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2007 MAC Football Recruiting - CMU Chippewas

Overview
The Chippewas 16 players from five different states with a heavy emphasis on their home state as ten of the sixteen players are from Michigan. Three players are from Wisconsin and there is one each from Ohio, Florida and California. This 16 member class is the smallest in the MAC this year in terms of number of signed prospects. There was a heavy emphasis on WR, TE and LBs. Overall seven players were added for offense, eight for defense and one long snapper who was the lone JUCO player added.

Below is a list of CMU football recruits with their listed position, height, weight, hometown and high school.

Josh Allison DT 6-2 245 Lake Orion, Mich./ Lake Orion Community HS

Lance Beers DE 6-3 233 Dearborn Heights, Mich./Crestwood HS

Nick Bellore LB 6-2 240 Whitefish Bay, Wis./ Whitefish Bay HS

Zach Benke LB 6-0 200 Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore HS

Jason Bertoni LS 6-1 265 West Los Angeles, Calif./ Santa Monica JC

Dannie Bolden DB 6-0 170 Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge HS

Taylor Bradley WR 6-1 189 Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods HS

Johnnie Daniels LB 5-11 215 Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus HS

Brandin Friske WR 6-3 207 Columbiaville, Mich./North Branch HS

E.J. McLaughlin DB 6-0 203 East Grand Rapids, Mich./ Cincinnati Harmony Prep School

Jake Olson OL 6-8 240 Hartford, Wis./ Hartford Union HS

Mike Petrucci LB 6-2 208 Milford, Mich./Milford HS

Chris Starkey TE 6-4 246 DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt HS

J.J. Watt TE 6-5 240 Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee HS

Rocky Weaver TE 6-6 220 Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek HS

Jeremy Wilson WR 6-3 180 Davison, Mich./Davison HS

Receivers
Three wideouts were added Jeremy Wilson being the highest rated player. Wilson was ranked by most recruiting services as a top-45 player in Michigan and has good size at 6-3, 180. Brandin Friske earned first team all-state honors from Columbiaville (MI). Taylor Bradley earned 1 st team all league honors from Cincinnati’s Winton Woods High. All three receiver prospects are in the 6-2 190 range. Three very solid TE prospects were added with JJ Watt the highest rated. Watt, a Wisconsin native, was ready to go to Minnesota before the firing of Glen Mason. Between the coaching change there and at CMU, the ‘Chips are very lucky to have signed him. At 6-5 240, he could play as a true freshman. In-state recruits Chris Starkey and Rocky Weaver both have a lot of size and each were ranked in Michigan’s top-50. Weaver is very intriguing at 6-6 220, posted over 2,800 yards receiving and scored 26 TDs during his prep career.

Offensive Line
Just one offensive lineman is a part of this class and that’s 6-8 240 pound Jake Olson from Hartford (WI), the same high school that produced CMU QB Brian Brunner. He will need to grow into the OT position but is very athletic.

Defensive Line
The plum recruit of the ‘Chip class is DT Josh Allison, the #18 rated recruit in Michigan. Allison looked to be headed to Minnesota until there was a coaching change. Michigan State and Central Michigan also heavily recruited him and each had coaching changes too. In the end, Central is very fortunate to get a player of his caliber. Allison had 49 career QB sacks during his prep career – from a DT position no less. Lance Beers is a DE prospect from Dearborn Heights (MI). Beers was a tackling machine in high school who recorded over 220 stops.

Linebackers
Central signed four LB prospects, the most of any position area in this class. Mike Petrucci is a top-30 rated player in Michigan from Milford. Nick Bellore is a true MLB from Whitefish Bay (WI). At 6-2 240, he is a load and registered almost 150 tackles as a senior. Zach Benke is the younger brother of current CMU offensive lineman Adam Benke. Johnnie Daniels is a speedy OLB from Miami (FL) who also played RB in high school.

Defensive Backs
After signing twelve DBs last year Central only brought in two this year, and both were originally a part of last year’s class. EJ McLaughlin played at Cincinnati’s Harmony Prep last year while Dannie Bolden delayed enrollment from the 2006 signing period.

Specialists
Central needed a long snapper and found a good one from the junior college ranks. Jason Bertoni from Santa Monica JC in California should be able to step in from day one and handle the long snapping duties.

Final Analysis
After winning the MAC this year and winning the Motor City Bowl, a lot has happened to this program in just a few short weeks. After winning the MAC, Coach Brian Kelly bolted for Cincinnati. Then interim head coach Jeff Quinn led the ‘Chips to the MCB victory but was not hired as the permanent head coach. That honor fell to Butch Jones, who had to quickly assemble a staff and hit the recruiting trails hard in a very short time. Considering everything this program just went through over the past twelve weeks, Central did pretty well on national signing day. Keeping Josh Allison was a real coup and throughout this class there is some solid potential to become a very good group or recruits. Overall this class rates as VERY GOOD compared to the rest of the league this year.

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