Tag Archives: Signing day

The 2013 recruiting class: time to talk about it

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This is the start of an evaluation of the 2013 recruiting class, with Mr. Izzo’s comments to come later. He’ll have head coach Craig Bohl on live at WDAY-6 at 6:20 tonight.

JEFF’s TAKE: I’m not one to get too giddy over these things, but this class addressed linebacker in a big way. I think at least two of these guys will play right away with Matt Plank from Gardner, Pierre Gee-Tucker from Belleville, Ill., and Alex Hahn from Oak Creek, Wis., as prime candidates. For starters, linebackers make the best special teams players with the combination of size and speed.

Hahn is a power lifter who made the state Wisconsin finals in the long jump last year — a good indicator of athletic ability. I like the background of James Gates from Menomonie, Wis., although at 200 pounds might be a tad light to see the field right away. We’ll see — Travis Beck isn’t exactly a huge guy. Gates is considered an excellent edge rusher as is Gee-Tucker.

It will be interesting to see if Nick DeLuca from Omaha stays at linebacker. He’s big at 6-3 and 240 pounds. “A big, strong guy who runs well,” Bohl said. My thought: defensive end? And safety Chris Board from Orlando, Fla., has film that shows him hitting like a Mack truck. He’s around 210 pounds and could fill into the shoes of an outside linebacker with some additional strength training.

Because of the large senior class next year, I see at least four true freshmen playing right away. The offensive line appears solid with depth so it’s doubtful Austin Kuhnert from Sioux Falls, Jesse Kubik from Dickinson or Zack Ziemer from Lakeville, Minn., will see the field. With the early departure of Justin Juckem because of injury, a defensive tackle may have a chance. In this group, that would be Nick Jacobsen from Prescott, Wis., Nathan Tanguay from Mukwonago, Wis. or Grant Morgan from Oshkosh, Wis. Jacobsen appears to be the most physically ready.

So where does this class stack up with others? That’s a game I’m not going to get into. There’s a story out there that says of the 100 top prospects in the country from a few years ago, only 40 percent were considered to have made it.

DOM’S TAKE: First for those that live out of the viewing area; here’s what Bohl told me about this class on WDAY 6 News tonight.  Initially looking at these guys on paper; the first thing that comes to my mind is these guys are huge; it seems like every player is 6’3 or bigger, 260 pounds or bigger and that will attract bigger schools to those players. For the FBS schools they can use how many stars that Rivals dishes out to say how good the class will be, for the FCS we can use how many players had FBS offers; to my knowledge; NDSU grabbed 4 guys that had FBS offers from what I was told (Ziemer; Jacobsen, DeLuca and Tucker) that’s impressive on it’s own merit. What’s also impressive is the closing kick that NDSU had in this class; the final 2 weeks brought in maybe the headliners of this class; starting with the 6’3 DeLuca; to Matt Plank at 6’2, 215, to Tre Dempsey and Chris Board from Florida and ending with Pierre-Gee Tucker out of Illinois; who by Craig Bohl’s count had 12 offers from different schools.

The story surrounding Tucker was unreal and Jeff did a great job of recapping yesterday of the struggles that Tucker went thru to make up his mind, evidently staying up till 2 am and then texting Bohl to say he was coming to NDSU; for the Bison this is a huge get in an area that has tremendous Missouri Valley traffic and it’s out of the usual axis for the Bison(Minneapolis-North Dakota-South Dakota). Just think in Illinois there are 3 Valley schools to begin with; Southern Illinois; Illinois State and Western Illinois; then there’s the MAC champs in Northern Illinois; and that’s not mentioning Northern Iowa; which also likes that area. This change of heart only will antagonize things further between NDSU and Northern Iowa fans and it’s already well established there’s no love lost between the 2 coaching staffs.

