You are here > VanDelaySports.com > MAC Football > MAC Football Recruiting > 2003 MAC Football Recruiting - Ball State Cardinals

2003 MAC Football Recruiting - Ball State Cardinals

Overview

New Coach Brady Hoke signed 19 players from seven different states. Coach Hoke was able to keep nine of the eleven verbals that were given to former coach, Bill Lynch. The two players who signed elsewhere went to rival MAC West schools while the Cardinals were able to persuade Antonio Tharpe away from Akron. This was a well-balanced class that focused more on skill positions than linemen.

Highlights

WR Bryan Williamson was one of the top receivers in Ohio and in the Midwest. He gives Ball State their best big play threat at wideout since Brian Oliver in the mid-1990s.
Ball State signed bigger DBs to counter with the bigger WRs that the MAC has been attracting since the late 1990s.
Kicker Brian Jackson is considered to be one of the most accurate kicking prospects in the country, falling in line with the many quality kickers this school has produced.
Speed still needs to be addressed at Ball State and this class did not bring in as much as most other MAC programs signed.
Michael Turner, the #4 rated all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.com, seriously considered signing Ball State but then opted to sign with Wisconsin.

Final Thoughts

Ball State always seems to find quality kickers and quality student athletes for their football program. This class falls in line with that trend. Ball State has some of the conferences worst football facilities that has to put a stranglehold on the BSU coaches during recruiting visits. Like many Cardinal classes, this years group looks to be great at GPAs but short on speed. Overall this class rates as AVERAGE compared to the other classes this year in the MAC.

Chris	Allen	DB	5-10	165	Dayton,	OH-Wayne	All Conference; All Area
Cortlan	Booker	LB	6-2	210	West Lafayette,	IN-Marshall Overly	All Conference; All Area
Eddie	Burk	DB	5-11	190	Florissant,	MO-Hazelwood Central	All Conference; All Metro
Scott	Bradtmiller	OL	6-4	285	Fort Wayne,	IN-Northrop	All Conference H.M.
Dustin	Brown	OL/DL	6-3	260	Fort Wayne,	IN-Wayne	All Conference; All State H.M.
Mike	Dorulla	DB	6-0	190	Valparaiso,	IN	All Area; All Conference; All State
Casey	Gillin	QB	6-2	187	Mooresville,	IN-Indian Creek	All State Honors; Rated as a top-50 player in IN
Brian	Jackson	PK	5-7	165	Dothan,	AL-Northview	2-Time All State; Top 5 kicker in SE USA
Jermaine	Johnson	DB/RB	5-11	178	Cincinnati,	OH-Colerain	All City; All Conference 2nd Team
Temidayo	Macarthy	DE	6-4	240	Merrillville,	IN-Merrilville	All State Honors; Rated as a top-50 player in IN
Randall	Means	DB	5-9	185	Detroit,	MI-Catholic Central	All Conference; 2nd Team All City
Terry	Moss	WR	5-10	175	Huber Heights,	OH-Wayne	All Conference; All Area
Kevin	Neville	OL	6-7	310	Cottage Grove,	WI-Monona Grove	All Region, All State H.M.
Seth	Rainey	RB	5-11	215	Mt. Vernon,	IN	All Conference; All Southern IN
Floyd	Reddick	WR	6-0	193	Fort Lauderdale,	FL-St. Thomas Aquinas	3rd team All-County
Michael	Steinhaus	TE	6-3	228	Algonquin,	IL-Dundee Crown	All State; All Conference; All Area
Antonio	Tharpe	RB	5-8	180	North Lauderdale,	FL-St. Thomas Aquinas	All County 2nd Team; All State H.M.
Bryan	Williamson	WR/DB	6-3	190	Westerville,	OH-Worthington	Ranked top-20 player in OH; top 100 in Midwest
Lorenzo	Wims	DE/DL	6-3	230	Ft. Wayne,	IN-Snider	All State Class 5A; Top 25 player in IN

--> back to the 2003 MAC Football Recruiting Homepage