Blogs > On Campus with ross maghielse

A college sports blog from The Oakland Press, dedicated to covering Michigan and Michigan State athletics as well as former Oakland County athletes at other schools.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

GLIAC football recruiting classes 2011 (partial)

While Mother Nature won Signing Day in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — wiping out most ceremonies, except in places where there was little snow, or where snowmobiles sit in the driveway — Grand Valley has won almost everything else of late. Wednesday's early announcements were no different, as the Lakers brought in 23 recruits — including a pair of local skill-position players. The remainder of the league's teams will announce their classes either Thursday or Friday.


GRAND VALLEY
Dondre Adams, RB, 5-9, 175, Plainfield (Ill.) South
Mitch Bredberg, PK, 5-9, 150, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Coty Brown, OL, 6-6, 271, Elkhart (Ind.) Concord
Aaron Cox, TE, 6-4, 236, Utica Ford
Derek Deluca, DL/LS, 6-4, 212, Allen Park
Ninlo Diarrassouba, DL, 6-1, 220, East Kentwood
Marquez Gollman, LB, 5-10, 174, Ypsilanti
Conner Gould, OL, 6-4, 240, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Darius Hardin, DB, 6-1, 181, South Bend (Ind.) Washington
Josh Harris, QB, 6-1, 200, Birmingham Detroit Country Day
Deondre Hogan, LB, 6-1, 235, Livonia Clarenceville
Brad Horling, DB, 6-2, 205, Zeeland East
Dan Hummel, WR, 6-4, 177, Valparaiso, Ind.
Montae Jackson, DL, 6-1, 216, Muskegon Orchard View
Brett Johnson, DB, 6-2, 179, Grand Ledge 
Andrew Klompstra, OL, 6-5, 250, Cedar Springs 
Kyle Matthewson, LB, 6-1, 205, Churbusco, Ind.
Jeff O’Brien, QB, 6-0, 215, Stockbridge 
Jamie Potts, TE, 6-2, 205, Muskegon Oakridge
Brandon Revenberg, DL, 6-3, 259, Essex, Ont.
Thomas Sellers, WR, 6-4, 183, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 
Robert Shelby, WR, 6-1, 176, Stevensville Lakeshore
Jim Walsh, OL, 6-5, 282, Howell

MICHIGAN TECH
Tanner Agen, DL, 6-3, 250, Kaukauna (Wis.)
Matt Bautch, PK, 6-0, 200, Wausau (Wis.) West
Jake Bednard, DL, 6-1, 220, Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley
Chris Berndt, OL, 6-4, 245, Kingsford
Quinten Boddie, DL, 6-1, 220, Detroit Renaissance
Andrew Clark, WR, 6-3, 190, Green Bay (Wis.) Ashwaubenon
Conor Cocking, DL, 6-1, 240, Elk Rapids
Brandon Cowie, QB, 6-3, 185, West Bend (Wis.) West
Ethan Deshetsky, DL, 6-1, 240, North Branch
Derek Ferris, QB, 6-3, 210, Cheboygan
Spencer Firlik, OL, Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry
Johnny Foss, LB, 6-0, 190, Muskegon Reeths Puffer
Brett Gervais, DB, 5-11, 165, Lake Linden
Drew Janer, WR, 6-2, 165, Bay City All Saints
Brandon Kuc, DL, 6-2, 215, Northville
Paul Kuoppala, LB, 6-2, 220, Iron Mountain
Tyler Lendzion, QB, 6-0, 190, Birmingham Brother Rice
Matt Mateer, OL, 6-2, 230, Mt. Pleasant
Phil Morrow, OL, 6-2, 270, East Kentwood
Bradley Plec, WR, 6-1, 175, Sterling Heights Stevenson
James Roath, DL, 6-2, 230, Lansing Waverly
Anthony Root, WR, 5-10, 160, Montague
Kyle Schober, OL, 6-1, 275, Mequon (Wis.) Homestead
Eric Schwenk, DB, 5-9, 170, Midland Dow
Brian Steinbrink, TE, 6-5, 220, Pleasant Prairie (Wis.) Kenosha Tremper
Sonny Sullivan, DB, 5-9, 180, Mt. Pleasant
Ben Tauchen, LB, 6-2, 205, Bonduel (Wis.)
Nick Vieau, OL, 6-2, 270, Midland
Andrew Viviano, OL, 6-3, 270, Warren Cousino
Frank Vruwink, OL, 6-3, 250, Wisconsin Rapids (Wis.) Lincoln
Ian Weinke, TE, 6-5, 230, Kingsford


