Wayne State College head football coach
Dan McLaughlin announced today that 19 student athletes have signed national letters of intent and/or tender agreements for athletic scholarship to attend Wayne State College and continue their football careers with the Wildcats. The 2015 recruiting class includes 17 high school signings and two transfers. Eight of the high school signings are from Nebraska followed by five from Iowa and one each from Alaska, California, Minnesota and South Dakota.
"As I've always maintained, it takes about two years to accurately assess the quality of a recruiting class," commented WSC head coach
Dan McLaughlin. "Hopefully we have assessed the skills, capabilities and values of these young men accurately and time will tell."
McLaughlin added, "We addressed needs on the defensive line and secondary and signed play-makers at other positions who we expect to contribute in a big way to the future success of Wildcat football. I would like to thank our assistant coaches, who have done a tremendous job identifying, evaluating, communicating with and sealing the deal with so many fine young-student athletes. Recruiting Coordinator
Mike Aldrich was tremendous with his efforts in coordinating and executing our recruiting plan."
Defensively, WSC signed four defensive ends, three linebackers, three defensive backs and two defensive linemen. On the offensive side, the Wildcats secured three wide receivers along with one quarterback, one running back, one tight end and one offensive lineman.
Wayne State College is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Wildcats finished the 2014 season with a 5-6 overall record, tied for fourth in the NSIC South with a 3-4 divisional mark.
Nebraska signees (8)
Michael Blankenfeld Tight End 6-3, 220 Omaha, Nebraska (Burke HS)Blankenfeld earned All-Metro Conference Second Team honors as a tight end/defensive end during his senior season at Burke High School…credited with seven sacks and 30 tackles while averaging 16.7 yards per catch at tight end with two touchdowns…was also named Class A All-State honorable mention.
Andrew Combs Defensive Back 5-10, 155 Omaha, Nebraska (Westside HS)Combs was a three year starter at Westside High School…helped team to Class A state runner up finish in 2013 as a junior and a 5-4 record during senior season in 2014.
Louis deJaeger Defensive Line 6-0, 250 Battle Creek, Nebraska (Battle Creek HS)deJaeger is a two-time Class C-2 First Team All-State selection on defense and was named Most Valuable Player on defense as a junior and senior…recorded 38 tackles during senior season, helping Braves to 11-1 record and Class C-2 semi-finals…credited with 50 tackles during junior season, also helping Battle Creek to Class C-2 semifinals…as a wrestler, set single season school record for pins with 36.
Kolbie Foster Linebacker 6-3, 185 Omaha, Nebraska (Central HS)Foster is a football and wrestling standout at Omaha Central High School…was a three year starter in football and four year starter in wrestling…earned First Team All-District and All-Metro Conference honors in football…in wrestling, Foster is a three-time state qualifier and has won District and Metro Conference championships…as a junior at 182 pounds, placed third in Class A State Wrestling with a 41-7 record.
Zac Glidden Wide Receiver 6-4, 200 Albion, Nebraska (Boone Central HS)Glidden was a standout wide receiver and defensive back on Boone Central's Class C-1 State Championship team this season…earned Class C-1 First Team All-State Defense honors from the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star while helping Cardinals to unbeaten 13-0 season…on defense, led the team in solo tackles with 44 (54.5 total) while recording four interceptions, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries…was a big-play receiver with 20 catches for 482 yards and nine TD's and also had a punt return for a touchdown.
Jayle Hinkle Offensive/Defensive Line 6-1, 235 Ericson, Nebraska (Chambers Wheeler Central HS)Hinkle received Class D-2 First Team All-State Defense honors from the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star during senior season…was a four year starter in football and track and field and two year starter in basketball…holds the school record for career sacks with 35…was a First Team All-District selection as a junior and senior and also a state qualifier in track and field, holding the school record in the shot put at 49' 2".
Chase Hutchison Linebacker 5-11, 210 Norfolk, Nebraska (Norfolk HS)Hutchison was a three year starter in football at Norfolk High School…named Class A First Team All-State Defense by the Omaha World Herald and Second Team Super State Defense by the Lincoln Journal Star after recording 85 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss during senior season, helping Panthers to a 7-3 record and Class A playoff appearance…as a running back, gained 1,052 yards and scored 12 TD's averaging 5.7 yards per carry…named First Team All-Greater Nebraska Conference as a junior and senior and was Academic All-State and Academic All-Conference in football and soccer.
Tyler Thomsen Defensive End 6-2, 210 Fremont, Nebraska (Archbishop Bergan HS)Thomsen is a four year starter in football at Archbishop Bergan High School in Fremont…named First Team All-State Defense by the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star during senior season after notching 77 tackles with 8.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries, helping team to 8-3 record and quarterfinal round of Class C-2 playoffs…as a junior, credited with 48 tackles, seven sacks and three fumble recoveries…received All-Centennial Conference and All-District honors as a sophomore, junior and senior and was captain of the Fremont Tribune All-Area Defensive Team during senior season.
