Overview:Ball State signed 25 players from 12 different states.This has to be considered the most well represented class in terms of the
areas/regions that the players come from, in BSU history.The Cardinals have long been strapped in terms of a recruiting budget
compared to other MAC programs, certainly went out and got quality talent from
states like Virginia, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa and Missouri.These would be non-traditional footprint states for Ball State
recruiting.The prize recruit is
Adell Givens, a talented and tremendously fast RB/DB prospect from southwestern
Ohio.Givens was ranked as a top-30
player in Ohio and received a lot of recruiting interests from Big Ten & Big
East schools.In fact, this class
has five players who come from the Buckeye state with only three players coming
from Indiana.Two 6-4 QB prospects
also highlight this class along with LB Wendell Brown, a top-35 player from
Detroit who choose Ball State over Toledo & Bowling Green.
Highlights:
Ball
State went out and brought in some intriguing prospects at WR.Darius Hill is a 6-6 205-pounder from Missouri who played on the
state’s #1 ranked team.He
was an all-state performer as a senior.Louis Johnson is a homegrown product from Muncie (IN) and had over
2,200 receiving yards and 20 TDs during his high school career.Kenny Meeks is a big receiver at 6-2 220-pounds, but versitile enough
that he may play TE, LB or DE at Ball State.He was Indiana’s defensive player of the year award winner this
past season.
Ball
State signed two big QB prospects to give the Cardinals better talent and
depth at that position.Cole
Stinson is from Florida, but had Ball State ties through some of his coaches
there, is 6-4, 235 and threw 13 TDs as a senior with just 2 INTs.Warren Suess is from Iowa and was being looked at by Iowa and Iowa
State before choosing BSU over Bowling Green.
Trying
to get bigger and more physical players in the trenches, Coach Hoke signed
an all-state performer from Kentucky, Jonathan Belcher, who is coming in at
6-2 270.Amara Koroma 6-2 250
is a speed DE prospect from Illinois who has already enrolled in classes at
Ball State.
With
the MAC ever becoming more pass-happy, the Cardinals went out and brought in
several DB prospects, and Adell Givens, who as an athlete, may end up on
that side of the ball.Almost
all of these prospects are in the 5-10 180-pound range, and all posses a lot
of speed and coverage skills.Dominique
Bryson, Jovens Degage, Lavell Mosley, Ryan Patrick, Dan Dunford, Hoshua
Taylor and Trey Lewis are all players who may contribute this fall. Lewis
comes from a military academy prep school while Taylor is the lone JUCO.
Final Thoughts:
The Cardinals went out and found a lot talent to bring into
their program this year and while most of it does not come with the fanfare and
accolades that some of the other MAC schools brought in this year, this is still
a solid class.Ball State addressed
their immediate needs at DB and QB, while bringing in some much needed speed
across the board.Ball State went
head to head for a lot of this talent with the top schools in the MAC, something
they have not done in a very long time.Also,
BSU is finally going to greater lengths, literally, to find talent.This class rates as VERY
GOOD compared to other MAC schools this year but there is a lot
of potential here that four years from now, may become one of the better classes
brought in for 2004.