WAYNE STATE
Jon Alandt, WR, 6-1, 185, Northville
Zak Bielecki, S, 5-11, 185, Macomb Lutheran North
Christian Burks, RB, 5-8, 175, Detroit Cass Tech
Raafat El Hage, DT, 6-1, 312, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Ryan Hankins, DT, 6-1, 265, Davison
Jamel Hicks, WR, 5-9, 170, East Cleveland (Ohio) Shaw
Taven Howell, LB, 6-0, 220, Columbus (Ohio) Westerville South
Brandon McKay-Lee, CB, 6-0, 180, Detroit Southeastern
Carl Roscoe, QB, 6-3, 230, Wyoming Kelloggsville
Mike Sawchuck, S, 6-2, 190, Lapeer East
Mike Smith, LB, 6-2, 230, Holt
Nate Theaker, OT, 6-5, 285, Lakeland
Ethan Walsh, TE, 6-3, 250, Canton Salem
Will Wheat, WR, 6-1, 170, Grand Blanc
Jamil Williams, CB, 5-11, 175, Lima (Ohio) Shawnee

Labels: , ,

Mid-American Conference recruiting classes

Perhaps no conference is as star driven as the MAC, where getting a top-notch player or two — i.e. Chester Taylor, Garrett Wolfe, Ben Roethlisberger, Randy Moss, Nate Davis or Josh Harris — can catapult you to the top.

None of the state of Michigan's three MAC schools were anywhere near that lofty perch last year.

According to one scouting service, however, at least one of them — Central Michigan — at least reloaded enough to be considered a possibility to head upward again. Scout.com ranked the Chippewas' 26-commit class as the second-best in the conference behind Toledo's — and just outside the top 75 in the nation.

CMU's class is headlined by Ithaca quarterback Alex Niznak —a consensus top-20 player in the state, and an early enrollee — and includes a whopping 15 in-state players, including five from Oakland County alone. Southfield Christian defensive tackle Shafer Johnson, one of the final additions to the class, and Birmingham Brother Rice linebacker Tim Hamilton, one of its first members, are both three-star prospects. The class also includes University of Michigan transfer Austin White.

The recruiting classes for Western and Eastern are both ranked near the bottom of the league by most of the scouting services, and neither of them include nearly as many in-state recruits — just four for WMU and three for EMU. The Broncos continued to milk their pipeline to Florida, though — the same one that brought them players like the Lions' Louis Delmas — getting seven of their 17 commits from the Sunshine State. The Eagles picked up seven JUCO players among their 19 commitments.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (26)
Ramadan Ahmeti, OL, Lansing Waverly, 6-5, 280
Stefon Armstead, DB, Southfield-Lathrup, 5-10, 170
Nick Beamish, OL, Riverview, 6-5, 260
Josh Carter, RB, South Haven, 5-11, 195
Jarret Chapman, DB, Port Huron, 5-11, 180
Titus Davis, WR, Wheaton (Ill.) Warrenville South, 6-2, 180
Dorian Dawson, DE, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, 6-1, 243
Andrew Flory, WR, Plantation (Fla.) Heritage, 5-11, 164
Anthony Garland, RB, Ferndale, 6-1, 215
Tim Hamilton, LB, Birmingham Brother Rice, 6-1, 247
Curtis Huge, PK, Bakersfield (Calif.), 6-0, 190
Shafer Johnson, DT, Southfield Christian, 6-1, 300
Jesse Kroll, WR, Algoma (Wis.), 6-3, 195
Cody Lopez, LB, Plainfield (Ill.) North, 6-1, 215
Matt Losiniecki, Ath, Waukesha (Wis.) West, 6-3, 261
Ben McCord, WR, 6-3, 196, Warren Cousino
Dennis Nalor, DB, Miami (Fla.) Central, 5-10, 175
Alex Niznak, QB, Ithaca, 6-3, 226
Ryan Petro, LB, Winter Springs (Fla.), 6-3, 205
Ben Randle, TE, Big Rapids, 6-4, 250
Kenny Rogers, OL, Holt, 6-6, 255
Blake Serpa, Ath, Maple Park (Ill.) Kaneland, 6-3, 230
Austin White, RB, Livonia Stevenson (Michigan transfer)
Courtney Williams, WR, Melvindale, 6-1, 205
Jason Wilson, WR, Farmington, 6-0, 178
Denzel Wimberly, Ath, Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons, 5-9, 198

