Yellow Jackets Football Announces 2013 Signing Class
DEFIANCE, Ohio — Head coach Brian Sheehan and the Defiance College football coaching staff has announced the addition of 73 football players to the program with the 2013 signing class.
DEFIANCE, Ohio — Head coach Brian Sheehan and the Defiance College football coaching staff has announced the addition of 73 football players to the program with the 2013 signing class.
The class of 2013 is the first full class for the Yellow Jackets head coach, who enters his second season in charge of the Purple and Gold. After an initial class that produced 12 starters during the 2012 season, Sheehan and the staff have brought in a group to compete for more starting jobs on the field this season.
"The young men we invited to represent the Purple and Gold not only have tremendous athletic ability, but they have the character we want in the future leaders of this football team," Sheehan said of the newest group of Yellow Jackets.
The coaching staff recruited with specific needs in mind, seeking to add depth and competition for starting spots.
"This year's goal was to bring in impact talent and add competitive depth to our football team. There were also specific positions we needed to address to ensure the long-term success of our football program."
Adding playmakers on both sides of the ball was also important to the DC's recruiting efforts.
"We had to add players who would increase our team speed and potentially add a spark to our offense and special teams," commented the Yellow Jacket head coach. "There will be a number of freshmen in the mix here and we believe they can help us be more varied in our attack this season."
When Sheehan was first hired as the head coach at Defiance, he announced a shift in the program's recruiting strategy. Recruiting nationally is important for the Yellow Jacket program, but to truly build DC into a championship program he knew they had to protect their home turf.
"Our primary recruiting area will always be in the tri-state, with special attention paid to our own backyard," explained the Yellow Jacket head coach. "Defiance Football has great respect for Northwest Ohio football. As a reflection of that we hit the local area very hard."
The Jackets coaching staff brought in 31 commitments from the state of Ohio and added 30 more commitments from Michigan and Indiana. The class also features 12 Florida and Georgia commitments.
Class of 2013 by the numbers
Total Recruits: 73
Offensive Recruits: 37
Defensive Recruits: 33
Special Teams Recruits: 3
Tri-State Recruits: 60
Ohio Recruits: 30
Michigan Recruits: 23
Florida Recruits: 9
Indiana Recruits: 7
Georgia Recruits: 3
Virginia Recruits: 1
Complete list of the 2013 Signing Class
Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Hometown | High School |
Lawrence Austin | RB | 6-0 | 215 | Warren, Mich. | Cousino |
Brandon Bahnsen | WR | 5-10 | 185 | Lakeside, Ohio | Danbury |
Cyrron Barringer | RB | 5-10 | 170 | Toledo, Ohio | Waite |
Seth Bauer | K | 5-10 | 160 | Findlay, Ohio | Arcadia |
Mark Boggs | QB | 6-2 | 185 | Delphos, Ohio | St. John's |
Mason Borders | OL | 6-3 | 300 | Gainesville, Ga. | Johnson |
Cody Brown | S | 6-0 | 160 | Hamilton, Ohio | New Miami |
Kahele Campbell | OL | 5-11 | 265 | Tampa, Fla. | Leto |
Daniel Collins | RB | 5-9 | 180 | West Springfield, Va. | West Springfield |
Braheem Crews | DE | 6-2 | 205 | Port Huron, Mich. | Port Huron |
Josh Dennard | CB | 5-8 | 180 | Canton, Mich. | Plymouth |
Matt DeVore | LB | 6-1 | 200 | Van Buren, Ohio | Van Buren |
Guy DiCicco | OL | 6-0 | 255 | Port Huron, Mich. | Port Huron |
Josh Drain | QB | 5-11 | 180 | Napoleon, Ohio | Liberty Center |
Blake Evans | CB | 6-0 | 175 | Connersville, Ind. | Connersville |
