LIVE: Northern Illinois Recruiting 2010 National Signing Day Coverage Thread
by Jerry Burnes on Feb 3, 2010 1:00 AM CST
in Football
Email
PrintGood Morning (or Afternoon), Huskie fans!
As I'm sure you all know by now today is National Signing Day and the Huskies are ready to lock down their 2010 recruiting class.
Unfortunately, thanks to a job interview on Friday that I need to prep for, I will not be traveling to the Yordon Center as originally planned for today. So instead I'll be sitting on the live teleconference and providing you with coverage from there (to be honest, being there really isn't as exciting as you may think).
Once signing day wraps up I'll have some commentary and a few other pieces on the big day.
Since I will be live tomorrow, 1 p.m. CT, I would like to offer you, the fans, an opportunity. My e-mail address is Jerry.Burnes@gmail.com. If you have any questions you would like asked, feel free to send them over and I'll see what I can do. I obviously have some of my own but send anything over in case I missed it.
You can follow the action here or on my Twitter account, @JerryBurnes. I'm sure Mike will be tweeting from the RABA account.
So that's all. Hope you enjoy the coverage. Tune back in here about 11-11:30 a.m. (or earlier) for the official start of updates.
~JB~
The LOI's are starting to come in. Click through to see profiles for every single recruit:
| C Michael Gegner | Warren Central HS (Indianapolis, IN) |
|
 |
6'3" 265 lbs / Short shuttle: 5.16 secs / 3-cone: 8.59 secs / Broad jump: 8'4" Other offers: Eastern Michigan Rivals Profile: 2-stars, 5.2 Notes: Went to the same high school as graduating senior LG Jason Onyebuagu. Will be in line to fight to take the Center position opened up by the graduation of Eddie Adamski. |
| C Blake Goodell | West Senior HS (Traverse City, MI) |
|
 |
6'3" 265 lbs / GPA: 3.0 | Youtube | Commitment Story Rivals Profile: 2-stars, 5.4 Notes: Father was an All-MAC Guard for Central Michigan and went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs. Could also play guard as well as his natural Center position. Missed 1/3rd of his senior season with a broken foot, but actually played a few games on it. |
| OT Tyler Pitt | Telfair County HS (McRae, GA) |
|
 |
6'6" 278 lbs Notes: Was 2nd team All-State his senior year and a team captain for three years. Wrestling MVP all 4 years of his high school career. Also has a 3.2 GPA and...played tennis in HS. Could you see this guy playing tennis? Talk about nimble feet! |
| K Matthew Sims | Hannibal HS (Hannibal, MO) |
|
? |
5'11" 180 lbs ESPN Profile: 2-stars, 73, #29 K Notes: 4x All-State Kicker in HS. Helps put at ease the loss of Mike Salerno to the NFL. Had 44 kickoffs for touchbacks his senior year and was 44 of 45 on PATs. Also played WR and DB. Awesome high school name. |
| DE Joe Windsor | Kearney HS (Kearney, MO) |
|
 |
6'1" 225 lbs | Youtube ESPN Profile: 2-stars, 70, #184 DE Stats: 51 tackles, 15.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles Notes: A little undersized for a defensive end, but can get off the line extremely fast. Missouri's 4A defensive Player of the Year as a senior. 2x All-State. |
| OT Tyler Loos | Sterling HS (Sterling, IL) |
|
 |
6'6" 270 lbs / 40 time: 5.4 secs / Bench max: 295 lbs / Squat max: 350 lbs / Shuttle: 5.05 secs / GPA: 3.9 / ACT: 28 | Youtube | Commitment Story Other offers: Western Michigan & Wyoming Recruited by: P.J. Fleck Rivals Profile: 2-stars, 5.3 Notes: It's always fun to see the local guy stay in the area as Sterling is about an hour west of Dekalb. Was extremely close to committing to Michigan State, but they didn't end up offering him a scholarship. |
| S Dechane Durante | Vance HS (Charlotte, NC) |
|
|
6'2" 195 lbs / 40 time: 4.55 secs | Youtube | Commitment Story Other offers: Illinois & Bowling Green Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5 Awards: All-Charlotte Observer Notes: Wow can this guy hit! Also his size is just unbelievable for the safety position. Kill told him he will play right away as a true freshman and I concur. Illinois pulled his offer mid-season for whatever reason. |
| LB Mike Hellams | Bolingbrook HS (Bolingbrook, IL) |
|
 |
6'1" 220 lbs | Youtube Other offers: Colorado State & Wyoming Recruited by: P.J. Fleck Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.6, #32 ILB, #20 player in IL Notes: Hellams got this class started off right committing way back in June. He is an absolute beast and form tackles with reckless abandon. Missed the majority of his senior year with a shoulder injury, but will be back at full strength to play for the Huskies. |
| DB Jimmie Ward | Davidson HS (Mobile, AL) |
|
 |
6'0" 180 lbs / 40 time: 4.45 secs / GPA: 2.8
Other offers: New Mexico, Louisiana-Monroe Rivals Profile: 2-stars, 5.4 Notes: A speedster at the DB spot for the Huskies. It seems like all our recruits are DBs this year. Not disagreeing with the focus at all. |
