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2005 MAC Football Recruiting - Toledo Rockets

Overview

The Rockets signed 23 players from nine states including three players who played at St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida. Along with mining Florida and their native state of Ohio, UT also signed players from Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, California, New York, Illinois, Texas & Canada. This is a class that features five offensive linemen and six defensive backs. Both areas of offensive line and wide receiver bring in some tremendous size to their respected positions. While there are several players with all-state accolades, there are also several players who slipped under the regional recruiting radar screens but are dual sports stars, mainly in basketball.

Top Player - Dajuane Collins, RB

• Named the Philadelphia Inquire Player of the Year
• 1^st Team All-State - New Jersey
• Rated the #50 RB prospect in the country by Rivals.com
• Had over 50 offers before choosing Toledo over Penn State, Maryland, Syracuse & North Carolina
• Rushed for over 1,800 yards with 19 TDs as a senior

Highlights

• The Rockets signed 5 huge and talented offensive line prospects. Three of these guys are 6-foot seven inches and two of those weigh nearly 320 pounds each. Kevin Hobbins choose UT over South Carolina while Shawn Glaser picked Toledo over a late offer from Illinois. Toledo also signed a much needed long snapper, Jeremy Mack, who will likely start as a true freshman at his position.
• Toledo signed six defensive backs, each over 6-foot. The Rockets needed some impact DBs and Jeff Green, a teammate of Dajuane Collins, chose UT over Louisville. The Rockets also nabbed three big WRs, each standing over 6-3. JUCO DJ Nichols looks to play right away while Robin Bailey & Stephen Williams are big and fast targets that look to contribute in the near future.
• If bloodlines mean anything, Toledo signed two players with NFL fathers. DE John Duhe is the son of former Miami Dolphin AJ Duhe while Beau Brudzinski is the son of Bob Brudzinski, who played for the Dolphins too and is a native of Fremont, Ohio.

Final Thoughts

Once again the Rockets were a "player" during the recruiting season even though they lost both of their coordinators at the end of the season. Toledo really hit the national scene more than previous years and signed some terrific talent out of New Jersey, Texas, Florida and Canada. Once again the Rockets were unable to land some much needed help in the DT area. Steven Burch originally gave a verbal to UT. A highly sought after DT from Dodge City Community College he opted for Kansas State one day before the national signing day, which hurt. Surprisingly the Rockets also lost some players to rival MAC schools. Overall this class rates as EXCELLENT compared to the rest of the conference.

Name		Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Previous School
Walter Atkins	DB	6-1     180	Pompano Beach, FL-Deerfield Beach
Sam Azner	OL	6-7     288     Wayne, NJ-Wayne Hills
Robin Bailey    WR	6-5     195     Columbus, OH-Westerville South
Keiron Brown    DB	6-1     185	Margate, FL-St. Thomas Aquinas
Beau Brudzinski LB	6-1     210     Weston, FL-St. Thomas Aquinas
Tom Burzine     TE	6-5     225     Bohemia, NY-Connetquot
Dajuane Collins RB	5-11    205     Westville, NJ-Deptford
John Duhe       DL	6-4     230     Weston, FL-St. Thomas Aquinas
Chris Faison    FS	6-1     175     Bloomfield Hills, MI-Lahser
Keith Forestal  LB	6-4     220     Liberty Township, OH-Liberty
Buster Garrett  OL	6-4     275     Ponte Vedra Beach, FL-Nease
Lyndon Gayle    DL	6-4     275     Akron, OH-North
Shawn Glaser    OL	6-8     300	Fairlawn, OH-Hoban
Jeff Green      FS      6-4     215     Westville, NJ-Deptford
Eric Heller     LB      6-3     225	Columbus, OH-Beechcroft
Garry Hill      DB      6-3     180	Trotwood, OH-Madison
Kevin Hobbins   OL      6-7     315	Peterborough, ONT-Crestwood
Kevin Kilgo     OL      6-5     270	Sterling Heights, MI-Stevenson
Jeremy Mack     LS      6-4     225	Greenwood, IN-Center Grove
D.J. Nichols    WR	6-3	215	Compton, CA-Dominguez / Cerritos (CA) C.C.
Lester Richmond FS      6-2     185	Chicago, IL-Morgan Park
Brandon Summers QB      6-2     195	Southfield, MI-Southfield
Stephen Williams WR     6-5     185	Houston, TX-Marshall

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