I was struck that Bohl said several of these guys will play right away next year; now do we need to define several? Jeff said 4, I’ll say 5 or 6 guys can see the field and obviously linebacker is the spot that the Bison need the biggest help in my opinion. If I’m just guessing I’d say Brad Ambrosius; Nick DeLuca; Pierre Gee-Tucker; Alex Hahn, Nick Jacobsen and Nate Tanguay are my six candidates to play next year with an asterisk next to Tyler Wrice; who could be another Ryan Smith in the wide receiver corps. There are couple of under the radar guys that I think could be really good in a year’s time in Austin Kuhnert; Tre Dempsey and Chase Morlock; I think all could be scary good after a year in the weight room and with NDSU coaches. I’ve seen it already from the 2012 class in Jack Plankers and MJ Stumpf; who are two guys that I think could have big springs for the Bison.

Jeff wasn’t ready to get into how this class stacks up with past classes; but I will(since we all know my predictions are always on); I think this is the best class NDSU has put together since 2010. The last two classes in my mind have been about building depth to augment a class that they believe could knock it out of the park and I believe this is the class that could do it. I’m not saying ’11 and ’12 are clunkers, but we have detailed the attrition rates from those two (four gone from 2012; six from 2011 – Frank Veldman, Joe Horvath, Ryan Stanford, Berkley Grimm, Josh Lisenby and DeShawn Dinwiddie) That’s why this class needed to have some “home-run hitters” and I believe they found them. For those that think the cupboard may be bare come 2014; here are some of the names that will be juniors or seniors that season: Gebhart; CJ Smith, Carson Wentz; LeCompte, Keller, Heagle(I believe he’ll get a medical redshirt for this past season; making 13 his redshirt junior; then ’14 a senior); Crockett; Champion, Dudzik, Littlejohn, Emanuel, Beck, Colville and Hardie. Impressive names that played a lot in 2012 and will be “the guys” when this class is ready to start making an impact in 2014.

A Closer Look at Recruiting

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Signing Day is Wednesday and while we won’t know how this class will stack up for a couple of years; hindsight is a good thing to look back at the last 4 recruiting classes; in my opinion when NDSU changed it’s recruiting philosophy(that was after the first year in the Missouri Valley that saw the Bison go 6-5; you can make the case that 2010 is when things really blew up; but just roll with me here.)

2009 – Signed 21 Players

  • 3 From North Dakota ( Drevlow, Grothmann, Jemison)
  • 8 From Minnesota; 4 From Wisconsin
  • 3 Fullbacks, 3 Wide Receivers
  • Standouts of Class (Drevlow, Jensen, Jirik, Ojuri, Perry and Williams)
  • Grade: A
2010 – Signed 25 Players
  • 4 From North Dakota (Beck, Gefroh, Smith, Thorton)
  • 7 From Minnesota; 3 Wisconsin, 3 Nebraska
  • 8 Linebackers signed in Class
  • Standouts of Class (Beck, Smith, Littlejohn, Turner, Olson, Heagle, Emanuel, Dudzik)
  • Grade: A++
2011 – Signed 27 Players
  • 2 From North Dakota (Okland and Wentz)
  • 5 From Minnesota; 2 From Wisconsin, 4 From Arizona, 3 from Illinois and 2 from Iowa and Kansas
  • Standouts of Class (LeCompte, Okland and Haeg)
  • Grade: Incomplete (Too many players haven’t seen yet)
2012 – Signed 18 Players
  • 3 From North Dakota (Lechler, Plankers and Stumpf)
  • 4 From Minnesota; 3 From Nebraska, 3 Arizona, 2 Kansas
  • Zach Johnson only true freshman to play in 2012
  • Players to watch in Spring FB (Plankers, Stumpf, Amaechi and Gray)
  • Grade: TBD
Totals From Different States:
  • Minnesota: 24 (2 in ’13 class)
  • North Dakota: 12
  • Wisconsin: 9  (6 in ’13 class)
  • Arizona: 7
  • Nebraska: 6  (2 in ’13 class)
  • Kansas: 4
  • Iowa: 2
Biggest thing I take from this is that North Dakota has the 2nd highest amount of players; I remember when I first arrived here that there were skeptics that you couldnt get a lot of Division 1 athletes from this state; but the Bison are finding them, look no further than Ryan Smith and Travis Beck; two stars on each side of the ball. The other interesting note is the geography of recruiting; switching from Texas to now Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas and this recruiting class with Florida. Still biggest question to be answered; how much did winning the national championship affect recruiting? We can see that NDSU is getting players with FBS offers, but is the talent there? Our first results of that litmus test will be answered this spring.