EASTERN MICHIGAN (19)
Tyler Allen, RB, Lansing Eastern, 5-9, 175
Dylan Brooks, TE, Stevensville Lakeshore, 6-3, 233
Ryan Brumfield, RB, Pottstown (Pa.) Roberts, 5-10, 180
Sean Cotton, DB, Melrose Park (Ill.) Walther Lutheran, 6-2, 197
Justin Cudworth, LB, College of the Canyons, 6-1, 230
Chris Dunlap, DB, East Los Angeles College, 5-8, 183
Devin Henderson, DE, Palatine (Ill.) Junior College, 6-4, 275
Bronson Hill, RB, Grand Rapids CC, 5-10, 200
Mark Ianotti, QB, Schaumburg (Ill.), 6-4, 215
Kevin Johnson, DB, McKeesport (Pa.), 6-0, 185
Sean Kurtz, LB, Santa Ana Community College, 6-0, 235
Bryan Pall, DB, Orange Coast Comm. College, 6-1, 205
Blake Poole, LB, Santa Ana Comm. College, 6-3, 230
Demarius Reed, DB, Chicago Simeon, 5-10, 155
Tyreese Russell, TE, Melrose Park (Ill.) Walther Lutheran, 6-4, 220
Darius Scott, DB, Chicago Simeon, 5-9, 145
Kris Strange, DB, Pickerington (Ohio) Central, 5-11, 185
Tyrone Taylor, DB, Cerritos Comm. College, 5-11, 190

WESTERN MICHIGAN (17)
Rontavious Atkins, S, Pahokee (Fla.), 5-11, 169
Eric Boyden, TE, Lawrenceville (NJ) Notre Dame, 6-3, 236
Devon Brant, ILB, North Marion (Fla.), 5-11, 212
Donald Celiscar, S, Winter Haven (Fla.), 6-1, 185
Justin Currie, S, Big Rapids, 6-1, 190
Nicholas Dance, OLB, Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn, 6-0, 210
Ben Davisson, OT, Rensselaer (Ind.) Central, 6-9, 290
Tyler Hrycak, QB, Valley Forge (Pa.) Military Academy, 6-2, 186
Trevor Ishmael, S, North Miami Beach (Fla.), 6-0, 185
John Jackson, OG, Detroit Cass Tech, 6-3, 290
Joe Keels, DE, 6-2, 219, Kenosha (Wis.) Bradford, 6-2, 219
Timmy Keith, WR, Manassas (Va.) Osbourn Senior, 6-0, 206
James Kristoff, OG, Barrington (Ill.), 6-3, 297
Jarell McKinney, OLB, Detroit Cooley, 6-5, 220
Dustin Pringle, OG, Beaver Falls (Pa.) Blackhawk, 6-5, 260
Kendrick Roberts, WR, Flint Southwestern, 6-3, 180
Cleveland Smith, MLB, North Miami Beach (Fla.), 6-2, 230
Damian Thomas, DT, Pace (Fla.), 6-2, 260
Travis Turner, OT, North Miami Beach, 6-4, 265


Labels: ,

MSU's 2011 football recruiting class

While the Spartans' Signing Day was a bit understated — weather washed out the planned press conference to introduce the class, and most of the potential last-minute surprise additions fell through — that doesn't mean that it wasn't successful.


The Spartans loaded up on defensive linemen (6), offensive linemen (4) and linebackers (4) in this class, nabbing one guy for the trenches — JUCO OL Fou Fonoti — on Signing Day. Reactions to the class were mixed — ESPN rated it third, fifth by both Rivals and Scout — but for the second straight year included the state's best player, five-star linebacker Lawrence Thomas, as well as a good mix of local (six in-state players) and national talent. Traverse City St. Francis OL Kyle Lints turned down MAC scholarship offers to come to MSU as a preferred walk-on.


