Monthly Archives: May 2005

Recruiting Recap: Lining up new linemen

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“This game will be won in the trenches” goes the old cliché extolling the value of a powerful offensive and defensive line.

And while some clichés are more useful than others (See: “He really came to play today”), this one has some heft to it in more ways than one.

Just ask the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders whose offense mashed its way to last year’s Stagg Bowl behind three D3football.com All-American linemen. Or, for that matter, ask the Linfield Wildcats whose front five only allowed 13 sacks last year.

And so this week we turn our eyes to recruits who could specialize in pancake blocks and pass protection next season.

Washington University announced that Danny Luce — a 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior at Stanwood (Wash.) High School — will come to St. Louis next fall. Bears coach Larry Kindbom offered a promising review of Luce to The Daily Herald of Everett, Wash., calling him “an outstanding athlete and a very good football player.”

Of course, size isn’t everything. That’s why the Recruiting Recap smiles happily on Augustana recruit Travis Morgan who did a little bit of everything for Pecatonica (Ill.) High School. According to the Rockford Register Star, Morgan played fullback, defensive end, outside linebacker and center while weighing in at 5-10, 185 pounds.

Morgan probably won’t play all those positions for the Vikings when he arrives in Rock Island this fall.

One recruit expecting such a change is Frankie Herrera who will reportedly play safety for Texas Lutheran after suiting up as a full back and linebacker at Port Isabel (Texas) High School. Herrera told the Brownsville Herald that he’s not worried about the move since “The coach told me I (get to) hit a lot and that’s what I like doing.”

Meanwhile South Fork (Fla.) High School is dishing out recruits across Division III’s landscape. Easton Gunnoe and John LeMaster head to John Carroll in Ohio, Adam Pawlak goes to Concordia (Wis.), and Zack Brumfield is bound for Ferrum in Virginia.

Other recruiting announcements from the previous week include the following:

– Paracelete HS (Lancaster, Calif.) product Zach Anderson to Augustana

– Mike Whitmore of Rockford (Ill.) East HS to Beloit

– Joel Sienicki of Northridge (Ind.) to Bluffton

– Jeremy Winter of Madison (Wis.) East HS to Carroll

– Paul Skidmore of Arundel (Md.) HS to Franklin & Marshall

– Joseph Sinyard of Pace (Texas) HS to Hardin-Simmons

– Joel Hawkins of Fairfield (Ind.) to Manchester

– Belvidere (Ill.) HS graduate Anthony Goranson to Monmouth

– Jager (Ill.) HS graduate Kevin Conway to North Central

– NorthWood (Ind.) HS teammates Jason Hochstetler and Andrew Huber to Tri-State

– Bay Port (Wis.) HS tight end Dan Bassindale to UW-Stevens Point

Before we close, the voices of college professors past remind me to cite my sources, so thanks to Cat11 for the story on Herrera. And thanks to another Recap reader who emailed us about Iroquois (N.Y.) HS running back Steve Mamak who will lace up cleats for Muskingum next year.

If you want to join the fun by posting recruiting news, you can use the comments feature below. But you must include a newspaper URL to verify the story like these two contributors did. Otherwise it’ll disappear faster than free cake in a football press box.

For more passive forms of entertainment, here is the list of all the recruits we’ve heard about so far.

Stagg Bid I

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GagliardiIt’s only May, but there’s a dream match-up happening right before our eyes.

It’s a battle between the last three programs to hoist the Walnut and Bronze — Linfield vs. St. John’s vs. Mount Union.

Not on the field, mind you, but on your computer screen where uberauction site eBay offers memorabilia from the Wildcats, Johnnies and Purple Raiders.

Do you want to “leave no doubt” that the Wildcats are the best? Then you might bid on this Linfield football helmet.

Or maybe you’re convinced nothing can top the Johnnies’ memorable run in 2003. Then you can bid on this ring commemorating Gagliardi’s record-breaking victory.

Or maybe you want to celebrate Mount Union’s 2002 championship with this fancy lid. Geez, has it really been that long since they won a title? Only kidding, Raider Nation.

eBay aficionados already know the site is a fun place to find, well, just about anything you can imagine. But who knew that included a miniature version of a Wesley Wolverines’ helmet? Even the NESCAC, which won’t join the playoff party, is in on the fun.

If you’re bored — and we know you are since it’s still only May — surf on over to eBay and see what interesting D3 treasures you can unearth.

Just don’t you dare cast a bid on my favorite item — the
John Gagliardi Bobblehead (pictured above).

To register a new address for eBay and benefit D3football.com at the same time, click here.

Who’ll play Mount Union?

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It’s hard to avoid noticing the trend. At the beginning of Mount Union’s run, the Purple Raiders were playing Defiance for their non-conference game (the Ohio Athletic Conference has 10 teams, meaning only one opponent must be found each year). Then it was Albion, followed by Allegheny. All regional foes, all within a reasonable distance and with the last two, some reason to expect a competitive result, at least at the time the game was scheduled.

But two years of Allegheny were followed by two years of UW-Whitewater, then Wash U, not an easy trip for either squad. The outcome was hardly in doubt last year and won’t be this year. Next on the list, Averett, a nearly 500-mile trip past Salem to the North Carolina/Virginia border. Mount Union has to go further and further afield to find an opponent. In an era of automatic playoff bids for winning your conference and Pool C bids expanding from three to seven, there’s less and less reason to duck a strong non-conference opponent.

Kudos to Averett for taking the challenge. And shame on anyone closer to Alliance who shared the same open date.