Football
Awards
 
 
 

Google

 

Coach Hoke Announces the 2006 Recruiting Class (02/01/2006)

FROM BALL STATE ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State University third-year head football coach Brady Hoke announced the Cardinals 2006 recruiting class at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the John and Janice Fisher Football Training Complex. The class is comprised of 22 individuals, including John Purdy of Fort Wayne Snider High School, who graduated from high school in December and enrolled at BSU for the second semester in January.
"We are very excited with the quality of student-athletes who have committed to Ball State University," Hoke says. "The staff did an outstanding job of evaluating talent, and the university community did a great job of helping us through the recruiting process. The combination of recruits plus the returning players we have for 2006 make the future very bright for Ball State Football’s 82nd team."
Ball State will open the 2006 season at home Aug. 31 vs. a yet to be announced Mid-American Conference team. The Cardinals will host Indiana Sept. 9 at John and June Scheumann Stadium, and play at Purdue Sept. 16. Ball State will host North Dakota State Sept. 23, and play its other non-conference game Nov. 4 at Michigan.

Ball State's 2006 Football Recruiting Class

Name Position Height Weight Home Town High School Coach
 Travis Arnold OL 6' 8" 282 Fort Wayne, IN Snider Russ Issacs
High School: Earned two letters in football for Coach Russ Issacs . . . helped Snider to a 12-1 overall record as a senior . . . helped team to a fourth straight undefeated regular season and a sectional title in 2005 . . . helped Snider to a 2002 runner-up finish in the state playoffs, a semi-state runner-up finish in 2003 and a state runner-up finish in 2004 . . . helped block for a third straight 1,000-yard rusher as a senior . . . all-state, all-conference and Bloomington Herald Top-33 as a senior . . . named to the 2005 Indiana Football Coaches Association Top-50 . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Jakeem Gregory, MiQuale Lewis and John Purdy . . . Personal: Son of Paul Arnold and Cori Schuman . . . one brother . . . born Feb. 12, 1988, in Fort Wayne, Ind. . . . full name is Travis Joseph Arnold.
 Darrius Benham DE 6' 1" 250 Cartersville, GA Cartersville Frank Barden

