Recruit Recap: Long road begins

In a couple months thousands of students will head to Division III schools for the first time with the hopes of playing college football. Many will have very interesting stories, but few will have a longer trip than Brock Graziadei.

Graziadei played quarterback for Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, Alaska, graduating from the far northern outpost in 2004. It has taken three years, four states and more miles than Mapquest can calculate but Graziadei’s long journey south ends in Pineville, Louisiana where he’ll play for Louisiana College. The Fairbanks Daily News Miner has Graziadei’s story.

For Brandon Griffin the road to college is much shorter, but no less meaningful. Griffin put up great numbers as a receiver at Campbell County (Alexandria, Ky.) High School, but not enough to generate a Division II scholarship. So he’ll play his college ball less than an hour away at Mount St. Joseph according to the Cincinnati Post.


Transfers and incoming freshmen aren’t the only ones starting something new in 2007. A few schools will join Division III football this season including Birmingham-Southern. The Alabama school that last fielded a team in 1939 has posted a list of 122 students who have expressed interest in suiting up for the Black and Gold.

It’s extremely difficult to cover recruiting at the Division III level because there’s frequently little subjective information available on the incoming players. And since the students don’t receive athletic scholarships, there’s no guarantee the students will play the sport at all.

But we can — and will — use the Recruiting Recaps to highlight interesting stories of people who’ve announced intentions in playing Division III football next season. And we’ll update this Dose throughout the summer to keep a running tab on who is going where.

If you have news on a recruit, please send the newspaper story or release link to Gordon.mann@d3football.com and we’ll add the name to the list below. We’ll need the story as verification, even if you’re the student himself or the student’s parent. You can also post the link below and we’ll add the names intermittently.

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    EAST

Alfred: 2007 recruits
Amherst: Isaac Rowner, West Hempstead (N.Y.)
Brockport State: Eric Andonian, Syosset (N.Y.); Ryan Parkman, East Meadow (N.Y.)
Buffalo State: Jason Berger, East Meadow (N.Y.); Frank Frayer, East Meadow (N.Y.); Blake Malizia, South Side (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Perry Schneider, Hewlett (N.Y.)
Cortland State: Jordan Fallis, St. Anthony’s (South Huntington, N.Y.); John Gagliano, St. Anthony’s; Matt Hornik, Syosset (N.Y.); Joe Lopez, Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.); Sal Posillico, East Meadow (N.Y.)
Curry: Jordan Evans, East Catholic (Glastonbury, Conn.); Mike Fataio, Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.); John Swenning, Comsewogue
Framingham State: Brian Kelly, Valley Stream (N.Y.) South
Hamilton: Christopher Ravn, South Side (Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
Hartwick: Dan Gill, Massapequa (N.Y.); Chris JapNgie, Holy Trinity (Hicksville, N.Y.); Kevin Kazaks, Patchogue-Medford (N.Y.); Jonathan O’Connell, Holy Trinity
Husson:Vin DiBartolo, Monsignor Farrell (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Kean: Anthony Giordano, Clifton (N.J.); Derrick Stroble, Clifton
King’s: Kevin Mockler, Southampton (N.Y.)
Merchant Marine: Patrick Hehir, Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.); John Lambertson, Chaminade
MIT: Stephen Yablonski, Mt. Sinai (N.Y.)
Mount Ida: Julian Baptiste, Glenn (Elwood, N.Y.)
Plymouth State: Cesar Rivera, Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.)
RPI: 2007 recruits
Salve Regina: Chris Kopiske, Smithtown (N.Y.) East
Springfield: Ryan Proper, Lynbrook (N.Y.); Sean Tyson, Bellport (Brookhaven, N.Y.)
Susquehanna: Tyler Shagi, Connetquot (Bohemia, N.Y.)
Union: Blaise Ancona, Garden City (N.Y.); Zach Antilety, Southampton (N.Y.)
Utica: Terry Culkin, West Islip (N.Y.)
Western Connecticut: Tom Kennelly, Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.)
Widener: Joe Colleluori, Jr., Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.)