Bison Video Blog: Sunday Night Ramblings (Hoops, Pigskin and Wrestling)

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Plenty to talk about tonight from the Bunker, we’ll revisit yesterday’s game in Brookings where NDSU lost for the 2nd straight year by double digits, also more on Trayvonn Wright’s injury and what this means going forward. Also an update to NDSU football recruiting and why linebacker is so important to this recruiting class and an impressive weekend for the Bison grapplers, enjoy!

Nick DeLuca

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The state of Nebraska has opened it’s borders to NDSU in recent years and the Bison have seen the talent first hand from the Cornhusker State; just look at two of the stalwarts on defense; Kyle Emanuel and Christian Dudzik. The Bison graduate a four year warrior from Beatrice in Garrett Bruhn and brought in 3 recruits from Nebraska last year (Sam Hahn; who’s left the program; Bo Liekhus and number three quarterback Derek McGinnis) NDSU has been busy in Nebraska this year, already with one commitment from Papillion’s Tyler Wrice and got another on Tuesday from Omaha’s Nick DeLuca, who hails from nationally known Millard North High School, why it’s known nationally in a second.

 

DeLuca’s high school coach Fred Petito confirmed the decision to me earlier tonight; Millard North just completed an undefeated and state championship winning season; DeLuca is built to be a football player; 6’4, 235 pounds and plays inside linebacker. Petito told me DeLuca had offers from South Dakota State, South Dakota, NW Missouri State and Ohio; not surprising to see NDSU battle MAC schools and win out, we’ve seen that in the past few years in the recruiting wars. Petito told me that AJ Cooper and Steve Stanard have been working Nebraska hard, especially Stanard, the former Husker, who like Craig Bohl has many ties in the state; Petito shared with me that NDSU has been trying for many years to get into the state of Nebraska and now is finally seeing the fruits of that labor. Here’s DeLuca’s highlight video, it’s impressive and who knows at a spot where NDSU is critically thin, this could be a guy that plays right away next fall, we’ll see. Petito did add he wouldn’t be surprised if Nebraska made a late run at DeLuca, the Huskers are known for doing that, and I know from speaking with the other Nebraska natives on the team that’s the dream for all football players from that state. Why Millard North is so popular; especially for football; that’s the same high school that Eric Crouch hailed from and as most everyone knows, went on to play at Nebraska and eventually win the Heisman Trophy for the Huskers, Petito told me he’s sent 23 or 24 guys to play Division 1 football from Millard North.

This brings NDSU to a known total of 15 verbal commitments with two weeks to go till signing day, I’ve been told the Bison aiming for the 18-20 range, so there are still a couple players they’re waiting on; we know that they have offered Bismarck running back Layne Johs, the player of the year in the state, who ran for 1900 yards and scored 32 touchdowns for the state champs this past year. By my count, NDSU has freed up 13 scholarships for next season either by graduation or players leaving(Juckem and Jerve for example); curious to see what other positions NDSU gets down the stretch here’s what they have so far:

  • Defensive End:        2 (Ambrosius, Tuszka)
  • Defensive Tackle:   3 (Morgan, Jacobsen, Tanguay)
  • Linebacker:              3(DeLuca, Gates, Hahn)
  • Tight End:                 2 (Wentz, Illies)
  • Offensive Line:       2 (Ziemer, Kuhnert)
  • Quarterback:           1 (Davis)
  • Wide Receiver:       1  (Wrice)
  • Running Back:         1 (Morlock)

