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.

It’s been a while since we looked at recruiting news. Here are some stories that include brains, baseball and Bowl games.

EAST

Daniel Guillen knows he’ll have a lot of new experiences to enjoy in his first semester at MIT. A graduate of St. Joseph Academy in Brownsville Texas, Guillen told the hometown Herald that making the move to Cambridge, Mass. should be exciting. “At first, it seems a little scary to be going so far away, but it’s also pretty nice to be going to a place with a completely different culture and way of life. I’ll be able to experience what it’s like to live in a place where it snows.”

Guillen played offense, defense and special teams at St. Joe’s. MIT Coach Dwight Smith plans to throw Guillen in the mix right away. He told the Herald, “We are hopeful that Daniel can fill our need as both kicker and punter and also compete for playing time at outside linebacker.”

Speaking of kids who are “wicked smaht,” RPI has announced its recruiting class. Incoming freshmen include DB Tim Acker who was the Wesco League Player of the Year and Arlington (Wa.) High’s valedictorian.

NORTH

Earlham Athletic Director Frank Carr will see a familiar face on campus next semester. His son Jake is staying home to attend the Richmond, Indiana college where he will play football and baseball. This Palladium Item article takes a look at Jake and his older brother Kevin who also played baseball for the Quakers.

Elsewhere on the diamond Aurora landed Cody DeGrush of Morris (Ill.) HS who plans to play baseball and football for the Spartans. DeGrush told the Morris Daily Herald, “I will be able to play both at Aurora and that is definitely nice. Both coaches have told me they want me to play both sports and agree to help me be able to do it.” Aurora has made the Division III College World Series two of the past three seasons.\

Aurora fans can get more information on the Spartans’ recruits from this full list which is hot out of the email inbox.

Anderson appears to have a pipeline with a Citrus flavor. According to the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, three players from Citrus High (Inverness, Fla) are flying north to Central Indiana this fall. Linemen Bob Severin and Chadd Malone are “likely” to join wide receiver Dane Moore in the Ravens’ recruiting class. Moore has good pedigree with a father, Dana, who played for the AFL’s Orlando Predators.

The (Monmouth, Ill.) Daily Review Atlas announced that local product Zach McLaughlin will attend Augustana after graduating from Monmouth-Roseville HS. McLaughlin accounted for 13 touchdowns as a quarterback and 56 tackles as a safety last season.

SOUTH

LaGrange continues to prep for its inaugural football season with three players from Colquitt County (Ga.) coming aboard. Ashondi Magwood and Jacolby King played wide receiver in high school while B.J. Johnson played tight end and defensive end. Speaking of the Panthers, check out their helmets — pretty spiffy.

Hunter Hobson of Fort Mill (S.C.) will join Sewanee’s program where he hopes to play in the secondary according to the Fort Mill Times. The All-Region selection is following in the footsteps of his parents and older brother who attended the University of the South.

Case Western Reserve has released its list of recruits. Incoming Spartans represent 9 different states including Colorado, Florida and Texas.

WEST

Linfield fans in the Portland, Oregon region will have a chance to check out future Wildcats at the Les Schwab Bowl on June 23. The All-Star game features a handful of recruits headed to Linfield including Westview HS (Portland, Ore.) lineman Paul Nishizaki who was third-team all-state at defensive tackle and honorable mention all-state at offensive tackle.

NOTE: Special thanks to Wildcat 11 on the heads-up here.

Since we’re equal opportunity, be sure to check out the list of recruits announced by Minnesota-Morris. These players will help the Cougars open their new stadium on September 2 against Lawrence.

Finally, while there are no Division III football teams in Florida, the Sunshine State is well represented in this year’s recruiting class. The Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger reports Polk County players will dot the map next year with Lakeland High’s Renard Ellis and Billy Johnson at Mississippi College, teammate Preston Chatmon at Olivet, Fort Meade products Jon Pickens and Brandon Rhoden at Thiel and Bartow’s Jack Edmund at SUNY-Maritime.

You can check out the full list of recruits which we are updating as we receive information that can be verified in a published story on by an athletic department. If you have recruiting news, please email Gordon.mann@d3football.com or post the published story below.

Initially this Dose reported on a student named Matt Ward, who I thought was from the Philippines. I could explain why I thought that, but it doesn’t really matter.

Fact is, Matt is from Massachusetts and attended one of the elite boarding schools in the country, Philips Academy in Andover, Mass. It’s a very well known school with alums including Presidents George H. and George W. Bush, John F Kennedy, Jr., and former MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. Ward is headed to Wesleyan University following in the footsteps of another PA grad, Bill Belichick.

I apologize for the mistake and appreciate the corrections. I’ll make an effort not to make similarly stupid errors in the future…

Maryville’s incoming class will have a much more local flavor as Coach Tony Ierulli mines local high school talent. Ierulli told the (Maryville, Tenn.) Daily Times, ““When I first got here we were having to convince the local guys to even look at us…Now we’re one of the first places they are looking and that’s a tremendous change for us.”

One of the Scots’ top recruits is Lenoir City (Tenn.) back Rommel Hightower. Hightower, who gained 4,500 yards in his high school career, “is explosive and has real good size” according to Ierulli.

Here is some other news from the recruiting landscape.

EAST

Aaron Zurn of Sidney (N.Y.) High School will attend Brockport State according to the Oneonta (N.Y.) Daily Star. Zurn chalked up 1,482 yards and 22 touchdowns on 164 carries in 2005 for the New York State Class C champions.

NORTH

Crystal Lake (Ill.) South High will be well represented in this year’s Division III recruiting class according to the Northwest (Ill.) Herald. The Gators will send players to Augustana (OL Matt Brodersen and DT Zach Spoor), Carthage (LB Brad Partynski) and Lakeland (Safety-TE Jim Forner).

Roger Bacon High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) is also spreading the wealth throughout the North region. QB Kurt Rocco and OL David Sunderman are headed to Mount Union, WR Dontae Swain to Wittenberg and DL Marsalis Burgin to Marietta. For several other Ohio recruits, check out the Cincinnati Post which is tracking local seniors’ college destinations.

SOUTH

The Bay City (Texas) Tribune reports Palacios High School product Randy Allums will attend East Texas Baptist after being recruited for a secondary position. Allums was All-District in 2005 as a strong safety and in 2004 as a running back.

Senior Proms are overrated. Or so says McDaniel recruit Michael Weick in this interesting Philadelphia Daily News story.

Charlotte Catholic quarterback Craig Warnement is headed to Hampden-Sydney. Warnement led the Cougars to two state championships.

NRVToday.com reports Pulaski County (Va.) HS teammates Trey Angle and Rob Abbott will be college teammates, too, at Emory & Henry. Abbott played center and defensive line while Angle played in the secondary. It’s a shame he doesn’t play wide receiver so E&H could employ a “Trey-Angle” offense.

Wait for it…wait for it…

WEST

The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun reports that Occidental landed both sides of the local high school’s passing combination. Quarterback Scott Saunders and wide receiver Jeff Bee will both join the Tigers this fall.

UW-Whitewater fans will find interesting recruit information on Warhawkfootball.com, which has a full list of incoming players for the national runners-up. We also have a full list of recruits for UW-Stout.

If you can’t find information on your favorite team here, please check out this previous Dose which has information on lots of schools. If you want to share information on a recruit, you can post it here with the link to the published story (no, being the person’s father or the player himself doesn’t count). Or you can email gordon.mann@d3football.com and I’ll post the news in the next Recruit Recap.