COUNCIL BLUFFS — In the short history of its program, Iowa Western has quickly developed a track record of turning talented, yet unrecruited, high school players into NCAA Division I prospects.
Marco Naughton and Cleo Harris hope they are the next to join that list.
The all-staters from Council Bluffs signed letters of intent with their hometown community college Wednesday, hoping to land the scholarship offers in the future that didn't come now.
"Taking this step, right here, is going to help me develop my skills better," Naughton said. "I'm going to be better this next year than I was in my senior year or junior year."
The 6-foot-2, 285-pound lineman from St. Albert was seemingly a hot commodity when he squatted 585 pounds prior to his senior season. The same could be said for the speedy 5-10 Harris, who ran for 1,455 yards and 17 touchdowns this past fall for Abraham Lincoln.
Iowa State had expressed an interest in both, and Naughton was asked to walk on at South Dakota State and Northern Iowa, but neither was offered a scholarship, which Harris hopes to change.
"A lot of schools started looking at me, and they had a lot of different options," he said. "Iowa Western is my best option right now to see if I could get bigger looks."
Harris and Naughton were all-state selections on offense by the Iowa Newspaper Association after their senior seasons. Both, however, feel their future is on defense at the next level.
A.L.'s Alex White joined that duo by signing with IWCC Wednesday as a walk-on. The Council Bluffs players headline another strong in-state recruiting class by the Reiver coaching staff.
"In-state is huge for us, to get the best players we can," IWCC coach Scott Strohmeier said. "But, more importantly, the ones we can get right here in our own town ... that's huge."
The Reivers have some holes to fill from a team that went 9-2 this past fall and finished the season ranked seventh nationally. IWCC lost four of its top six defensive backs and its top four linebackers. It also needs to build depth along the lines and at wide receiver.
Losing freshman starters Eric Simmons and Cory Morrissey, who didn't receive full-ride offers coming out of high school, to Iowa and Iowa State, respectively, also created vacancies.
"We have some guys in the program that are really going to have to step up," Strohmeier said. "And then we've signed a few linemen. We go through this all the time."
The Reivers will also be helped by an out-of-state recruiting class that includes both incoming freshmen and a number of transfers. Strohmeier said he's already gotten six former D-I players who were at New Mexico or West Virginia last season. IWCC also landed five players from the now-defunct Grand Rapids team that beat the Reivers in two close games this past fall.
Also Wednesday, IWCC freshman Stetzon Bair honored his verbal commitment by signing with Oregon. The 6-7, 265-pound brother of NFL rookie Brandon Bair of the Kansas City Chiefs is a 22-year-old defensive lineman who spent two years on a church mission before coming to Council Bluffs.
National Letters of Intent
Kai Wolfe, OL, 6-3, 285, Alma, Neb.; Jordan Lutjens, OL, 6-7, 300, Rock Valley, Iowa; Ashton Henderson, DT, 6-1, 320, Tulsa, Okla.; Barrington Morris, DE, 6-4, 230, Lauderhill, Fla.; Geronimo Allison, WR, 6-5, 175, Tampa, Fla.; Cleo Harris, CB, 5-10, 175, Council Bluffs; William Watson, CB, 5-11, 180, Tampa, Fla.; Bryan Thomas LB, 5-11, 190, McDounough, Ga.; Ryan Thomas, LB, 5-11, 190, McDounough, Ga.; Jesse Thompson, DE, 6-6, 255, Indianapolis; Austin Stephens, OL, 6-3, 275, Des Moines, Iowa; Nate Jensen, OL, 6-2, 270, Huxley, Iowa; DeAndre Herron, OL, 6-6, 315, Avon, Ind.; Dylan Stepleton, QB/DB, 6-2, 175, Tipton, Iowa; DeAdrian King, DE, 6-3, 245, Bettendorf, Iowa; Michael Means, WR, 6-3, 185, Liberty Township, Ohio; Marco Naughton, DT, 6-2, 290, Mineola, Iowa; Charles Webb, DB, 5-10, 185, Eden Prairie, Minn.; Tysen Streeter, DB, 5-11, 180, Newton, Iowa; Reid McDermott, LB, 6-0, 190, Newton, Iowa; Steve Meyer, LB, 6-2, 190, Oelwein, Iowa; Anthony Brown, LB, 5-11, 200, Iowa City, Iowa