2012 Signing Day Wrap-Up

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Well that was fun. I grew up on the East Coast as many of you that read this blog know and college football is not popular in my neck of the woods, so when I got to Fargo and experienced my first signing day in 2007, I didn’t really see what all of the fuss was about. But after going thru this for a couple years, then being able to talk to the prospective athletes on the phone or in person, then see them perform, it’s a pretty neat deal. This by far was my favorite to date, to talk to the recruits that NDSU signed on Wednesday over the past five months has been great, especially the out-of-staters that saw the Bison win the national championship or experienced one of the playoff games. One of the recruits asked me over the phone, “Is it always that loud for home games?” I responded, “It will be from now on.” As for the class of 2012, I’m proud to say that Jeff and I reported on each and every one that ended up signing with the Bison. Now a couple headlines from signing day, also the 2012 Signing Class:

1) Jack Plankers – 6’7, 290 lbs,  Offensive Lineman, Kindred, ND

2) Zach Riopelle – 6’2, 215 lbs,  Linebacker, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, MN

3) DeSean Warren – 5’10, 158 lbs, Wide Receiver, Overland Park, KS

4) Zach Johnson – 6’4, 310 lbs, Offensive Guard, Apple Valley, MN

5) Andy Smith – 6’0, 185 lbs, Defensive Back, Sioux Falls, SD

6) M.J. Stumpf – 6’2, 195 lbs, Linebacker, Harvey, ND

7) Bo Liekhus – 6’0, 200 lbs, Safety, Bellevue, NE

8) Derek McGinnis – 6’2, 200 lbs, Quarterback, Crete, NE

9) Carey Woods – 6’0, 180 lbs, Wide Receiver, Bemidji, MN

10) Demetrius Gray – 6’4, 180 lbs, Wide Receiver, Aurora, IL

11) Austin Farnlof – 6’1, 255 lbs, Offensive/Defensive Line, Anthem AZ

12) Chuks Amaechi – 6’2, 202 lbs, Linebacker, Avondale, AZ

13) Brett Pierce – 6’6, 250 lbs, Defensive End, Richfield, MN

14) Jacob Davis – 6’2, 242 lbs, Linebacker, Wichita, KS

15) Sam Hahn – 6’6, 260 lbs, Offensive Tackle, De Witt, NE

16) Landon Lechler – 6’8, 240 lbs, Offensive Lineman, Beach, ND

17) Marcus Brantley – 5’10, 180 lbs, Safety, Mesa, AZ

18) Justin Arp – 6’5, 215 lbs, Defensive End/Tight End, Forman, ND

OTHER HEADLINES

  • Craig Bohl told me he sees “five players that could play right away next year” and says as a whole it’s an “exceptional group.”
  • NDSU added two more walk-ons that were not on the official release, one name we reported earlier in January, in kicker Tom Barneson out of Eau Claire. The 2nd is also a Wisconsin native, Eric Perkins from Kewaskum, he’s 5’9, 175 pounds, ran for 1,883 yards and 27 touchdowns this past season.
  • NDSU did NOT recruit a Running Back in this class. The Bison have 4 on the roster currently, Sam Ojuri, Derrick Lang, Matt Jones and Amos Buehner. Wes Hudson was dismissed from the team during the season, but for the first time to my recollection, Bohl mentioned John Crockett. For those that don’t know Crockett is a member of the sensational 2010 class, but has not yet seen the field, trying to get his grades in order to become eligble. I fully believe that NDSU held off recruiting a running back because they expect Crockett to be on the field come fall camp in August. Crockett was a fantastic high school player at Totino-Grace, an all-state first team selection by the Associated Press, ran for 1,802 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2009. If Crockett becomes eligible, all worries at running back in my mind disappear.
  • The one name that WE had on our list that was not announced yesterday was Deveon Dinwiddie. But that doesn’t mean he’s not coming to NDSU. Wednesday, Hutchinson Community College, where Dinwiddie played this past season, sent out a release, saying he’s heading to NDSU. You can read the release here, scroll down halfway to find Dinwiddie’s name. Now nothing is a done deal and the coaches CANNOT comment yet on any player that hasn’t officially signed, we’ll keep you posted.