| WR Daron Brown | Morgan Park HS (Chicago, IL) |
|
|
|
Other offers: Wyoming Notes: Brown played QB at Morgan Park, but will switch to the outside for the Huskies. Has a lot of very raw speed and athletic ability, and will probably use a year to redshirt and learn the position. |
| OLB Greg Barksdale | Crete-Monee HS (Crete, IL) |
|
| |
6'2" 210 lbs / 40 time: 4.6 secs Other offers: Wyoming Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5 Notes: Huge-time tackler at the safety spot in high school. Originally committed to Wyoming, but changed his mind today. |
| TE C.J. Compher | Sycamore HS (Sycamore, IL) |
|
 |
6'1" 240 lbs | Commitment Story | Commitment Video Notes: His dad is Athletic Director Jeff Compher, so that's a little awkward. Will also see some looks at H-Back and Tight End. He will be the 4th Sycamore player on the Huskies roster as his teammate Marckie Hayes will be a preferred walk-on. He's got good genes though: AD Compher is a mountain of a man if you've ever met him in person. |
| TE Luke Eakes | St. Marys HS (St. Marys, KS) |
|
 |
6'4" 230 lbs / 40 time: 4.6 secs / Bench max: 350 lbs | Youtube | Commitment Story Scout Profile: 2-stars Notes: Is extremely athletic and fluid on the football field. Runs like a WR. Just needs to add a bit more size if he wants to be a full-time Tight End. Plays for an extremely small school in Northeast Kansas and also broke his hand during his senior season. |
| MLB Cameron Stingily | Romeoville HS (Romeoville, IL) |
|
|
6'2" 240 lbs / 40 time: 4.7 secs / Vertical: 31.6" / Bench: 345 lbs / Squat: 550 lbs / Power Clean: 290 lbs | Youtube | Commitment Story Other offers: Eastern Michigan Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5 Notes: Extremely strong and also ran for over 1,000 yds and 13 TDs at RB. Hellams and Bolingbrook is the rival school of Romeoville, but the two will be roommates. His older brother Byron is an Offensive Tackle at Louisville. Committed because of the 'family atmosphere'. Nickname is "Stinger". |
| QB Casey Weston | Prattville HS (Prattville, AL) / NW Mississippi C.C. |
|
 |
6'2" 215 lbs / 40 time: 4.7 secs | Youtube Will be a Junior Rivals Profile: NR Rivals Profile (2008): 2-stars Stats: Led the NJCAA this past year throwing for 2,871 yds and 27 TDs (319 ypg), 12 INTs. Notes: Holds school record for career passing yds 4,943 and also has 42 TDs. Was Originally a Jacksonville State commit out of high school, but decided to go the JUCO route because his dream was the SEC. Is a pass-first QB, but also has good wheels if necessary. Will have 3 years left to play two, so he might redshirt this next season. |
| OL Matt Battaglia | Marist HS (Chicago, IL) / Harper College (Palatine, IL) |
|
 |
6'4" 270 lbs | Youtube Will be a Sophomore Notes: Former teammates with DT Zach Anderson at Marist where he was All-Area and a team captain. Played RT for Harper in his one year there. And since I couldn't find a picture of the player, here is the most ridiculous picture of the actor I could find. |
| OLB Jamaal Bass | Miramar HS (Miramar, FL) |
|
| |
6'0" 210 lbs / 40 time: 4.49 secs / Shuttle: 4.59 secs / Vertical: 32" Other Offers: Mississippi, Florida International Stats: 165 tackles (90 solo), 3 FF, 2 FR and 3 pbu Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.6, #52 OLB Notes: He finished the season for 5A State Champions Miramar with a million tackles and has blazing speed, running a 4.5 with a 32" vertical. Unfortunately, the senior captain had to sit out the second half of the championship game with a dislocated ankle. It seems like he would have a ton more offers if he had a little more size on him. |
| DT Frank Boenzi | Geneva HS (Geneva, IL) |
|
 |
6'3" 305 lbs / 40 time: 5.0 secs / Bench max: 330 | Youtube | Commitment Story Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5, #14 player in IL (May) Recruited by: P.J. Fleck 2009 Stats: 75 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries Notes: Boenzi would have been a top-tier BCS prospect if he had the grades. NIU gave him the offer to greyshirt his freshman year, so his scholarship will count against the 2011 class if he succeeds in the classroom. It's next to impossible to find this combination of size and speed as a mid-major. Nickname is "Frank the Tank" |
| WR Jayme Wells | Kimberly HS (Combined Locks, WI) |
|
 |
5'11" 185 lbs | Youtube Scout Profile (2009): 2-stars, #156 S Awards: All-State both at WR and DB, Wisconsin AP Player of the Year Stats: Offense - 48 rec for 1,061 yds and 23 TDs. Defense - 34 tackles (19 solo) & 4 INTs. Notes: Just an insane athlete who will continue playing infield for the baseball team in the Spring after redshirting last year. Led his team to state championships in football his junior and senior years along with a baseball title as a sophomore. |
90 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Round the clock...