Walk-Ons
CJ Manthe, DB, 5-11, 175, Madrid, Iowa; Drew Payne, WR, 6-0, 185, Cushing, Iowa; Ryan Langan, LB, 6-0, 200, Madrid, Iowa; Trent Simpson, LS, 6-0, 220, Des Moines; Cody Schindler, QB, 6-3, 190, Delhi, Iowa; Charles Rettey, LB, 6-3, 200, Spencer, Iowa; Craig Steverson, LB, 5-10, 205, Davenport, Iowa; Zack Fay, LB, 6-0, 195, Spencer, Iowa; Tylor Fine, WR, 6-4, 195, Red Oak, Iowa; Dixon Neslon, OL, 6-5, 285, Red Oak, Iowa; Zack Herrig, WR, 6-0, 175, Spirit Lake, Iowa; Connor Meis, LB, 6-3, 200, Treynor, Iowa; Alex White, WR, 5-11, 195, Abraham Lincoln, Council Bluffs; Deavon Richards, DE, 6-0, 240, Des Moines; Tyler Morrissey, OL, 5-11, 270, Ankeny, Iowa; Alex Heckman, DB, 6-0, 185, Clive, Iowa; Trenton Geer LB, 5-11, 210, Treynor, Iowa; Bryce Drager, OL, 6-3, 280, Sioux City, Iowa; DeQuon Smith, RB, 5-11, 190, Cincinnati; Nick Laughlin, LB, 5-11, 185, Imogene, Iowa; William Wright, OL, 6-2, 250, Marion, Iowa; Shayne Olson, DE, 6-2, 215, Northwood, Iowa; Mitchell Mosley, DT, 5-11, 230, Waterloo, Iowa; Nick Terpstra, DT, 6-0, 220, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Nick Shannon, LB, 6-0, 190, Independence, Iowa; Charles Davis, RB, 5-9, 180, Indianapolis; David Hernandez, RB, 5-9, 170, Hawarden, Iowa; Nate Erickson, WR, 5-11, 175, Hawarden, Iowa; Thomas Reece, LB, 5-11, 195, Forest City, Iowa; Max Mattias, OL, 6-4, 250, Denver, Iowa; Feteleni Sekona, DT, 6-1, 320, Honolulu; Justin Fisher, WR, 5-5, 150, Prairie City, Iowa; Paul Nash, DE, 6-4, 235, Marion, Iowa
Bearcats sign three Nebraska standouts
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Three Nebraska standouts were on the list of signees by Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday.
Offensive lineman Chase Sherman of Crete, wide receiver Michael Wickham of Bennington and rover Connor Wilson of Millard North signed with the Bearcats.
Northwest added nine players from Missouri, followed by five players from Iowa and Kansas., three from Nebraska, two from Illinois and one Texas.
"Recruiting quality student-athletes takes a great deal of time and effort," coach Adam Dorrel said. "I would like to recognize the effort of our coaching staff. We made it an emphasis to recruit young men with high character, solid academic records, and great athletic ability.''
Dorrel said 23 of the 26 recruits qualified for academic scholarships and averaged a 3.38 GPA with an average ACT score of 22.4.
Colby Bowers, Richmond (Mo.) HS, LS, 6-0, 230. Brock Behrndt, Lafayette (Mo.) HS, TE, 6-5, 240. Steven Butler Jr., Mesquite (Texas) HS, DB, 5-7, 160. Zach Callahan, Mill Valley (Kan.) HS, OL, 6-3, 270. Joshua Falk, Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy, DE, 6-5, 205. Chris Foster, Blue Valley (Kan.) HS, DE, 6-5, 220. Justin Fulks, Blue Valley (Kan.) HS, RB, 5-11, 175. Luke Guenther, Southeast Polk (Iowa) HS, OL, 6-6, 245. Zach Hilsabeck South Nodaway (Mo.) HS, OL, 6-7, 312. Phil Jackson II, Glenbard North (Ill.) HS, RB 6-0, 220. Carson Klocko, Norwalk (Iowa) HS, DB, 6-2, 185. Kyle Meyer, Morgan County (Mo.), OL, 6-3, 245. Dylan Morris, Lawson (Mo.) HS, OL, 6-5, 270. Trey Randle, Rockhurst (Mo.) HS, DT, 6-2, 275. TJ Schieber, Penney (Mo.) HS, TE, 6-3, 238. Chase Sherman, Crete, OL, 6-0, 270. Casey Sudhoff, Blue Springs South (Mo.) HS, LB 6-0, 220. DeAndre Thomas, Winnetonka (Mo.) HS, DB 6-2, 195. Ben Trewyn, Pleasant Valley (Iowa) HS, K, 5-11, 195. Jordan Van Roekel, Prairie City-Monroe (Iowa) HS, athlete, 6-3, 195. Jacob Vollstedt, Iowa City Regina, LB, 6-2, 225. Michael Wickham, Bennington, WR, 6-3, 190. Connor Wilson, Millard North, rover, 6-1, 205. Kyle Zimmerman, Blue Valley (Kan.) HS, QB, 6-1, 183. Committed to play: Quanzee Johnson, Bishop Miege (Kan.) HS, athlete, 5-9, 155. P.T. Mahoney, Belton (Mo.) HS, athlete, 6-5, 230. Transfers: David Tooley, Wyoming, WR, 6-5, 203. Brandon Dixon, Joliet Junior College, DB, 6-0, 195. Stacy Whitaker, Tarleton State, DB 6-2, 185. Adam Vanderpool, Southern Illinois, OL, 6-6, 275.
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