I looked briefly at South Dakota State’s class which looks pretty good, I see that at least four guys NDSU had offered chose the Jacks, something to keep an eye on. The one bi-product of NDSU winning the national championship is it’s going to raise the bar for all of the Valley teams, especially now the bordering ones in SDSU and USD. That’s all for now, going to take a deep breath from this recruiting frenzy and get ready for the stretch run of the basketball season. Any updates on walk-ons and JUCO’s we’ll pass along as always. For those that missed the live interview with Craig Bohl, this is the link. Also wanted to thank everyone for the kind words over the past few weeks, it’s been fun, we’ll keep it up!

The Projected Class Of 2012

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For those that think the glitz and glamour of signing day is a bit much(and I’m one of them, seeing an 18 year old holding a press conference on ESPN to decide where they’re going to school), I can also tell you National Signing Day is as important a day to a college football program as is the opening day of fall camp. College coaches find out today if the hard work they’ve been putting in over the past year will pay off. Rewind two years ago to this date. Craig Bohl was downright giddy when I talked to him on the news that night about the class he had coming in, and it turns out had every right to be. With guys like Colten Heagle, Billy Turner, Grant Olson, Travis Beck, Ryan Smith, Carlton Littlejohn, Christian Dudzik, Kyle Emanuel and Jesse Hinz. All signed in 2010, all were key contributors to the National Title Team. Now on to this year, thru Jeff and I’s knowledge these are the known players we BELIEVE will sign letters of intent tomorrow. Mind you until 3pm tomorrow when the press conference is held, that’s all we know. There will be a few walk-ons that are not on this list and we’ll detail more tomorrow night. Here we go….

1) Jack Plankers – 6’7, 290 lbs,  Offensive Lineman, Kindred, ND

2) Zach Riopelle – 6’2, 215 lbs,  Linebacker, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, MN

3) DeSean Warren – 5’10, 158 lbs, Wide Receiver, Overland Park, KS

4) Zach Johnson – 6’4, 310 lbs, Offensive Guard, Apple Valley, MN

5) Andy Smith – 6’0, 185 lbs, Defensive Back, Sioux Falls, SD

6) M.J. Stumpf – 6’2, 195 lbs, Linebacker, Harvey, ND

7) Bo Liekhus – 6’0, 200 lbs, Safety, Bellevue, NE

8) Derek McGinnis – 6’2, 200 lbs, Quarterback, Crete, NE

9) Carey Woods – 6’0, 180 lbs, Wide Receiver, Bemidji, MN

10) Demetrius Gray – 6’4, 180 lbs, Wide Receiver, Aurora, IL

11) Austin Farnlof – 6’1, 255 lbs, Offensive/Defensive Line, Anthem AZ

12) Chuks Amaechi – 6’2, 202 lbs, Linebacker, Avondale, AZ

13) Brett Pierce – 6’6, 250 lbs, Defensive End, Richfield, MN

14) Jacob Davis – 6’2, 242 lbs, Linebacker, Wichita, KS

15) Deveon Dinwiddie – 5’9, 175 lbs, Running Back, Hutchinson KS

16) Tom Barneson - 6’3, 200 lbs, Kicker, Eau Claire, WI

17) Sam Hahn – 6’6, 260 lbs, Offensive Tackle, De Witt, NE

18) Landon Lechler – 6’8, 240 lbs, Offensive Lineman, Beach, ND

19) Marcus Brantley – 5’10, 180 lbs, Safety, Mesa, AZ

20) Justin Arp – 6’5, 215 lbs, Defensive End/Tight End, Forman, ND

Those are the 20 names we have right now, on a sheet of paper or a computer screen they look really impressive and really huge. Lechler is 6’8, Pierce and Hahn are both mountains and the speed that NDSU has accumulated at wide receiver could be scary. A reminder I’ll have Craig Bohl LIVE at 6:20 on the Sports on Channel 6 also on WDAY.com and will be live tweeting @DomIzzoWDAY to add any changes to the list. Should be a fun day, hope everyone enjoys!

