24 football players sign National Letters of Intent

February 8, 2010 —

The 2010 football recruiting class is filled with more than football players.

It’s filled with multisport athletes.

Head football coach Jim Collins wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We have a bunch of successful two- and three-sport athletes,” Collins said. “As a high school athlete, being involved and successful in multiple sports is important to us.”

Basketball, wrestling and track are among the other sports the recruits participated in at the high school level.

The 2010 class became official on Feb. 3 and includes 24 National Letters of Intent.

Twenty players are from Michigan while the remaining four are from Ohio.

As Collins and his staff began recruiting, they had particular needs to fill.

“Essentially, every year you need to address every position because you want superior depth across the board,” Collins said. “Specifically, we wanted to make sure we loaded up with dominating linemen and found a couple of impact quarterbacks for the future.”

Many recruits had stops that included Division I schools. Defensive lineman Esham Farha for example, had Central Michigan, Ball State, and Western Michigan pursuing him. Quarterback Jonathan Jennings was recruited by Cornell University, an Ivy League school, although he ultimately chose SVSU.

“At our level, if the majority of your recruits are not on the Division 1 radar you are going to be in tough shape,” Collins said. “Our job is to be there to catch them if they fall through the cracks or convince them that an SVSU education and playing experience is better for them.”

Collins is heading into his third season as with the Cardinals. In his first two seasons, SVSU compiled a 16-6 record. This past season, the Cardinals made the playoffs for the first time since 2005. He felt it was important to bring in players with winning backgrounds to continue the success.

“We have brought people in that know what it takes to compete for and win championships,” Collins said. “Having guys that know what that takes, and then having a few that are really hungry for that is what you are looking for.”

The Cardinals lost key players from last season’s playoff run, including two of the GLIAC’s top linebackers in seniors John Jacobs and Mike LeVand. Even with the addition of Laurence Brown and Ryan Williams to the linebacking corps, Collins isn’t sure how many of the newly signed class will make an impact right away.

“The 2009 class will be depended on to step up and fill holes next season,” Collins said. “This class will have time to gain experience and compete the following year.”

Lost in the excitement of signing a new recruiting class is the real reason the players choose to go to a particular university: to receive an education. Collins is confident this class will be able to build off the academic success it achieved in high school.

“What is really impressive is the academic credentials that this group possesses,” Collins said. “We have set the bar high both athletically and academically.”