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The Sports Network
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The physical talent in North Dakota
State's recruiting class is strong enough on its own.
What the Bison gained in the last month might be the difference-maker in
putting their recruits, and future classes, over the top.
Or, to put it more correctly, keeping them on top.
That's what winning the FCS national championship does for a program like
NDSU's.
"The guys that we're able to probably attract now are guys that have a No. 1
goal of winning a national championship," Bison head coach Craig Bohl said,
"as opposed to just playing time."
The Bison, of course, are still basking in their 17-6 win over Sam Houston
State in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on Jan. 7 in Frisco,
Texas.
While playing so much longer into the season than even most FBS bowl teams has
its negatives, the Bison would take it every year, especially since their
convincing win over Georgia Southern in the national semifinals and then the
championship game win over Sam Houston State were nationally televised, and
kept the program fresh in the minds of recruits.
"We certainly have garnered a great deal of national exposure and that has
really been for our institution and our region. Coaches, you live in the
present, and we've been out on the recruiting trail trying to compose our
squad to the next year," said Bohl, who will be in his 10th season at NDSU
this fall.
"I think it's a double-edged sword. Certainly the recognition is great. The
challenge is when other schools are sitting in a youngster's living room
with mom and dad and you haven't been there because you're preparing the team,
that can be a negative side. On the positive side, you do attract a guy that
wants to win a championship, so your pool may be changed a little bit."
NDSU coaches tried to be well-rounded with their recruiting class, which will
be announced Wednesday afternoon on national signing day, but the focus has
been offensive linemen and wide receivers. The senior losses included stud
veterans Paul Cornick and Austin Richard up front and leading receiver Warren
Holloway.
The recruiting class is expected to feature, among others, 6-foot-1, 253-pound
center Austin Farnlof out of Anthem, Ariz., and Boulder Creek High, 6-4,
310-pound guard Zack Johnson from Apple Valley, Minn., and Eastview, and 6-6,
260-pound guard Sam Hahn from DeWitt, Neb., and Tri County School as well
as wide receivers DeSean Warren from Overland Park, Kan., and Blue
Valley West, and Dee Gray from Aurora, Ill., and Waubonsie Valley.
"We felt like it was important for us to replace some offensive linemen and
wide receivers. That's probably the biggest areas," Bohl said.
"I found this out personally (in) winning a national title when I was an
assistant coach at Nebraska: people on the outside make the common connection
that you win a national championship (and in) your recruiting class you're
going to have all these guys jump in the boat. That's really not the case. I
think that it certainly positions our program with great visibility in the
future, but the immediate impact, I don't know if it's going to be felt for
maybe a year or two."
NDSU will get a boost if John Crockett, a potential impact running back,
becomes academically eligible this season. He was part of the 2010 recruiting
class that delivered linebackers Chad Willson (as a junior college transfer)
and Travis Beck, who won outstanding player honors in the national title game,
left tackle Billy Turner, and defensive backs Colten Heagle and Christian
Dudzik.
While the loss of the Bison's senior class is significant, its other returnees
include quarterback Brock Jensen, leader rushing Sam Ojuri and first-team
All-America cornerback Marcus Williams.
"It is very, very difficult to get in the championship game. It's very
difficult to be a playoff team," Bohl said. "That being said, we feel like the
foundation is set to where we should be in contention again next year, where
there have been other years where I looked and said this is going to be a
rebuilding year. I don't think we're in that position. I think we have a lot
of really good returning football players, and those seniors who left left a
great foundation as far as team chemistry, work habits, resolve and focus.
We're excited about our prospects next year."
AROUND THE NATION
With their high number of two- and three-star commits, it can be argued that
James Madison and Portland State are putting together the best recruiting
classes in the FCS ... Maybe the Ivy League presidents should rethink their
stubborn stance of not sending its champion to the FCS playoffs. In a few
years, some of their teams might be outstanding. The Ivies have the most
three-star prospects according to the ESPN and Rivals rankings and the
most top-rated prospects at different positions according to Scout ... It's
hard to believe there will be a bigger FBS transfer than former Iowa running
back Marcus Coker enrolling at Stony Brook. As a sophomore last season, Coker
rushed for 1,384 yards to finish second to Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball
of Wisconsin in the Big Ten in rushing. He also scored 15 touchdowns on 281
carries ... Among the top junior college transfers to FCS programs are wide
receivers Isiah Ferguson, to Arkansas-Pine Bluff from ASA College, and Kelvin
Chatham, to Illinois State from Citrus Community College ... South Dakota
State will have to decide on the offensive or defensive line for highly rated
tackle Mike Shoff out of Cambridge, Neb.
