Ever since I started following Division III at the national level, Mount Union’s success has fascinated me.

Beyond respecting what they’ve done in winning 8 national titles in 13 seasons, I want to understand how they’ve done it. So I’ve asked fans and players and people familiar with the program what the secret to the Purple Raiders’ success is.

While recruiting alone doesn’t explain how the dynasty was built, it’s clear that Mount Union’s success gives them an advantage over other Division III programs.

Consider Louisville (Ohio) HS quarterback Drew Kuhn. According to the Canton (Ohio) Repository, Kuhn was considering walking on at Division I-A West Virginia or going to Mount Union. The All Star game roster lists Kuhn as Alliance-bound. With many of the Big 33 Football Classic participants headed to big programs including Ohio State, Syracuse and Minnesota, Kuhn is just one of two players going to a Division III school (Dan Hall of Hilliard Davidson HS will attend Wittenberg).

Or consider quarterback Cody Kirby of Rogers (Ark.) HS. He worked out in front of Notre Dame and drew great reviews from Vanderbilt. According to his hometown paper, Kirby planned to work out for Division I-A Arkansas State and Mount Union.

Or consider punter Jay Carpenter of Fairmont (West Va.) HS. He’s headed to Mount Union partly because he saw the Purple Raiders play in last year’s televised Stagg Bowl. Carpenter told the Charleston (West Va.) Daily Mail, “”I actually e-mailed the coach (Larry Kehres) four or five months ago…I sent them a highlight tape and they started calling me. I went up there to visit, I loved the campus and the coaches and it led to me signing.”

Maybe other schools can claim the same status as Mount Union — that they are often on the short list for Division III kids who considered playing Division I-A football. But whether it’s the coaches, the facilities or the TV appearances, the Purple Raiders’ success begets more talented recruits who beget more success.

Mount Union isn’t the only purple power reloading this offseason.

Linfield landed a pair of two-sport stars at Columbia River (Wash.) HS, identical twins Josh and Jeremy Lovell. The later Lovell won a state championship in the long jump and Josh finished third in that event and the high jump. According to The Columbian, both hope to play defensive back or wide receiver for the Wildcats.

UW-Whitewater hardly needs a new running back with 2005 All American Justin Beaver returning as just a junior. But the Warhawks will add Milton HS stand out Derek Underwood anyway. Underwood scored 30 touchdowns last year earning him the nickname, “Mr. Touchdown.” Don’t forget that WarhawkFootball.com has posted UWW’s recruiting class.

Kerens (Texas) HS two-way star Jason Russell will wear purple, gold and white next year at Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Corsicana (Texas) Daily Sun gives Crusader fans a closer look at the Greenbelt All Star.

In recruiting news of the non-purple variety…

EAST

Brick Township (N.J.) HS products Bill Winters and Nick Cusanelli are staying in the Garden State to attend FDU-Florham according to the Brick Township Bulletin. Their high school classmate A.J. Perrotti considered suiting up for the Devils, too, but will attend Gettysburg instead. Perrotti isn’t attending FDU-Florham, these guys are — here is their recruiting class.

Incidentally, I did a quick search to see what Brick’s mascot is. I didn’t look too hard, because I’d rather pretend it’s either the Walls or Houses. Wait for it…wait for it…

NORTH

Ricky Ladd will go from the White House to Ohio Northern. White House HS, that is, where Ladd ran for 1,772 yards and 23 touchdowns. Ladd follows in the footsteps of fellow White House alum R.J. Meadows who rambled for 18 TDs last year. Polar Bear fans could see even more of Meadows since, according to the Gallatin (Tenn.) News Examiner, Derek Garrod will not play next year. Garrod had the most carries for ONU last season.

Cadillac (Mich.) High School has a carpool making stops at three MIAA schools. OL Elijah Keller will ride toOlivet, WR Chazz Masten to Hope and kicker Tyler Hamilton to Alma.

SOUTH

Like the New Orleans Saints, South Sumpter (Bushnell, Fla.) HS graduate Brady Jackson is headed to Millsaps this summer. Majors Assistant Coach Shannon Dawson told The Villages (Fla.) Daily Sun, “Brady is a kid who has good size and will hit you. He is one of the top kids in our recruiting class. We expect him to come in and make a splash.”

Sun Valley (Penn.) HS product Phil Cresta will head up I-476 north to attend Muhlenberg where he plans to play football and baseball. Cresta was recently named the (Delaware County) Daily Times/Exelon Male Athlete of the year.

WEST

Monmouth Coach Steve Bell has to replace Gagliardi Trophy finalist Mitch Tanney at quarterback and he thinks he may have a candidate in Ottawa (Ill.) HS’ Jared Mundt. Mundt comes from a run-oriented offense, but that doesn’t deter Bells’ enthusiasm. The Scots coach told the (Ottawa, Ill.) Times, “”I think he definitely has a legitimate shot to start as long as he can mentally pick everything up. To me, it’s not a physical thing with freshmen, but a mental thing.” Monmouth fans can get the skinny on other incoming players from this release.

The Sierra Sun reports that Truckee (Calif.) HS quarterback Robert Jones is headed to Willamette. In addition to Jones’ story, check out this tidbit on the Bearcats’ recruiting process — “(Coach Mark) Speckman and the college’s admissions department then offered Jones an opportunity to retake his SAT. Jones was told he could bypass the waiting list if he scored 1400 or better. Retaking the test in mid-April, Jones scored 1400 on the dot.”

Given that impressive score, we offer this analogy — Jones is to SAT as Jones’ high school team is to state playoffs. They’ve won consecutive titles with Jones at the helm.

If you’d like more information on recruits including links to recruiting classes for Bridgewater (Va.), Centre, Earlham, Elmhurst, Hampden-Sydney, Kenyon and Lycoming, please check that out here.

And if you have information on incoming recruits, please email the link to the published story at Gordon.Mann@d3football.com. And thanks to Mr. Frye who sent us this story about his son Joe who is headed to LaGrange. Joe was a triple threat, playing offense, defense and special teams at Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.). We appreciate the heads-up.

Good luck to Joe and all the other incoming freshmen and thanks for checking out the Recruiting Recap.