    WEST

Chapman: Conner Reese, San Luis Obispo (Calif.)
Colorado College: 2007 recruits
Grinnell: 2007 recruits
Lewis & Clark: Harrison Keller, Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
Menlo: Erik Rasmussen, Atascadero (Calif.); Brad Wilkinson, Yosemite (Ca.)
Monmouth: 2007 recruits
UW-River Falls: 2007 recruits

    NORTH

Adrian: Mike McGee, Brookhaven (Columbus, Ohio)
Allegheny: Phil Capogreco, Granville (Ohio)
Augustana: Shane Lowman, Elk Grove (Calif.)
Aurora: Jeremy Shores, Charleston (Ill.)
Baldwin-Wallace: Mike Biello, Mayfield (Mayfield Village, Ohio); Dan Brown, Kirtland (Ohio); Matt Butlowski, St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio); Ryan Dugan, Mentor (Ohio); Alex Evans, Newbury (Ohio); Tom Goad, Nordonia (Madedonia, Ohio); Kevin Kinder, Lakewood (Ohio); Tony Lovasz, North Ridgeville (Ohio); John McGraw, North Ridgeville; Nick McGreevy, Elyria (Ohio); Ty Merkle, Chardon (Ohio); Brad Pollack, Brecksville-Broadview Heights (Ohio); Mitch Tulk, Elyria (Ohio)
Blackburn: Jake Zwilling, East Richland (Olney, Ill.)
Capital: Jordon Clements, Midview (Grafton, Ohio); David McKean, Johnstown (Ohio)
Case Western Reserve: 2007 recruits
Chicago: Pat Kacsur, Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.)
Greenville: 2007 recruits
Heidelberg: Clayton Darfus, Granville (Ohio); Zach Farrell, Padua Franciscan (Cleveland, Ohio)
Hiram: Chris Sabo, Archbishop Hoban; Chris Seidenwand, Padua (Ohio)
Hope: Shane Kwapis, Gaylord (Mich.)
John Carroll: David Beach, Nordonia (Macedonia, Ohio); Steven Berghaus, North Ridgeville (Ohio); Andrew Bobinski, Nordonia; Cory Brady, Brunswick, Ohio; Raymond Chahoud, Brunswick; Ryan Codner, Nordonia; Walter Dabney, Shaw (East Cleveland, Ohio); Michael Davis, Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio); Jonathan Dzingeleski, Mentor (Ohio); Thomas Everette, Lake Catholic (Mentor, Ohio); Brian Faehnrich, Independence (Ohio); Joseph Faust, Parma (Ohio); John Figueroa, Mentor; Jonathan Friedman, Central Catholic (Cleveland, Ohio)
Louis Galiano, Mayfield (Mayfield Village, Ohio); Dennis Love, St. Peter Chanel (Bedford, Ohio); Timothy Lynch, Strongsville (Ohio); Bob Mangiarelli, Howland (Warren, Ohio); Patrick Mannion, Holy Name (Parma Heights, Ohio); Patrick Mannion, Holy Name; Joseph Matesevac, Copley (Ohio); Brian Mendelsohn, St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio); Michael Mewhinney, St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio); Samuel Morris, Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio); Ahmed Nawash, Brunswick; Robert Nelson, Willoughby (Ohio) South; Thomas Pavlik, Rocky River (Ohio); Liam Powers, Brush (Lyndhurst, Ohio); Joshua Rentz, Trinity (Cleveland, Ohio); Karl Roshong, Perry (Massillon, Ohio); Phillip Sbrocca, Mayfield; Kyle Scheerer, Olmsted Falls (Ohio); Robert Siska, Brush (Lyndhurst, Ohio); Bryan Sylvester, St. Ignatius; Vincent Tarantino, Mayfield; Tyrone Tate, Glenville (Ohio); Sean Webster, St. Ignatius; Christopher White, Rootstown (Ohio); Michael Zawistowski, Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio); Eric Ziegler, Kirtland; Zachary Zielinski, Walsh Jesuit (Cayuhoga Falls, Ohio); Taylor Zupancic, St. Ignatius
Marietta: Jared Dusky, Midview (Grafton, Ohio); Joe Williams, Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio)
Mount Union: Travis Baldwin, Utica (Ohio); Nate Berkey, Sarasota (Fla.); Dean Bradley, Perry (Ohio); Cody Cole, Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, Fla.); Christian Leon, Smithtown (N.Y.) West; Brandon Mack, Mentor (Ohio); Joseph Pettigrew, Jackson (Massillon, Ohio); Gary Steigerwald, Kirtland (Ohio); Eric Strauss, Saucon Valley (Hellertown, Pa.); Matt Walker, Alliance (Ohio)
Muskingum: Brandon Campbell, Columbia (Columbia Station, Ohio); Brian Madzia, Trinity (Cleveland, Ohio)
North Central: Dane Hawes, East Richland (Olney, Ill.)
Ohio Northern: Justin Maraschky, Shaker Heights (Ohio); Matt Sullivan, National Trail (New Paris, Ohio)
Wabash: Evan Reynolds, Marion (Ind.)
Wilmington: Ryan Hines, Shaker Heights (Ohio)
Wooster: 2007 recruits — see players listed as freshmen for 2007

