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2005 MAC Football Recruiting - Ball State Cardinals

Overview

Coach Brady Hoke and his Ball State Cardinals signed 20 players from eight different states, many with a 'southern' flavor. BSU brings in 13 players slated for offense with a heavy emphasis on RB and 7 on defense with efforts concentrated along the defensive line and at DB. Six of the new players are from Georgia and five are from Ohio. The rest of the class has three players coming from Illinois, two from Indiana and one each from the following states; Tennessee, Maryland, Mississippi and Michigan. Hoke brought in some much needed size along the trenches as the two offensive linemen average 6-5 310 per man while the defensive linemen average 6-4 275 each. Ohio natives OG Robert Brewster and ATH Dante Love are the highest rated players in this class.

Top Player - Robert Brewster, OL

• City League Offensive Player of the Year
• Rated as the #33 prospect in the state
• All-state as a senior
• Reported offers from BSU, Akron, Indiana and Cincinnati

Highlights

• Ball State's defensive line has been pushed around a lot over the past few years due to lack of size. That may not happen much in the future as Roger Morris, a 6-4 319 mammoth comes to town this fall. He is a "late-bloomer" from Jonesboro, GA. Also added to the D-line is a pair of 270-pounders in Tony Adams from the Dayton area, all-state performer Jordan Applegate from Fort Wayne, and 255-pound Drew Duffin, a top-20 rated player in Indiana from Avon, IN.
• With several injuries last year at RB, Coach Hoke signed four RBs to add to his rushing arsenal. Jacolby Bond rushed for over 4,600 yards and 56 TDs in his high school career in Tennessee. Chris Clancy is a big back who played excelled at a super high school program in Joliet (IL) Catholic and is rated a top-100 prospect in Illinois. Corey McGee is a speed back from Jackson, MS while underrated Nick Wedlow from Statesboro, GA, was a key member of a team that played in three state title games over the past four years.
• Two contrasting QB prospects were signed in this class. Zach Jones is a 6-foot 7-inch prospect from Illinois who passed for nearly 1,500 yards and 15 TDs as a senior - rated as a top-100 player in Illinois. Dante Love stands just 5-10 and is a super athlete who accounted for over 3,000 total yards and 34 TDs as a senior. Love drew interest from several Big Ten schools and could play a multitude of positions for the Cardinals right away.

Final Thoughts

Back in December Ball State's class was shaping up to be one of the MAC's finest this season. Just prior to signing day, BSU lost out on previous verbals OLB Sam Porter, the #31 rated LB in the country by Rivals to Illinois, and OLB Phillip Brown, #46 OLB by Rivals to MAC-member NIU. While these losses are not totally devastating, they were the only two LB prospects slated in this class unless someone else changes position. Give Coach Hoke credit for knowing what he wants and searching high and low to find his kind of players. The previous coaching staff was limited in their budget to go very far away from Indiana, but seeing so many players signed from southern states bring Coach Hoke and his program some much needed energy and speed that they desperately need. Probably the biggest gain in this class is the overall size and athleticism of the linemen. Brady Hoke knows that his teams have been pushed around by the MAC's elite and he has taken steps to address those concerns immediately. There are no JUCOs in this class and just one prep school player meaning he has a long-term plan for this program. Overall this class rates as VERY GOOD compared to other MAC classes but compared to prior Cardinal classes this group rates as outstanding.

Name, Pos.	      Ht.	Wt.	Previous School
Tony Adams, DL	      6-3	268	Fairborn, Ohio (Fairborn)
Jordan Applegate, DL  6-5 	270 	Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider)
Jacolby Bond, RB      6-0 	210 	Brownsville, Tenn. (Haywood)
Robert Brewster, OL   6-5 	330 	Cincinnati, Ohio (Wyoming)
Trey Buice, DB 	      5-10 	165 	Stone Mountain, Ga. (Tucker)
Chris Clancy, RB      6-2 	225 	Plainfield, Ill. (Joliet Catholic)
Kyle Cornwell, TE     6-4 	240 	New Lenox, Ill. (Providence Catholic)
Drew Duffin, DL       6-3 	255 	Avon, Ind. (Avon)
Madaris Grant, TE     6-5 	220 	Cincinnati, Ohio (Mount Healthy)
B.J. Hill, RB/WR      5-8 	168 	Lanham, Md. (Riverdale Baptist)
Zach Jones, QB 	      6-7 	215 	Morris, Ill. (Morris)
Dante Love, QB 	      5-10 	170 	Cincinnati, Ohio (Withrow)
Marcus McClure, DB    6-0 	175 	Rome, Ga. (Rome)
Corey McGee, RB       5-11 	186 	Jackson, Miss. (Jackson)
Roger Morris, DT      6-4 	319 	Jonesboro, Ga. (Jonesboro)
Jon Myles, WR 	      6-0 	185 	Dayton, Ohio (Chaminade Julienne)
Andre Ramsey, OL      6-5 	285 	Cordele, Ga. (Crisp County)
DeAndrea Roger, WR    6-3 	190 	Detroit, Mich. (Pershing)
Ronaldo Warner, DB    5-10 	173 	Newman, Ga. (Newman)
Nick Wedlow, RB       5-9 	185 	Statesboro, Ga. (Statesboro)