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2005 MAC Football Recruiting - WMU Broncos
Overview
The Broncos signed 26 players from nine different states and two provinces of Canada. Florida provided the most players in this class with six, followed by Illinois (5), Michigan (4). Other states that new coach Bill Cubit tapped were Indiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia & North Carolina. Needing to address the defensive side of the ball immediately, sixteen players in this class are set for that side of the ball while ten are slated for offense. Coach Cubit was most recently the offensive coordinator at Stanford, brought with him Austin Pritchard, a TE prospect slated to sign with the Cardinal, but instead followed Cubit to Kalamazoo.
Top Player -
- Akron-Beacon Journal Player of the Year after passing for over 3,000 yards and 30 TDs as a senior
- Over 7,000 career passing yards with 55 TDs
- Rated as the #28 pro-style QB by one recruiting service, top-50 QB prospect in the nation by another
- Recruited by Louisville, Maryland & Pitt
Highlights
- Western Michigan signed a splendid crop of Floridians, led by EJ Biggers, a legitimate cover corner. Biggers was named Dade County Player of the Year, which is considered the best player in the Miami area. He chose WMU over Kansas. Louis Delmas played with Biggers at North Miami Beach High. RB James Jones rushed for over 1,700 yards as a senior and flourished during the Dade-Broward County All-Star game. Derrick Harris and Kevin Smith played together at Miami Coral Reef High. Chauncey Thomkins excelled at many skilled positions with Miami Northwestern High, picked Western over reported offers from Pitt & Bowling Green.
- The Broncos have long recruited quality players from Illinois and this class is no different. DT Cody Cilenski headlines the group from this state was he earned co-Defensive Player of the Year honors in Illinois, picking WMU over offers from Big Ten and Big 12 schools. Grant Nemeth and Matt Stevens excelled at Wheaten Warrensville South High. DL Andy Laue was rated a top-40 recruit in Illinois and had several reported offers. James Randall is a late bloomer who received a lot of recruiting interests late in the signing period.
- Western mined their own state of Michigan signing four quality prospects - LB Justin Braska was rated as the #20 player in the state. RB Kirk Elsworth is a big back who rushed for over 2,800 yards as a senior, ranking 2nd in state history for season rushing. LB Greg Marshall was rated as the #22 player in the state while K/P Brett Meldrum earned all-state honors as a senior.
Final Thoughts
Bill Cubit was an assistant coach at Western Michigan and his son is the current starting QB. With his knowledge of the school and his major college coaching experience, the Broncos were able to land one of their best classes in years. Knowing their defensive struggles over the past two season, Cubit & Company signed impact players that can help right away at CB, LB and even along the D-line. Offensively, Western has several skill players returning so building up on those numbers was the strategy and Western did just that. Overall this class rates as EXCELLENT compared to other MAC schools but Bronco fans have to be excited with what they are seeing from this new coaching staff in this new group of recruits.
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Previous School E.J. Biggers CB 5-11 170 North Miami Beach, Fla. (North Miami Beach HS) Justin Braska LB 6-5 226 DeWitt, Mich. (DeWitt HS) Cody Cielenski DL 6-2 295 Downers Grove, Ill. (North HS) Caleb Clark QB 6-2 185 Calgary, Alta. (Bow Valley HS) Louis Delmas FS 6-0 175 North Miami Beach, Fla. (North Miami Beach HS) Steve Ellingsen OL 6-5 270 Crown Point, Ind. (Crown Point HS) Kirk Elsworth RB 6-1 210 Goodrich, Mich. (Goodrich HS) Joe Gardenr TE 6-1 245 Waukesha, Wis. (West HS) Derrick Harris LB 5-10 213 Miami, Fla. (Coral Reef HS) Brando Henderson CB 5-10 175 Coffeyville, Kansas (Coffeyville CC)/Roswell
N.M. (New Mexico Military Institute)/Kansas City, Mo. (Hickman Mills HS) Tim Hiller QB 6-4 215 Orrville, Ohio (Orrville HS) James Jones RB 5-8 185 Miami, Fla. (Chaminade-Madonna HS) Andy Laue DL 6-5 265 Barrington, Ill. (Barrington HS) Robert Livingston S 6-3 208 Princeton, N.J. (The Hun School
)/Hendersenville, N.C. (Hendersenville HS) MattLochman OL 6-4 277 Hartland, Wis. (Arrowhead HS) Greg Marshall LB 6-1 230 Portage, Mich. (Northern HS) Brett Meldrumk K/P 5-10 170 Utica, Mich. (Eisenhower HS) Mark Metulnsky FS 6-0 180 Sandwich, Ont. (Sandwich SS) Grant Nemeth DL 6-3 260 Wheaton, Ill. (Warrenville South Austin Pritchard LB 6-3 215 Lebanon, Ohio (Lebanon HS) James Randall DL 6-5 245 Vernon Hills, Ill. (Vernon Hills John Russell DL 6-5 245 Princeton, N.J. (The Hun School)/Loganville, Ga. (Grayson HS) Kevin Smith LB 6-2 220 Miami, Fla. (Coral Reef HS) Matt Stevens TE 6-4 240 Wheaton, Ill. (Warrenville South HS) Chauncey Thompkins CB 5-11 180 Miami, Fla. (Northwestern HS) Paul Wasikowski OL 6-4, 290 Cudahy, Wis. (Cudahy HS)
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