TOP COMMITMENTS
FCS programs will be embracing the letters of intent that come in on
Wednesday.
ESPN, Rivals and Scout provide substantial recruiting information, although
it's not as thorough and complete on the FCS level as the FBS level.
Here's some of the analysis:
ESPN.com
According to ESPN.com, the highest-ranked high school seniors to be committing
to FCS programs are the following three-star recruits (with school, player,
position, height, weight, hometown and high school):
Big Sky
Montana State - Dakota Prukop, QB, 6-2, 185, Austin, Texas, Vandegrift
Portland State - Tyrone Holmes, DT, 6-4, 250, Eagle Point, Ore., Eagle Point
South Dakota - Chris Wiseman, DE, 6-4, 230, Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit
West
Big South
Liberty - D.J. Abnar, ATH, 5-10, 170, Tallahassee, Fla., Lincoln
CAA Football
James Madison - Dylan Stallings, DE, 6-4, 202, Yorktown, Va., Grafton; Ian
Fisher, ATH, 6-6, 240, Brunswick, MD, Brunswick
Richmond - Alex Gee, OG, 6-4, 270, Burlington, N.C., Walter M. Williams
Towson - Bryton Barr, OLB, 6-0, 215, Mechanicsburg, Pa., Mechanicsburg
William & Mary - Tyler Claytor, DT, 6-2, 265, Snellville, Ga., Shiloh
Ivy League
Brown - Seth Rosenbauer, QB, 6-4, 235, Lima, Ohio, Shawnee
Columbia - Alec Davison, ILB, 6-1, 225, Sugar Land, Texas, Clements; Austin
Stock, C, 6-3, 270, Solon, Ohio, Solon; Nikolas Padilla, DT, 6-1, 275, Dallas,
Parish Episcopal
Cornell - Matt Doneth, TE, 6-4, 230, Detroit, Detroit Catholic Central
Harvard - Dayne Davis, OLB, 6-2, 205, Aledo, Texas, Aledo
Penn - Cameron Countryman, WR, 5-11, 170, Beverly Hills, Calif., Beverly Hills
Yale - Cole Champion, S, 6-0, 195, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas;
Braden Meador, OT, 6-5, 290, Montgomery, Texas, Montgomery
MEAC
Bethune-Cookman - Terry Harden, S, 6-0, 175, Hollywood, Fla., Hollywood Hills;
Ray Martin, WR, 5-10, 180, Sanford, Fla., Seminole
South Carolina State - Marquise Jones, CB, 6-0, 185, Columbia, S.C., Eau
Claire
Missouri Valley
North Dakota State - Austin Farnlof, C, 6-1, 253, Anthem, Ariz., Boulder Creek
South Dakota State - Mike Shoff, OT, 6-6, 280, Cambridge, Neb., Cambridge
Youngstown State - Nick Wargo, QB, 6-2, 211, Stow, Ohio, Walsh Jesuit
Southern Conference
Appalachian State - Tysean Holloway, RB, 6-0, 190, Asheville, N.C., Asheville;
Dante Blackmon, ATH/DB, 5-11, 183, Covington, Ga., Eastside
Georgia Southern - Tre Griffin, DE, 6-2, 232, Kennesaw, Ga., North Cobb; Matt
Dobson, QB, 6-1, 206, Tallahassee, Fla., North Florida Christian
Samford - Ben Tamburello, OG, 6-3, 270, Hoover, Ala., Spain Park
Southland
Central Arkansas - Aum'Arie Wallace, S, 6-1, 185, Little Rock, Ark., Pulaski
Academy
SWAC
Grambling State - Tray Rabon, WR, 6-1, 195, Dallas, Skyline
Rivals.com
According to Rivals.com, the highest-ranked high school seniors to be
committing to FCS programs are the following three-star recruits (with school,
player, position, height, weight, hometown and high school):
Big Sky