It’s 1 a.m. and I’m ready for it to be 1 p.m. I have some high hopes for the class this year after two straight bowl games. Only time will tell though.
As the LOIs come in
I’ll be updating this thread with player profiles. I have all the current commits already on tap.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Best signing day coverage around?
If all goes as planned, this could be some sweet coverage from us.
Wyoming sure is in on a lot of our guys
They must have some connections to Illinois?
by Grinder in Training on Feb 3, 2010 9:27 AM CST reply actions
Taking a break
The only two signed prospects w/o profiles just yet: Matt Battaglia of Marist/Harper and QB Casey Weston of Prattville, AL/Northwest Mississippi C.C.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Reports are that OLB Jamaal Bass (Miramar, FL) will sign with the Huskies
I hope so. He would probably be one of the better gets in the class.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Jayme Wells to play WR for NIU
The Wisconsin native played on the baseball team LY.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
We have like a million scholarships available
A lot of player must be leaving this year
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
19 signees so far
Where is Frank Boenzi? Does he sign as a greyshirt?
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
National Scene
Quick update on the National scene for those interested or without ESPN U
Fringe five-star OT Shon Coleman reaffirms commitment to Auburn.
Five-star safety Keenan Allen to Cal over Bama, Clemson, Penn State.
5-Star WR Markeith Ambles to USC
No. 5 ranked safety Sean Parker commits to Washington
1. OLB Christian Jones picks Florida State on ESPNU
Here’s the signing day announcement sked for ESPNU. All times ET
10:20 AM Christian Jones, #2 OLB
11:30 James Stone #9 OT
12:05 Bjoern Werner #24 DE
12:45 Calvin Smith #20 DT
12:50 Corey Lemonier #9 DE
2:30 Owamagbe Odighizuwa #2 DE
3:30 Chaz Green #4 OT
3:35 Christian Green #9 Ath
4:30 Dietrich Riley #10 S
Bowden-less
The first Bobby Bowden-less class at FSU is looking pretty solid. No. 1 CB and No. 1 ILB.
Stingley
Cameron Stingily has my favorite name out of this class. Just sounds like he would hit hard.
Just put a profile up for QB Casey Weston
A very intriguing prospect. Found a highlight film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YcNe65dN1g
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Initial Thoughts
So what’s everyone think, initially, of this class? Obviously Bowers and Osei would make this a real good class, but I think it’s a solid class, meeting the expectations I had. I like the mix of Illinois recruits and southern recruits.
LaSteven McKinney
any word on where he is going?
by Lincoln DePaula on Feb 3, 2010 11:16 AM CST reply actions
Mike,
Any info on our baseball player Jamison Wells? Any recruiting profiles from last year? He put up some nasty stats at WR.
“If Wells does end up on the football team, NIU would get a player that caught 48 passes last season for 1,061 yards, scored 23 touchdowns and had four interceptions.”
http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2009/08/11/78136771/index.xml
Can't resist
I hope Coach Kill doesn’t lock C.J. Compher in a dark room after a concussion.
Too soon?
Auburn
Just landed the No. 9 DE, No. 94 overall. The Tigers are tearing up the recruiting trail this season.
Interested to see why he chose NIU
Good pick up. Needed this after losing a couple guys. Our defense should really continue to be solid for a while, offense still scares me. Needed Osei, hopefully this Weston kid can play, or one of the freshmen, because Harnish regressed last year in my mind. Didn’t see the improvement I’d hoped for.
by Grinder in Training on Feb 3, 2010 12:05 PM CST up reply actions
For those of you that care
That’s 7 3-star prospects for this class. Well done Mr. Kill. Of course there are a ton of sleeper prospects overlooked by the recruiting services as well.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Just need to get lucky..
Have a kid that wants to play right away, most likely from the area, may or may not have ties to someone on the team.
by Grinder in Training on Feb 3, 2010 12:50 PM CST up reply actions
LMAO on Matt Battaglia
it completely caught me off guard, had me laughing for about a minute!
by Lincoln DePaula on Feb 3, 2010 12:28 PM CST reply actions
Questions
I’ve received a few questions for Kill, any others? E-mail them to me at Jerry.Burnes@gmail.com.