Iowa signees (5)
Aaron Bleil Quarterback 6-3, 190 Iowa City, Iowa (Iowa City West HS)Bleil was a two-year starter at quarterback for Iowa City West High School…during senior season, earned First Team All-District 7 and All-Conference honors after completing 188 of 334 passes for 2,377 yards and 19 touchdowns…also ran for five scores and completed a season-high 27 passes in one game.
Josh Hofstra Running Back 6-1, 175 Spirit Lake, Iowa (Spirit Lake HS)Hofstra is a two year starter and three year letter winner at Spirit Lake High School and played on three district championship football teams…earned First Team District 2A honors at running back as a junior and senior…ran for 727 yards and 12 TD's during senior season, averaging 7.3 yards per carry helping team to 11-1 record and the quarterfinals in the Iowa Class 2A playoffs…during junior season rushed for 882 yards on 146 carries and 10 touchdowns.
Jacob Protzman Defensive End 6-4, 220 Grimes, Iowa (Dallas Center-Grimes HS)Protzman was a two year starter in football…had 48 tackles with 11.5 sacks during senior season, helping team reach the third round of the Iowa Class 3A playoffs…was named Class 3A First Team All-State Defense by the Des Moines Register and Second Team All-State Defense by the Iowa Newspaper Association…invited to play in the Iowa Shrine Bowl Game this summer…was a two-time All-District selection and Academic All-District honoree.
Richard Stevenson Defensive End 6-3, 225 Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls HS)Stevenson was a two year starter at Cedar Falls High School…earned Iowa Class 4A First Team All-State honors from the Des Moines Register and was First Team All-District during senior season after ranking fourth on the team in tackles…made 27 solo and 40 39.5 total tackles with nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks…helped Cedar Falls HS to a 9-3 record as a senior and the second round of the Iowa Class 4A State Playoffs.
Sam Wegner Wide Receiver 6-1, 175 Manning, Iowa (IKM-Manning HS)Wegner is a multi sport standout at IKM-Manning High School starting four years in football, baseball and track and field and three years in basketball…as a senior, rushed for 1,727 yards on 187 carries (9.2 avg) and scored 25 TD's with 19 catches for 566 yards (29.8 avg.) and another seven TD's…was named Offensive District Player of the Year and was a First Team Class 1A All-State selection by the Des Moines Register…holds 13 school records that include 3,995 career rushing yards and 70 TD's…named First Team All-District running back three times and was a three-time state qualifier in track and field, three-time All Conference performer in basketball and three-time All-District selection in baseball.
Alaska signees (1)
Alain Devoe Linebacker 6-2, 230 Anchorage, Alaska (South Anchorage HS)Devoe is a three year starter at linebacker and tight end for South Anchorage High School in Alaska…was a First Team Class 4A Tight End in Alaska as a junior and senior while also collecting First Team All Cook Inlet Conference honors both seasons…on defense, had 82 tackles (54 solo) with four interceptions and two forced fumbles while being named Defensive Player of the Year and Mr. Football in Alaska, helping his team win the Alaska Class 4A Large School state title…at tight end, averaged 20.9 yards per catch with five TD's on 24 catches for 502 yards.
California signees (1)
Courtney Richardson Wide Receiver 6-1, 170 San Diego, California (Cathedral Catholic HS)Richardson was a two year starter for Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego…received All Eastern League Conference honors during senior season and was named All Eastern League Player of the Week twice…had 25 catches for 430 yards (17.2 avg.) with five TD's as a senior and averaged 18 yards per catch during junior season with 11 receptions for 198 yards and two TD's.
Minnesota signees (1)
Kory Fitch Defensive End 6-3, 215 Chanhassen, Minnesota (Chanhassen HS)Fitch earned All-Metro West Conference honors during senior season after recording 46 tackles with 4.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble…helped team win conference title as a senior and played on two Class 5A State Playoff teams in Minnesota.
South Dakota signees (1)
Ian Ailts Defensive Back 6-1, 185 Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Washington HS)Ailts had 37 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns during senior season for the Warriors to earn South Dakota Football Coaches Association Class 11AAA First Team All-State honors…was also named defensive MVP to go with All-Conference and All-City honors…Academic All-State selection.
Transfers (2)
Cameron Montgomery Safety 6-2, 205 Orlando, Florida (New Mexico Military Institute)Montgomery played the last two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute…was the team's fifth leading tackler last season with 24 tackles and had a 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Rakeem Williams Defensive Line 6-4, 255 Los Angeles, California (West Los Angeles College)Williams played the last two seasons at West Los Angeles College in California and will have two years of eligibility with the Wildcats…in high school was a three year starter at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles where Williams was an All-City Second Team selection.
