MOUNT PLEASANT – The Iowa Wesleyan College football program welcomed 12 recruits to campus to sign letters of intent Thursday afternoon, as part of a ceremony and welcome built around the national college football signing day.
Recruits from the tri-state region of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri were joined also by signees from Florida and Georgia. The newest Tigers were introduced to and received warmly by an audience of IWC faculty, staff and students as well as families, community members and area media.
“Our coaches have done a great job of helping us in positioning ourselves to get to this moment,” said IWC Head Coach Kent Anderson. “National Signing Day is the biggest day of the offseason and we wanted to be a part of it.”
Among those signing on Thursday were three players from Southeast Iowa: Michael Overhulser (Wayland, Iowa) from WACO High School, Peyton Rupe (Ottumwa, Iowa) of Cardinal H.S. in Eldon, and Jeremy Schneden (Burlington, Iowa) of Burlington H.S.
Six from Illinois also signed on Thursday: Nate Black (Springfield, Ill.) from Lanphier H.S., Thomas Jackson (Jacksonville, Ill.) from Jacksonville High, Cole Carlock (Beardstown, Ill.) from Beardstown H.S., and Lance Mountain (Perry, Ill.) from Griggsville-Perry H.S. Also signing were a pair of recruits from Chicago, Taylor Simental from De La Salle H.S. and Bobby Hall, a transfer from the College of DuPage.
Rounding out the list of those signing with Iowa Wesleyan on Thursday were Zach Nixon (Pahoka, Mo.) from Clark County H.S., Jamarco Clark (Conley, Ga.) of Forest Park H.S. and Joseph Finnegan (Ocala, Fla.) from Lake Weir H.S.
“While recruiting we’ve had three priorities: good students, good citizens and good football players, in that order,” Anderson said. “When you look at the accolades of these kids, you’ll see some all-district, all-conference players who are used to winning. It’s a real good class, real good football players but also real good kids.”
Wesleyan also announced on Thursday its complete 2010 recruiting class to date, which includes a total of 32 players. The list includes players who signed prior to Thursday as well as several who enrolled at Iowa Wesleyan for the current spring semester. Half of the class is from Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, with California, Florida and Georgia also well-represented on the list.
“We have a lot of size, but also a lot of good skill from the local area,” Anderson said. “We really tried to make this a tri-state focused effort, you’ll see Iowa kids, Missouri kids, Illinois kids. Our core is Midwest kids, and they’re good kids. And the better quality people we get, the better quality program we’ll have going forward.”
IWC is coming off a 2-9 season in 2009. Anderson was hired to take over the program in December and is a native of Bloomfield, Iowa. The Tigers are scheduled to open their 2010 season on Sept. 4 against Coe College at home at Mapleleaf Community Stadium.
IWC Football 2010 Recruiting Class as of Feb. 4, 2010
J.P. Antosh (6-3, 195) QB San Diego, Calif. (Lackawanna JC)
Marc Ballatori (6-0, 170) WR Jupiter, Fla. (Jupiter Christian HS)
Nate Black (6-6, 340) OL Springfield, Ill. (Lanphier HS)
Suave’ Bolden (5-11, 225) DE Folkston, Ga. (Charlton County HS)
Robert Brooks (5-11, 160) DB Miami, Fla. (Coral Reef HS)
Cole Carlock (5-11, 155) Athl. Beardstown, Ill. (Beardstown HS)
Jamarco Clark (6-1, 185) DE/LB Conley, Ga. (Forest Park HS)
Joseph Finnegan (6-3, 173) QB Ocala, Fla. (Lake Weir HS)
Seth Frey (5-10, 175) DB Crown Point, Ind. (Lake Central HS)
Willie Gooden (5-8, 180) RB Chicago, Ill. (College of Dupage)
Warren Green (5-10, 180) DB Fairburn, Ga. (Creekside HS)
Bobby Hall (5-9, 205) LB Chicago, Ill. (College of DuPage)
Ridge Hobbs (6-2, 190) WR New London, Iowa (New London HS)
Ashley Hoffman (6-2, 310) OL Detroit, Mich.
Jacob Hupp (6-3, 275) DL Springfield, Ill. (Sacred Heart Griffin)
Thomas Jackson (5-11, 260) OL Jacksonville, Ill. (Jacksonville, Ill.)
Karl Andrew King (6-2, 270) OL Chula Vista, Calif. (Otay Ranch HS)
Drew Lashomb (6-3, 245) OL Franklin, Ga. (Heard County Comprehensive HS)
Shaeed Marshall (5-8, 165) RB San Diego, Calif. (San Pascual Academy)
Jordan Melindo (5-10, 265) OL Chula Vista, Calif. (Otay Ranch HS)
Lance Mountain (5-10, 175) DB Perry, Ill. (Griggsville-Perry HS)
Anthony Neely (5-11, 200) LB Memphis, Tenn. (Westwood HS)
Alex Nieves (6-0, 177) WR Ocala, Fla. (Pine Ridge HS)
Zach Nixon (6-5, 303) OL Kahoka, Mo. (Clark County HS)
Orlando Norman (5-9, 160) DB St. Louis, Mo. (Beaumont HS)
Michael Overhulser (6-2, 225) DE Wayland, Iowa (WACO HS)
Allen Pryor (6-0, 315) OL Chicago, Ill. (College of Dupage)
Payton Rupe (6-0, 170) K Ottumwa, Iowa (Cardinal of Eldon HS)
Jeremy Schneden (5-10, 185) RB/DB Burlington, Iowa (Burlington HS)
Taylor Simental (5-10, 170) DB Chicago, Ill. (De La Salle HS)
Isaac Valdez (5-8, 170) QB San Gabriel, Calif. (San Gabriel HS)
Jacob West (5-11, 210) DB St. Louis, Mo. (Rivers of Life Christian HS)
For more information regarding the IWC football program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics Web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