Does this class fill our needs?
I really like the fact that we added a lot of speed on defense. From the games I watched this past season, I thought our LB corps was just awful and one of the need areas, seems like we more than filled that need.
Offensive line was big need area too. The linemen we signed look like good athletes that can add bulk (all of them are listed in the 265-275 range). I think it is easier to add bulk to undersized lineman rather than teach a 300lb how to move well.
How about defensive line? Only one signee, a bit undersized, maybe could switch to LB? I thought we were thin last year on the DLine? Maybe Kill is thinking about a switch to 3-4?
On offense, some undersized playmakers. I am very excited about Daron Brown, I think he will be a great target. Two tight ends? Both look very athletic, even though Eakes is a bit undersized.
Overall is a good class, but that is relative to what the other MAC schools have done. I haven’t taken the time to look at the other schools yet, hopefully we are right on par or better than them.
by Lincoln DePaula on Feb 3, 2010 12:44 PM CST reply actions
Oh and also...
we had more signees than expected. Does this mean more players leaving the program? Any word on anyone else leaving?
by Lincoln DePaula on Feb 3, 2010 12:45 PM CST up reply actions
Signees were about the same as last year, more 3-star recruits. Wouldn’t say more are leaving, but I think two straight bowls might be paying off finally. We’ll see in four years.
by Jerry Burnes on Feb 3, 2010 12:53 PM CST up reply actions
I meant to say there were rumors of upperclassmen leaving the program even though they still had eligibility. Mike may have more info on this, but weren’t we expecting only 15 scholarships to be available for this signing class?
If so, then more players, other than Jake Coffman have left the team. Just wondering, if there is any truth to this, or if I am just talking out of my ass here.
by Lincoln DePaula on Feb 3, 2010 12:58 PM CST up reply actions
Kevin Henry
Any word if he is official at CMU yet? I can’t help but think if Fleck had stayed that Henry may have reconsidered after Butch Jones’s departure.
answered my own question, EdgyTim.com reported he did about a week ago. I call this a recruiting issue for NIU. It was a Fleck recruit option and certainly PJ leaving didn’t help. Has Henry heard of Larry English??
by Jerry Burnes on Feb 3, 2010 12:50 PM CST up reply actions
Callers
Last report I’m only one of 3 callers, no clue who is actually there. If the usual, it’s probably the DC, the Star, the local news channels, and maybe the Tribune.
Luzzi
Said his class has the character and talent to compete with the best teams in the country again. With two assistants new to D1-A
A few notes
One kid has a father who played professionally. One is a goalkeeper for the Chicago Magic and Luzzi expects him to give current goalkeepers a good run. Another is from South Dakota and is a four-time all-state and four state champ games (2 won).
Luzzi just said this next kid Dan Sosano (sp?) is from North Carolina and has real pro potential. NIU outdueled some ACC schools on him and is “wise beyond his years.”
Speed
Said it was evident vs USF that the need speed in the skill spots and thinks they have some guys that can really run.
Over
Well that’s all, I one question e-mailed about the QBs. Kill said they brought Weston in with because they have injuries to Harnish before and you never know what can happen. Not sure on the redshirt status yet.
All for now
Time to prep some more for my interview and digest all this recruit info. I’ll have a story or two later. Thanks for dropping in.
Frank the tank?
What happened to boenzi????
An SID oops?
NIU left him off the original list. Just got an e-mail from Donna Turner with revised list, with Frank Boenzi on it. So make that 26 recruits, not 25.
Second to last paragraph...
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/columns/story?columnist=powers_scott&id=4878354
I hope that wasn’t RABA…
Haha
No, we traced that down to a Dog Pound message board post by an Illini fan.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Look out
If Franks gets on the field this season, we should get that info over to him in time for the Champaign trip. Maybe he can light up Osei a couple times for good measure.
DB Dechante Durante
Had his scholarship pulled by U of I so he has a lot to prove.
Frank the Tank will maybe make it on the field by 2011. I hope he gets his grades in order. I love the guy.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Thanks to JerryB for his posts
the Boenzi kid looks like a stud, I just hope he can get it together when it comes to academics.
QB situation: Harnish was a disappointment this yr, I look for some good competition there in spring drills…….wondering if Weston will compete for job this season……and still think D. Grady can move to wideout and where does AJ Hill fall in the depth chart??
WR position: I was hoping to see more here, but let’s wait and see
SPEED: yes, yes…….I like what I see, NIU squad definitely needs more of this
The only thing I'm confused about right now
Is where the heck did we find 25 scholarships to give.
Red and Black Attack - Northern Illinois Pride
Lets do the math
17 seniors, Jake Coffman leaving (18), I’m sure there were some transfers in there. Working on a lead that a player may have been dismissed, hopefully find out before spring rosters are released which is said to be next week.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
