ran for 288 yards on a team-high 106 carries last fall.

Punter/kicker Cameron Owen, a second-team all-Jayhawk Conference punter, signed with Fort Hays State. Owen averaged 39.1 yards per punt last season.

Gatlin Ridgway, a safety, signed with Missouri Southern. He led the Scotties with three interceptions last season.