Finalizing #JacksNat18n


The new December signing day makes the February signing day feel different, but still super exciting for those of us who follow recruitment carefully.  For all of you wet blankets out there, yes, we don't truly know how good a class is until a few years down the road.  Yes, high school dominance doesn't always translate to college success.  However, getting new talent into your program is exciting and is something that should be celebrated.  These young student athletes are making a big decision and choosing to be a part of a culture, a program, and a tradition of success.  Lets celebrate that instead of raining on the parade.

With that being said, here are the additions from today's signing day.

RB: Jefferson Lee V, 5'9 190, Marshall, MN
FB: Mike Morgan, 6'3 210, New Lenox, IL (Lincoln-Way)
WR: Jadon Janke, 6'3 190, Madison, SD
WR: Jaxon Janke,6'3 195, Madison, SD
OL: Zach Collins, 6'3 297, Fridley, MN (Totino-Grace)

DE: Alex Parrella, 6'4 230, Iowa Western Community College
DT: Matt Borowicz, 6'4 255, Lakeville, MN (Lakeville South)
LB:  Josh Fenske 6'3, 195, New Hampton, IA
LB: Kinser Madison, 6'2 203, Higginsville, MO (Lafayette County)
LB: AJ Johnson, 6'0 215, Omaha, NE (Millard West) 
P: Myles Johnson, 6'2 180, Plymouth, MN (Wayzata High School)

These 11 join an impressive group from the December signing period to form a really deep recruiting class for 2018.  I received a question through Twitter about the size of this class (32 student athletes).  This speaks to the quality of the walk-on program that has been built.  Whether you are scholarship or not, the coaches will give you a fair shake.  Look at recent success stories like Dallas Goedert, Chris Balster, Brady Mengarelli, and Dalton Cox.  These players were/are significant contributors and were All-Conference and All-American caliber players. Having a strong walk-on program is a good thing and shouldn't be scoffed at.  If the players work hard, both on the field and in the classroom, they will get a shot to prove it.  The past and recent success stories prove that over and over again.

Here is the complete list of this years class.  For now this is it, but I'm sure the coaches could have a surprise or two up their sleeves.

QB: J'Bore Gibbs, 6'3 205, Chicago, IL (Phillips)
QB: Matt Connors, 6'4 195, Collierville, TN
RB: Jefferson Lee V, 5'9 190, Marshall, MN
FB: Mike Morgan, 6'3 210, New Lenox, IL (Lincoln-Way)
TE: Zach Heins, 6'6 230, Sioux Falls, SD (Washington)
TE: Blake Kunz, 6'5 240, Germantown, WI
WR: Jayd Vanderwerff, 6'2 190, Gregory, SD
WR: Jadon Janke, 6'3 190, Madison, SD
WR: Jaxon Janke,6'3 195, Madison, SD
OL: Mason McCormick, 6'4 297, Sioux Falls, SD (Roosevelt)
OL: Garret Greenfield, 6'6 270, Rock Valley, IA
OL: Max Howard, 6'7 345, Brandon, SD
OL: Logan Busch, 6'4, 318, Iowa Western Community College/Beresford High School
OL: Ian Bass, 6'4, 280, Rosemount, MN
OL: Zach Collins, 6'3 297, Fridley, MN (Totino-Grace)

DT: Ryan Van Marel, 6'5 250, Sheldon, IA
DT: Caleb Sanders, 6'2 260, Glenwood, IA
DT: Sam Willmott, 6'3 250, Rosemount, MN
DT: Trajan Walhof, 6'5 240, Sioux Center, IA
DT: Matt Borowicz, 6'4 255, Lakeville, MN (Lakeville South)
DE: Alex Parrella, 6'4 230, Iowa Western Community College 
DE: Ryan Kluver, 6'5 240, Buffalo, MN
DE: Cade Terveer, 6'3 240, Brandon Valley, SD
LB:  Josh Fenske 6'3, 195, New Hampton, IA
LB: Kinser Madison, 6'2 203, Higginsville, MO (Lafayette County)
LB: AJ Johnson, 6'0 215, Omaha, NE (Millard West)
LB: Michael Littleton Jr, 6'3 210, Derby, KS
CB: Tijaih Davis, 6'0 175, Boys Town, NE
CB:  Clayton Hooper, 5'10 170, Chandler, AZ (Hamilton)
S: Nick Garlisch, 5'11 190, St. Charles, IL 
S: Saiveon Williamson, 6'1 190, Waseca, MN
P: Myles Johnson, 6'2 180, Plymouth, MN (Wayzata High School)

Go Jacks!
-Matt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jackrabbit Football All-Decade Team

Image
Yes, we are well into the new year/decade but our debate has been fierce in creating an All-Decade Jackrabbit football team.  The challenges of creating this team were what to do with the players at the beginning and the end of the decade who may only have a year or two of stats to go on or what do we do with those players who only splashed for one year?  Further complicating matters was the consistent improvement of the Jackrabbit team as a whole and the level of competition they are facing week in and week out.  So with all of those factors, the Splitting Hares Podcast team of Ben Pierson, Brendan Luedtke, Kyle Sheehan, and Dallas Clarksean created our list of who the team should be.  All are welcome to their opinions!  Special thanks to Mitchell McLain who keeps an unbelievable database of Jackrabbit football statistics and information.  Offense Quarterback Taryn Christion (2015-2018) 44 games started, 59.70% completion rate, 11,535 yar...
Read more

Rants & Raves: LIU

Image
The Jacks won 38-3 on a cold and damp September evening.  The Jacks dominated statistically in nearly every area but it didn't feel like a fully satisfying victory.  How spoiled have we become as Jackrabbit fans? Rave: How about that defense?  The argument could be made that they have only surrendered 17 points in 2 games.  Pretty impressive.  For most of the night Saturday LIU was completely overwhelmed by the size and speed of the Jackrabbit defense.  LIU managed only 123 yards of total offense.  The performance was phenominal, even against a transitioning FCS opponent. I'll highlight some of the invidual performances later. Rant: Adult fans... enough said.  This writer is tired of the apathy and excuses. Rave: Students!  Great job showing up, being loud, and impacting the game.  That was great! Rave: The true freshmen really showed out.  Quinton Hicks impacted the game from his first snap.  Diamond Evans played w...
Read more

What's Cookin': Dessert

Image
Alright, another year of Jackrabbit football is upon us. We are celebrating at Jackrabbit Illustrated, this our 5th season covering the team.  The players who we first covered as freshmen are now redshirt seniors. We hope you are as excited as us for this upcoming season. Chef Tim, a culinary instructor at Mitchell Tech and contributing writer, has some fun recipes for you this season.  He has committed to doing one a week. I have nothing but faith that he will get them turned in! We start the season celebrating with celebrations. Here are some fun baked goods that will lead to the healthy start to the season; Cherry-Chocolate Chunk Cookies ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour ¼ Cup Quick-Cooking Oats ½ Teaspoon baking Soda Pinch of Salt 2 tbs butter, melted and cooled 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla Extract 2 oz semisweet chocolate 1/3 cup dried cherries 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray large baking sheet with nonstick spray. 2) Combine Flour, Oats, baking soda, and s...
Read more