High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Frank Barden . . . helped Cartersville to a 9-3 record as a senior and a 29-10 mark in his career . . . helped team to a No. 1 ranking through the first seven games in 2005 . . . tallied 34 sacks and 258 total tackles as a senior . . . named all-county as a junior and senior . . . two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year . . . also competed in the shot put and discus on the track and field team . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Brandon Houston and Terrell Johnson . . . Personal: Son of Barry and Debra Benham . . . two brothers and one sister . . . father played football at Middle Tennessee State . . . born March 28, 1988, in Cartersville, Ga. . . . full name is Darrius Jermaine Benham.
 John Buckingham LB/DE 6' 1" 242 Greenwood, IN Center Grove Eric Moore
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Eric Moore . . . tallied 90 tackles, 13 sacks and 20 tackles for loss as a senior . . . named to the Indianapolis Star’s 2005 Super Team . . . two-time all-state and two-time all-conference . . . named to the 2005 Indiana Football Coaches Association Top-50 . . . all-county as a senior . . . helped team to the state semifinals in 2002 and 2003 . . . managed 185 tackles and 26 sacks in his career . . . Personal: Son of Kevin and Kathy Buckingham . . . one sister . . . born July 28, 1987, in Beech Grove, Ind. . . . full name is John David Buckingham.
 Dane Cook S 6' 0" 185 Eaton, IN Delta Grant Zgunda
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Grant Zgunda . . . helped the Eagles to a 12-2 record as a senior and a 39-8 mark in his career . . . helped Delta to an 8-0 mark in the Hoosier Heritage Conference as a senior . . . managed 93 tackles and four interceptions plus rushed for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior . . . all-state, all-conference and all-area as a senior . . . managed 337 tackles and 12 interceptions in his career . . . also lettered four seasons in track while competing in the sprints . . . earned a sectional title in the 100-meter dash as a junior . . . Personal: Son of Ron and Lisa Cook . . . one sister . . . grandfather, Ralph Cook, lettered in football and track at Ball State from 1953-55 and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams . . . born March 4, 1987, in Muncie, Ind. . . . full name is Dane Edward Cook.
 Spain Cosby FB/LB 5' 11" 215 Carrollton, GA Villa Rica Rob Cleveland
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Rob Cleveland . . . managed 130 tackles, four sacks, one interception and one touchdown as a senior . . . all-area as a senior . . . named to Preseason Super 11 team prior to the 2005 season . . . tallied 396 tackles and 21 sacks in his career . . . Personal: Son of Stephanie Cosby . . . one brother and one sister . . . born July 6, 1988, in Boston, Mass. . . . full name is Spain Mashad Cosby.
 Nate Davis QB 6' 2" 225 Bellaire, OH Bellaire John Magistro
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach John Magistro . . . helped team to a 13-1 record as a senior and a 21-8 mark in his career . . . helped the Big Reds to a 10-0 conference record and a state semifinal appearance as a senior . . . completed 125-of-207 passes for 2,932 yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior . . . all-state and all-conference as a senior . . . threw for a Bellaire career record 7,348 yards and 81 touchdowns in his career . . . set a school career record with 113 total touchdowns . . . three-time all-state and three-time all-conference . . . also earned four letters in basketball . . . eclipsed the school’s 50-year-old career scoring record and now has over 1,800 points . . . has helped basketball team to a 15-0 start this season . . . Personal: Son of Charles Davis and Linda Davis . . . one brother, Jose Davis, who played football at Kent State, and is now a member of the Arena Football League’s Grand Rapids Rampage . . . played football at the same high school as National Football League veteran Joey Galloway . . . born May 25, 1987, in Bellaire, Ohio . . . full name is Nate Charles Davis.
 Robert Eddins DE/OLB 6' 3" 210 Detroit, MI Crockett Roderick Oden
Earned four letters in football for Coach Steve Pennington . . . helped team to a 14-1 record as a senior and a 48-7-1 mark in his career . . . helped team to a runnerup finish in the state playoffs as a senior . . . helped team to three state championship appearances and one state title in his four seasons . . . managed 248 rushes for 1,420 yards with 19 touchdowns as a senior . . . earned honorable mention on the all-state team as a senior . . . claimed all-region honors and was named to the Super 11 First Team as a senior . . . Personal: Son of Sidney and Connie Alston . . . two sisters and one brother . . . born in Atlanta, Ga. . . . full name is Nicholas Jerrod Wedlow.
 Joe Everett DB 6' 0" 170 Middleburg, FL Ridgeview Tom McPherson
Earned four letters in football for Coach Tom McPherson . . . helped team to a 7-3 record as a senior . . . managed 1,100 yards passing, 600 yards rushing and 12 total touchdowns as a senior . . . named the Clay County Offensive Player of the Year as a senior . . . named to the Shrine All-Star Team . . . all-county first team and Florida Times Union All-State Third Team . . . also lettered in basketball and track . . . won the conference championship in the long jump and triple jump as a junior . . . placed second in the state in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump as a junior . . . Personal: Son of Tyrone and Rhonda Everett . . . born March 1, 1988, in Orange Park, Fla. . . . full name is Joseph Thomas Everett.
 Jakeem Gregory DB 5' 9" 175 Fort Wayne, IN Snider Russ Issacs