    SOUTH


Birmingham-Southern:
2007 recruits
Bridgewater (Va.): Travis Bullock, Caroline (Milford, Va.); Hagan Driskell, Caroline; Matt Porter, Caroline
Carnegie Mellon: Cooper McGill, Northport (N.Y.)
Centre: 2007 recruits
Frostburg State: 2007 recruits
Gettysburg: Greg Coutu, Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.); Chris Dicerbo, Kellenberg (Uniondale, N.Y.); Bryan DiSabato, Lawrence (Cedarhurst, N.Y.)
Grove City: Rob Ondracek, Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio)
Hampden-Sydney: 2007 recruits
Johns Hopkins: Tim Dotzler, St. Anthony’s (South Huntington, N.Y.); Anthony Mazzola, St. Anthony’s
McDaniel: Nick Chrissides, Glenn (Elwood, N.Y.)
Muhlenberg: Mark Accomondo, Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.); John Allen, Chaminade; Jason LoPipero, Kings Park (N.Y.); Harrison Rowner, West Hempstead (N.Y.)
St. Vincent: 2007 recruits
Thiel: Mike Dorsey, Nature Coast Technical (Brooksville, Fla.); Jason Joens, Nature Coast Technical
Thomas More: 2007 recruits
Washington & Jefferson: Kane Danison, Philo (Ohio); Jake Link, Pennsbury (Fairless Hills, Pa.); Jesse Rayner, Philo; Zach Stryffeler, Padua (Ohio)
Waynesburg: Scott Bradley, Bishop Carroll (Ebensburg, Pa.)

3 thoughts on “Recruit Recap: Long road begins

  1. Case Western Reserve’s new facilities seem to be reaping rewards in recruiting. The Spartans have announced their largest recruiting class ever with 51 frosh and one transfer. With 60 veterans reported to be returning, the prospect for duplicate numbers arises for the first time as well.

    It’s not just quantity either, as many of them earned post season honors. Leading that group is All State second team RB Bill Deitmen from Div I runner up Mentor. Dan Whalen will have a familiar receiver to throw to as his Willoughby South teammate Shaun Nicely, HM All State WR, joins him. Each should have a good shot at cracking the lineup, since an All UAA RB and 3 All UAA WRs have departed. There’s also an All State HM QB from Maryland and another QB from Illinois who in two seasons threw 28 TDs and only 3 ints.

    The big news in the returning roster is that Tom Brew is listed as coming back for his final year of eligibility. With Scott Madden also reported returning, that leaves NG as the only defensive position with no starter returning.

    http://www.case.edu/athletics/varsity/news.htm#s2_page2

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