(List taken in its entirety from MSUSpartans.com)

Name
Pos.Ht.Wt.Hometown (Last School)
Jack AllenC6-2262Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central)
Juwan CaesarWR6-4205Miami, Fla. (Miami Coral Park Senior)
Shilique CalhounDE6-5225Middletown, N.J. (Middletown North)
Donavon ClarkOL6-4305Cincinnati, Ohio (Finneytown)
Brandon ClemonsDL6-4265Milford, Pa. (Delaware Valley)
Arjen ColquhounDB6-1180Windsor, Ontario (W.F. Herman Secondary School)
Connor CookQB6-3197Hinckley, Ohio (Walsh Jesuit)
Ed DavisLB6-3215Detroit Southeastern
Fou FonotiOL6-5295Lakewood, Calif. (Cerritos College)
Darien HarrisLB6-1215Silver Spring, Md. (DeMatha Catholic)
Joel HeathDE6-6250Cincinnati, Ohio (Mount Healthy)
Taiwan JonesLB6-3220New Baltimore Anchor Bay
Damon KnoxDE6-5265Muskegon 
Paul LangTE6-5235Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mount Lebanon)
Kyle LintsOG6-3275Traverse City St. Francis
Onaje MillerATH5-10180Lansing Sexton
Matt RamondoDT6-4285Las Cruces, N.M. (Mayfield)
Mark ScarpinatoDT6-3270Milwaukee, Wis. (Marquette University)
Andre Sims Jr.WR5-9170Snellville, Ga. (Brookwood)
Lawrence ThomasLB6-4245Detroit Renaissance
Trae WaynesDB6-0165Kenosha, Wis. (Bradford)
RJ WilliamsonDB6-1190Middletown, Ohio (Dunbar)



Labels: , ,

Michigan's 2011 football recruiting class




The following list includes the 20 players who signed a National Letter Intent to play for Michigan on Wednesday, as a part of new head coach Brady Hoke's first class. (To read more on Hoke's Signing Day, click here.)

At his press conference, Hoke mentioned an intentional emphasis on big offensive linemen (like Tony Posada and Chris Bryant), as well as running backs (Thomas Rawls and Justice Hayes). More than that, though, there was a definitive stress on players to fill out the defense, which will return to the traditional 4-3 scheme under Hoke and coordinator Greg Mattison. Of the 20 commits, 12 are on defense.


Chris BarnettTE6-5250Hurst, Texas (L.D. Bell)Gary Olivo
Russell BellomyQB6-3178Arlington, Texas (Martin)Bob Wager
Brennen BeyerDE6-3225Plymouth CantonMike Swachuck
Greg BrownDB5-10180Fremont, Ohio (Ross)Derek Kidwell
Chris BryantOL6-4330Chicago, Ill. (Simeon)Dante Culbreath
Tamani CarterDB5-11175Pickerington, Ohio (Central)Jay Sharrett
Frank ClarkLB6-2210Cleveland, Ohio (Glenville)Ted Ginn Sr.
Blake CountessDB5-10175Owings Mills, Md. (Our Lady of Good Counsel)Bob Milloy
Justice HayesRB5-10175Grand Blanc Joe Delaney
Keith HeitzmanDE6-3237Hilliard, Ohio (Hilliard Davidson)Brian White
Delonte HollowellDB5-9170Detroit Cass TechThomas Wilcher
Kellen JonesLB6-1215Houston, Texas (St. Pius X)Jason Kimball
Jack MillerOL6-4268Perrysburg, Ohio (St. John's Jesuit)Doug Pearson
Desmond MorganLB6-1225Holland West OttawaJim Caserta
Antonio PooleLB6-2210Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods)Andre Parker
Tony PosadaOL6-4330Tampa, Fla. (Plant)Rob Weiner
Thomas RawlsRB5-10220Flint NorthernFred Jackson Jr.
Chris RockDE6-5250Columbus, Ohio (St. Francis DeSales)Ryan Wiggins
Raymon TaylorDB5-10170Highland ParkCedric Dertch
Matt WileK6-2210San Diego, Calif. (Francis Parker)John Morrison
(List taken in its entirety from www.MGoBlue.com)

Labels: , ,