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Russ Issacs . . . helped Snider to a 12-1 overall record as a senior . . . helped team to a fourth straight undefeated regular season and a sectional title in 2005 . . . helped Snider to a 2002 runner-up finish in the state playoffs, a semi-state runner-up finish in 2003 and a state championship runner-up finish in 2004 . . . managed 41 tackles, seven interceptions, one fumble recovery, a 23.1 yards-per-catch average and a 10.5 punt return average as a senior . . . also averaged 16.8 yards per kickoff return and managed two blocked punts as a senior . . . Bloomington Herald All-State as a senior . . . all-area as a senior . . . named to the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 5A All-State Team . . . tallied 10 interceptions, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four blocked punts and 92 tackles in his career . . . also lettered four seasons in track and field in the sprints and long jump . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Jakeem Gregory, MiQuale Lewis and John Purdy . . . Personal: Son of Arthur Gregory and Chenitta Gregory . . . three sisters . . . father played football at Purdue, and sister played basketball at Wisconsin . . . also had an uncle who ran track at Ohio State . . . born Dec. 15, 1987, in Fort Wayne, Ind. . . . full name is Jakeem Cantrell Gregory.
 Kristopher Heard DB/WR 5' 10" 165 St. Louis, MO Cardinal Ritter Michael Baker
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Michael Baker . . . helped team to a 24-11 mark in his career . . . managed 22 receptions and five interceptions as a senior . . . tallied 900 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns in his career plus had nine interceptions and 1,150 special teams yards in his career . . . all-state and all-conference as a senior . . . also earned two letters in track in the sprints . . . Personal: Son of James and April Heard . . . one sister . . . born March 15, 1988, in St. Louis, Mo. . . . full name is Kristopher James Heard.
 Lance Helton OL 6' 5" 310 Wrightsville, GA Washington County Rick Tomberlin
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Rick Tomberlin . . . helped team to a 7-4 record as a senior and a 42-11 mark in his career . . . helped team to a state runner-up finish in 2004 . . . tallied 126 pancake blocks as a senior and graded out over 88 percent as a blocker . . . all-state and All-Middle Georgia as a senior . . . played in Georgia All-State Game as a senior . . . eight time Offensive Lineman of the Week and three-time Offensive Player of the Week for the Golden Hawks . . . Personal: Son of Keith Helton and Niki Brantley . . . four brothers and two sisters . . . born June 17, 1988, in Wrightsville, Ga. . . . full name is Keith Lance Helton Jr.
 Brandon Houston LB 6' 2" 200 Cartersville, GA Cartersville Frank Barden
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Frank Barden . . . helped Cartersville to a 9-3 record as a senior . . . three-time all-county . . . named Cartersville’s Most Improved Defensive Player as a sophomore plus won the team’s Coach’s Award as a junior . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Darrius Benham and Terrell Johnson . . . Personal: Son of Daurin and Celester Barnes . . . two brothers and two sisters . . . born Jan. 20, 1988, in Rome, Ga. . . . full name is Brandon Latrell Houston.
 Jason Jankowski DE 6' 2" 247 Hartland, WI Arrowhead Tom Taraska
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Tom Taraska . . . helped team to a 7-4 mark as a senior and a 27-9 record in his career . . . managed 103 tackles and nine sacks as a senior . . . three-time all-conference . . . all-county and all-area as a senior . . . managed 272 tackles and 24 sacks in his career . . . three-year starter . . . Personal: Son of Steven and Heidi Jankowski . . . one sister . . . born March 13, 1988, in West Allis, Wis. . . . full name is Jason Steven Jankowski.
 Terrell Johnson DB 5' 11" 188 Cartersville, GA Cartersville Frank Barden
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Frank Barden . . . helped Cartersville to a 9-3 record as a senior . . . all-state and all-county as a senior . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Darrius Benham and Brandon Houston . . . Personal: Son of Greg and Gloria Drew . . . one sister . . . born Feb. 4, 1987, in Cartersville, Ga. . . . full name is Terrell Antione Johnson.
 Alex Knipp RB/DB 6' 0" 194 Amherst, OH Steele Keith Grabowski
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Keith Grabowski . . . helped team to a 7-3 record as a senior and a 24-8 mark in his career . . . managed 246 carries for 2,008 yards rushing and an 8.7 yards-per-carry average . . . had 27 rushing touchdowns and six catches for 86 yards and three TDs as a senior . . . averaged 25.0 yards per kickoff return and 15.3 yards per punt return plus scored 30 total touchdowns in his senior season . . . tallied 58 tackles, one tackle for loss and three interceptions in final season . . . tallied 5,531 all-purpose yards in his career with 63 TDs . . . rushed 545 times for 4,435 career yards with 53 TDs . . . managed 14 career receptions for 228 yards and four TDs . . . averaged 25.9 yards per kick return and 16.9 yards per punt return in his career . . . totaled 139 tackles and eight interceptions in his career . . . Lorain County’s first ever back-to-back 2,000-yard rusher . . . two-time All-Southwestern Conference and All-Lorain County . . . led Ohio Division I in rushing and scoring as a senior . . . Ohio North-South All-Star . . . All-Northeast Lakes as a senior . . . had career best 375 rushing yards . . . holds 14 school records . . . Personal: Son of Tom and Vickie Knipp . . . one brother and one sister . . . brother, Jake, plays football at Baldwin Wallace . . . born Dec. 4, 1987, in Lorain, Ohio . . . full name is Alexander Michael Knipp.
 MiQuale Lewis RB 5' 6" 185 Fort Wayne, IN Snider Russ Issacs
