Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU Football Inks 17
2/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 4, 2004
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Speed and athleticism were two things that new Central Michigan University head football coach Brian Kelly and his staff went after in the recruiting class of 2004 announced today.
The Chippewas inked 17 players to national letters-of-intent, eight on offense and nine on defense.
"Anytime you recruit a class, the proof of how good it is will be determined down the road," Kelly said. "Even though we were a little late in getting into the recruiting, this is not a transition class. We added speed, athleticism and depth."
On the offensive side of the ball, the Chippewas inked one quarterback and one fullback along with two wide receivers and four offensive linemen. Defensively, the new class features four backs, one linebacker and four linemen.
Kelly's first recruiting chore as head coach was to get recommitments from the players who committed while Mike DeBord was the head coach.
"This is not a split class," Kelly said. "This is our class. We had to go back after these young men again. And, after that, we tried to fill in areas that still needed help."
The Chippewas signed seven from the state of Michigan and have given scholarships to two more state products who have been part of the program -- punter Tony Mikulec (Highland) and halfback Lance Gailliard (Detroit/Cass Tech).
"After the Michigan players, we branched out looking for speed and athleticism," Kelly said. "We always want to recruit Michigan first but we did sign some excellent players out-of-state, as well."
CMU ended up with five players from Georgia, one who has spent the past two seasons at Ranger (Texas) Junior College, while other players hail from Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, Louisiana and Florida.
Kelly looks for immediate help from his two junior college players -- free safety Pacino Horne (Grand Rapids CC) and defensive lineman Temirez Williams (Ranger).
"Ideally, we'll look for help right away from the junior college players," Kelly said. "Playing freshmen will sort itself out. Most of the time that will not be based on the skill level but how they handle things mentally."
Williams, a 6-1, 265-pounder, is already enrolled at CMU and will participate in spring ball as will incoming freshman Evan Brownie of Petoskey. The 6-3, 226-pound Brownie graduated a semester early from high school where he played fullback and linebacker.
Kelly is excited about the signing of 6-2, 215-pound quarterback Brian Brunner of Hubertus, Wis. He earned all-state honors twice at Hartford Union where he was a four-year starter.
"He's a great get for our program," Kelly said. "He's the son of a coach and completes a high percentage of his passes."
Brunner completed 128-of-193 passes as a senior for 1,744 yards and 17 touchdowns. Brian also rushed 69 times for 111 yards and 14 more TDs. He finished his career with 451 completions in 737 attempts for 5,616 yards and 67 scores.
The Chippewas inked a pair of rangy freshmen receivers in 6-2 Jonathan Lapsley (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and 6-4 Darren Martin (New Orleans, La.).
The offensive linemen joining the Chippewas are 6-5, 260-pound Mark Barbaglia (West Windsor, N.J.), 6-6, 277-pound Adam Benke (Stevensville), 6-5, 275-pound Andrew Cribbs (Muskegon) and 6-4, 260-pound Andrew Hartline (Stevensville).
On defense, joining Williams on the line will be a trio of freshmen in 6-3, 225-pound Christopher Boss (Sandersville, Ga.), 6-4, 260-pound Steve Friend (Grand Rapids) and 6-4, 240-pound Philip Telfer (Lake Worth, Fla.). The lone linebacker in the class is 6-3, 210-pound Antrione Archer of Tennille, Ga.
Help in the secondary will come from Horne and freshmen Raeshon Ball (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Vincent Hicks (Southfield) and Ronnie Jackson (Warner Robbins, Ga.).
Football Recruiting Class of 2004
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/Last School |
| Antrione Archer | OLB | 6-3 | 210 | Tennille, Ga./Washington County |
| Raeshon Ball | CB | 5-8 | 170 | Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson |
| Mark Barbaglia | OL | 6-5 | 260 | West Windsor, N.J./Plainsboro |
| Adam Benke | OL | 6-6 | 277 | Stevensville/Lakeshore |
| Evan Brownie | FB | 6-3 | 226 | Petoskey/Same |
| Christopher Boss | DE | 6-3 | 225 | Sandersville, Ga./Washington County |
| Brian Brunner | QB | 6-2 | 215 | Hubertus, Wis./Hartford Union |
| Andrew Cribbs | OL | 6-5 | 275 | Muskegon/Mona Shores |
| Steven Friend | DE | 6-4 | 260 | Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Northern |
| Andrew Hartline | OL | 6-4 | 260 | Baroda/Lakeshore |
| Vincent Hicks | CB | 5-10 | 170 | Southfield/Same |
| Pacino Horne | FS | 6-1 | 187 | Willow Run/Grand Rapids CC |
| Ronnie Jackson | CB | 5-10 | 165 | Warner Robbins, Ga./Windsor Academy |
| Jonathan Lapsley | WR | 6-2 | 195 | Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran |
| Darren Martin | WR | 6-4 | 177 | New Orleans, La./McDonogh 35 |
| Philip Telfer | DE | 6-4 | 250 | Lake Worth, Fla./Leonard |
| Temirez Williams | DT | 6-1 | 265 | Albany, Ga./Ranger JC |