Andrew Foore | RB | 5-7 | 155 | Swanton, Ohio | Swanton |
Clayton Fox | OL | 6-0 | 220 | Berlin Heights, Ohio | Edison |
Alex Frick | S | 5-11 | 190 | Kendallville, Ind. | East Noble |
Tyler Frieson | RB | 6-2 | 205 | Lima, Ohio | Shawnee |
Keandre Gilmer | LB | 6-1 | 210 | Toledo, Ohio | Rogers |
Michael Girona | DE | 5-11 | 220 | McClure, Ohio | Otsego |
Alex Glenn | WR | 6-3 | 205 | Samford, Fla. | Seminole |
LaVauntez Hall | WR | 5-11 | 170 | Cleveland, Ohio | Shaw |
Dallas Hale | DT | 6-2 | 230 | Dowagiac, Mich. | Dowagiac Union |
Darius Harper | WR | 6-3 | 160 | Jacksonville, Fla. | Robert E. Lee |
Jerald Helm | CB | 5-9 | 180 | Jacksonville, Fla. | Providence |
Justin Homerick | K | 5-8 | 165 | Bellville, Ohio | Clear Fork |
Kenny Jones | S | 6-2 | 175 | Toledo, Ohio | Bowsher |
Zach Kasper | OL | 6-2 | 270 | Wyandotte, Mich. | Roosevelt |
Kevin Keefe | DT | 6-3 | 215 | Arcadia, Ohio | Arcadia |
Alex Larson | QB | 6-0 | 180 | Highland, Mich. | Milford |
Tyler Lassitter | S | 6-1 | 180 | Howell, Mich. | Howell |
Gareth MacMillan | RB | 5-11 | 200 | Hartford, Mich. | Hartford |
Donovan Martin | CB | 5-9 | 155 | Warren, Mich. | Cousino |
Cameron McCalla | OL | 6-2 | 270 | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Northrop |
Kenneth Miller | OL | 6-3 | 240 | Royal Oak, Mich. | Shrine Catholic |
A.J. Millwood | RB | 5-9 | 180 | Gainesville, Ga. | Johnson |
Chris Moore | WR | 5-11 | 170 | Clinton Twp, Mich. | Chippewa Valley |
Reggie Moore | S | 5-10 | 160 | Largo, Fla. | Largo |
Duronte Nowling | CB | 5-7 | 160 | Cleveland, Ohio | Shaw |
Jonathon O'Brien | WR | 6-1 | 175 | Orlando, Fla. | Colonial |
Daryl Oliver-Windham | LB | 6-0 | 215 | Clinton Twp, Mich. | Chippewa Valley |
Jovan Palin | RB | 5-11 | 220 | Sylvania, Ohio | Southview |
Tanner Penwell | DT | 6-0 | 275 | Bellefontaine, Ohio | Ben Logan |
Bryan Pinkney | RB | 5-8 | 160 | Toledo, Ohio | Scott |
Walter Pippin | DE | 6-4 | 220 | Liberty Center, Ohio | Liberty Center |
Marcus Pompey | RB | 5-7 | 165 | Marcellus, Mich. | Marcellus |
Galen Powers | S | 5-9 | 170 | Deshler, Ohio | Patrick Henry |
Devon Rahbine | DT | 6-2 | 270 | New Baltimore, Mich. | Anchor Bay |
Amani Ray | WR | 5-11 | 175 | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Northrop |
Joey Rebottaro | OL | 6-2 | 265 | Tecumseh, Mich. | Tecumseh |
Michael Riley | S | 5-10 | 170 | Riverview, Fla. | East Bay |
Tory Savage | K | 5-10 | 150 | Bryan, Ohio | Bryan |
Shadon Seabrook | RB | 5-9 | 160 | Orlando, Fla. | University |
Marvin Simmons | DT | 6-0 | 250 | Cleveland, Ohio | Shaw |
Dante Smith | WR | 6-2 | 165 | Villa Rica, Ga. | Villa Rica |
Gage Smith | DE | 6-1 | 210 | Orlando, Fla. | University |
Osiris Smith | RB | 5-9 | 180 | Taylor, Mich. | Truman |
Matt Suppelsa | LB | 6-0 | 200 | Canton, Mich. | Canton |
Devin Sutgrey | OL | 6-3 | 250 | Clinton Twp, Mich. | Chippewa Valley |
Devin Thomas | S | 5-10 | 185 | Toledo, Ohio | Whitmer |
Tito Velazquez | S | 5-10 | 165 | Chesterfield, Mich. | Anchor Bay |
Macaully Vessels | S | 6-0 | 185 | Connersville, Ind. | Connersville |
Chuck Voorhees | LB | 6-2 | 200 | Warren, Mich. | Warren Woods |
Zachary Weaver | OL | 6-3 | 240 | Lincoln Park, Mich. | Cabrini |
Delano Wellington | DE | 6-2 | 220 | Toledo, Ohio | Start |
Bennett Westfall | DT | 6-2 | 255 | Perrysburg, Ohio | Perrysburg |
Sean Westhoven | RB | 6-0 | 215 | Liberty Center, Ohio | Liberty Center |
Trey White | WR | 5-11 | 185 | Ind.polis, Ind. | Lawrence Central |
Cody Wiggins | S | 5-11 | 175 | Howell, Mich. | Howell |
Cody Wilson | RB | 5-11 | 185 | McComb, Ohio | McComb |
Luke Wilson | DT | 6-4 | 250 | Sylvania, Ohio | Southview |
Tom Woehnker | TE | 6-2 | 200 | Kendallville, Ind. | East Noble |