High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Russ Issacs . . . helped Snider to a 12-1 overall record as a senior . . . helped team to a fourth straight undefeated regular season and a sectional title in 2005 . . . helped Snider to a 2002 runner-up finish in the state playoffs, a semi-state runner-up finish in 2003 and a state championship runner-up finish in 2004 . . . all-conference and Bloomington Herald Top-33 as a senior . . . all-area as a senior . . . Indiana Football Coaches Association Top-50 . . . managed 4,286 rushing yards and 72 touchdowns in his career . . . tallied a 10.3 rushing yards per carry average in his career . . . also earned four letters in track and field in the sprints . . . member of the state championship 400-meter relay team as a junior . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Travis Arnold, John Purdy and Jakeem Gregory . . . Personal: Son of Micheal Underwood and Yvonne Lewis . . . one brother and one sister . . . born June 8, 1987, in Fort Wayne, Ind. . . . full name is MiQuale Maurice Lewis.
 John Purdy OL 6' 6" 360 Fort Wayne, IN Snider Russ Issacs
Graduated from Fort Wayne Snider H.S. in December and enrolled at Ball State in January . . . High School: Earned three letters in football for Coach Russ Issacs . . . helped Snider to a 12-1 overall record as a senior . . . helped team to a fourth straight undefeated regular season and a sectional title in 2005 . . . helped Snider to a 2002 runner-up finish in the state playoffs, a semi-state runner-up finish in 2003 and a state championship runner-up finish in 2004 . . . Bloomington Herald Top-33 as a senior . . . two-time all-conference . . . high school teammate of fellow signees Travis Arnold, Jakeem Gregory and MiQuale Lewis . . . also earned two letters in wrestling . . . Personal: Son of William Purdy and Teresa Purdy . . . two brothers . . . his uncle, Mike, ran track at Eastern Michigan . . . born Aug. 3, 1987, in Fort Wayne, Ind. . . . full name is John William Purdy.
 Kevin Steinhaus TE 6' 2" 235 Algonquin, IL Dundee Crown Mike Davis
High School: Earned two letters in football for Coach Mike Davis . . . tallied 1,004 yards passing and 400 yards receiving as a senior . . . threw for 11 touchdowns and rushed for three TDs as a senior . . . all-state second team as a senior . . . all-area and all-conference as a senior . . . named one of Tom Lemming’s Top-30 players in Illinois as a senior . . . captained Dundee Crown as a senior . . . also lettered three seasons in baseball and two in basketball . . . averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for a top-20 basketball team . . . batted .380 with three home runs and 30 runs-batted-in in baseball as a junior to earn all-conference and all-area honors . . . Personal: Son of Fred and Karen Steinhaus . . . two brothers . . . brother, Mike Steinhaus, will be a senior tight end on the Ball State football team in 2006 . . . born April 13, 1988, in Hoffman Estates, Ill. . . . full name is Kevin Zachary Steinhaus.
 Eulas Taylor WR 5' 11" 164 Tennille, GA Washington County Rick Tomberlin
High School: Played football for Coach Rick Tomberlin . . . helped team to a 7-4 record as a senior . . . helped team to a state runner-up finish in 2004 . . . managed 850 yards rushing, 950 yards passing and four interceptions as a senior . . . tallied 1,850 yards rushing, 1,950 yards passing and 14 interceptions in his career . . . high school teammate of fellow signee Lance Helton . . . Personal: Son of Eulas and Effie Taylor . . . one brother and one sister . . . born June 7, 1987, in Tennille, Ga. . . . full name is Eulas Jerell Taylor.
 Miles Trempe WR 6' 4" 205 Springfield, OH St. Paris Graham J.J. Ramsey
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach J.J. Ramsey . . . helped team to a 6-4 record as a senior and a 34-12 mark in his career . . . tallied 33 catches for 550 yards as a senior . . . four-time All-Central Buckeye Conference . . . three-time all-county . . . two-time All-Southwest Ohio Second Team . . . all-area as a senior . . . managed 110 receptions for 2,000 yards in his career . . . also lettered four years in basketball and four years in track . . . averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior . . . placed 10th in the state championships as a member of the 1600-meter relay team as a junior . . . Personal: Son of Michael and Maxine Trempe . . . three brothers . . . all three brothers competed in athletics in college . . . born April 27, 1987, in Springfield, Ohio . . . full name is Myles Patrick Trempe.
 Justin Woodward DE/LB 6' 3" 220 LaGrange, GA Troup County Thomas Walburn
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Thomas Walburn . . . helped team to a 7-4 record as a senior and a 32-14 mark in his career . . . tallied 144 total tackles with seven and a half sacks, 20 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries as a senior . . . all-state as a senior . . . All-Valley Times and all-county as a senior . . . managed 325 tackles with 21 sacks in his career . . . recorded the second highest tackle total in Troup County H.S. history . . . Personal: Son of Darnell and Janice Woodard . . . two brothers and two sisters . . . born Nov. 5, 1987, in Valley, Ala. . . . full name is Justin Deon Woodard.
 Kaylon Woods DE 6' 2" 250 Jacksonville, FL First Coast Marty Lee
High School: Earned four letters in football for Coach Marty Lee . . . helped team to a 7-4 record as a senior and a 26-16 mark in his career . . . managed 75 tackles and eight sacks as a senior . . . selected to play in the Senior Shrine Bowl . . . named First Coast’s Best Defensive Lineman as a senior . . . Personal: Son of Ronnie and Belinda Woods . . . one sister . . . born Sept. 6, 1987, in Charleston, S.C. . . . full name is Kaylon Rashaad Woods.

Copyright 2004-2008 GoBSU.com. All rights reserved.

This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of Ball State Sports information and is not affiliated with Ball State University, its student-athletes, coaches, or administration.