Signing day: some more details

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Some signing day notes and quotes that were too numerous to fit into print:

  • Men’s basketball

Brett VandenBergh is no kid who faxed a letter of intent, he’s physically ready to go. It will be interesting how he teams with his ex-high school teammate, Chris Kading, who is a freshman on the Bison roster. Kading appears to be the real deal, although he will probably redshirt this year. As for Dexter Werner, his development over the summer AAU circuit got to the point where NDSU could no longer ignore him. He’s 6-foot-6, but is wing span is 6-11 and like VandenBergh, is physically ready to go right now.

  • Women’s basketball

Holly Johnson from Minot, N.D., is regarded as a pure scorer and shooter, a combination that always isn’t available. Bison coaches think the 6-foot forward has grown since she verbally committed. She’s from a basketball family; her father and sister played at Minot State. It will be interesting to see how Brittany Wiebe from Brandon, Manitoba develops in basketball. A hockey player until three years ago, she’s a rare Division I basketball recruit from Manitoba.

  •  Volleyball

The Bison have had a lot of success in Wisconsin with 5-11 outside hitter Jenni Fassbender from Kaukauna, who is from a school with one of the great nicknames ever: the Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts. She led the GG’s to a state title in 2009 and a runnerup finish in ’10. Head coach Kari Thompson compared her athletic ability to former Bison player Sheila Parrish and is expected to compete for a spot in the rotation immediately. Also signing was Emily Riese, a 5-foot-10 setter from Fon du Lac, Wis. She was an all-state second team pick as a junior and first team this year and was also a state track and field qualifier in the discus throw in June.

  •  Men’s golf

Head coach Billy Iverson was hot on the recruiting trail for West Fargo’s Connor Holland before the Pine-to-Palm tournament in August. Holland won it, and Iverson had to worry about other coaches coming at Holland. “Sure,” Iverson said. “He defeated all of my team and most of the Gophers team. He’s already experienced at our level without going to a class.” NDSU now essentially has a F-M high school all-star team with Trenton Olson from Shanley and Bill Carlson from Fargo South.

  •  Girls golf

Head coach Matt Johnson, in the early stages of recruiting, was in contact with Cassie Wurm of Hudson, Wis., and Hailey Boner of Stillwater, Minn. It turns out both players knew each other, in part because Hudson and Stillwater are just across the river from each other and they played in junior tournaments together. “Both of these players are experienced beyond just the high school game,” Johnson said. Wurm is the daughter of former standout Bison wrestler Lloyd Wurm. She was the ’09 Wisconsin Junior Match Play champion.

  •  Baseball

When this group of eight recruits walk off the bus, it will be hard to tell what sport: basketball or baseball. Two of them stand 6-5, four are 6-3 and another is 6-2. Six are pitchers and all are following head coach Tod Brown’s footprint of being from colder climate programs.

Signing were 6-3 infielder Sean Terres from Rocori High (Minn.), 6-3 pitcher Adam Lambrecht from Burnsville, Minn., and teammate pitcher-1B 6-5 Brian Vandewoude, 6-4 pitcher Tanner Schumacher from Blaine, Minn., 6-3 pitcher Zach Mayo of Vauxhall, Alberta, 6-3 pitcher Adam Moorse of Apple Valley, Minn., outfielder Aaron Janz from Mandan, N.D., and pitcher Alex Bray from Bismarck. “They are big athletic kids who play multiple sports,” Brown said. “And they have high test scores and that has translated well for us.” And it certainly didn’t hurt NDSU that freshman David Ernst was drafted – and didn’t sign, instead opting to honor his NDSU commitment.

  •  Softball

It’s the biggest class in head coach Darren Mueller’s years at NDSU with eight players. “I’m used to two or three a year,” he said. Five are from the NDSU recruiting-rich ground of California: Jenna Isbel of Fontana, Logan Moreland of Woodland, Cheyenne Garcia of Vista, Alyssa Reina of Auburn and Cassidy Szeredy of Pittsburg. Two are teammates from Omaha Burke High School: Katie Soukup and Sam Peterson and pitcher Tabby Bayers is from North St. Paul High School.

Speed is the operative word with these kids. Mueller said a good time from home plate to first is 2.7 to 2.9 seconds. Isbel and Moreland run a 2.5. Reina, a catcher, runs a 2.7.