Northern Arizona - Blair Wishom, DB, 6-0, 195, San Francisco, City College of
San Francisco
Portland State - Jamarr Graves, WR, 6-4, 185, Portland, Grant; Daniel
Halverson, LB, 6-2, 220, Portland, Grant; Nicholas Rothstein, ATH, 5-11, 207,
Portland, Jesuit
CAA Football
Delaware - Jalen Randolph, RB, 6-1, 220, Folsom, Pa., Ridley
James Madison - Stacey Bebell, ATH, 5-10, 180, Mastic Beach, N.Y., William
Floyd; Rhakeem Stallings, LB, 6-0, 220, Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith
Villanova - Mike Burke, WR, 6-3, 205, Columbia, Pa., Columbia Jr./Sr.; Austin
Calitro, LB, 6-2, 220, Danbury, Conn., Danbury; Corey Majors, LB, 6-1, 230,
Worcester, Mass., Worcester Academy
Ivy League
Columbia - Trevor McDonagh, QB, 6-2, 200, St. Louis, University
Princeton - Kedric Bostic, QB, 6-3, 180, Jupiter, Fla., Jupiter Christian
Yale - Eric Williams, QB, 6-3, 191, Cleveland, St. Ignatius
Missouri Valley
South Dakota State - Mike Shoff, OT, 6-6, 280, Cambridge, Neb., Cambridge
Southern Conference
Appalachian State - Dante Blackmon, ATH/DB, 5-11, 183, Covington, Ga.,
Eastside
Georgia Southern - Matt Dobson, QB, 6-1, 206, Tallahassee, Fla., North Florida
Christian
Southland
Central Arkansas - Ricky Wyatt, LB, 5-10, 225, Monroe, La., Neville
Samford - Brandon Teeling, DT, 6-3, 260, Seffner, Fla., Armwood
SWAC
Grambling State - Tray Rabon, WR, 6-1, 195, Dallas, Skyline
Scout.com
Scout.com's top-rated FCS commit at each position (with position, player,
height, weight, hometown, high school and national ranking at the position):
QB - Dalyn Williams (committed to Dartmouth), 6-1, 190, Lake Dallas, Texas,
Lake Dallas, 59
RB - Tysean Holloway (committed to Appalachian State), 6-0, 190,
Asheville, N.C., Asheville, 105
FB - Matt Barnett (committed to Wagner), 6-1, 220, Haddonfield, N.J., Paul VI,
17
WR - Malachi Jones (committed to Appalachian State), 6-1, 182, Lawrenceville,
Ga., Central Gwinnett, 207
TE - Canon Smith (committed to Liberty), 6-4, 245, Birmingham, Ala., Briarwood
Christian, NR
OT - Christian Wilson (committed to Youngstown State), 6-6, 308, McKeesport,
PA, McKeesport Area, 134
OG - Braden Meador (committed to Yale), 6-5, 290, Montgomery, Texas,
Montgomery, 74
C - Austin Stock (committed to Columbia), 6-3, 270, Solon, Ohio, Solon, 24
DT - Mike Shoff (committed to South Dakota State), 6-6, 280, Cambridge, Neb.,
Cambridge, 51
DE - Tim Hatfield (committed to Brown), 6-6, 240, Albuquerque, N.M., Volcano
Vista, 166
OLB - Marcus Forward (committed to Northern Colorado), 6-2, 195, Flint, Mich.,
Northern, 106
MLB - Daniel Halverson (committed to Portland State), 6-2, 220, Portland,
Ore., Grant, 53
S - Luke Hagy (committed to Cornell), 5-11, 185, Pittsburgh, Mt. Lebanon, 169
CB - Thomas Singleton (committed to Northern Colorado), 5-10, 170, Aurora,
Colo., Cherokee Trail, 172
K - Ryan Hawkins (committed to Northern Arizona), 5-11, 175, Peoria, Ariz.,
Sunrise Mountain, NR
P and LS - None
OH, YES
The season kicks off in seven months.
The Sports Network