Army Coach Rich Ellerson ushered in 55 new recruits to his reconstruction project at West Point. Of the 55 plebes, 27 are straight out of high school while the other 28 spent last year at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School.
You won’t find the same five-star stand outs on a Florida or Alabama roster, but Ellerson is hoping to find those less heralded players in high school, which Army and Air Force have unearthed to build up their football programs.
One standout which Army fans can get excited about is 6-2, 270-pound center Shelby Jackson, who Ellerson foresees as a center of the future. Currently Army’s top two centers are seniors. Center is a vital position in the run- heavy option offense Ellerson is establishing at West Point — it’s essentially the quarterback of the offensive line.
Ellerson also expects 6-1, 200-pound running back Raymond Maples to contribute this year.
“He’s a slightly smaller Jared Hassin (Army’s starting fullback). He can play B-back (fullback) or A or C-back (slotback). He’s a guy that has some magic at that position,” Ellerson told the Times Herald-Record.
Unlike Florida and Alabama recruits, Army’s plebes must complete Beast Barracks, which is cadet basic training, before they can even considering strapping on a helmet. First summer practice starts on Aug. 2.
The list is below the jump so click on it and help our readership numbers.
| Name | Class | Position | Height |
Weight |
Hometown/High School |
| Davonte Anderson | Fr. | DB | 5-8 | 160 | Corona, Calif./Lutheran (USMAPS) |
| Lyle Beloney | Fr. | DB | 5-11 | 180 | Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes (USMAPS) |
| Casey Brewer | Fr. | LB | 6-2 | 210 | McAlpin, Fla./Lafayette (USMAPS) |
| Zachary Carrasco-Burge | Fr. | OT | 6-5 | 280 | Whittier, Calif./Servite (USMAPS) |
| Cameron Carter | Fr. | RB | 5-10 | 195 | Dakota Dunes, S.D./Dakota Valley |
| Jordan Crockett | Fr. | DB | 5-6 | 160 | Wesley Chapel, Fla./Berkeley Prep (USMAPS) |
| Julian Crockett | Fr. | RB | 5-8 | 168 | Wesley Chapel, Fla./Berkeley Prep (USMAPS) |
| Jonathan Crucitti | Fr. | DB | 5-11 | 185 | Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan |
| Tyler Dickson | Fr. | DB | 6-0 | 189 | Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington (USMAPS) |
| Kyle Dravis | Fr. | DB | 5-9 | 175 | Orange, Calif./Orange (USMAPS) |
| Alfred Fields | Fr. | LB | 6-0 | 195 | West Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast (USMAPS) |
| William Fisher | Fr. | K | 6-1 | 170 | Canfield, Ohio/Canfield |
| James Holland | Fr. | WR | 6-1 | 200 | Renton, Wash./Hazen |
| John Hughes | Fr. | WR | 6-1 | 165 | Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin (USMAPS) |
| Cody Jackson | Fr. | QB | 6-0 | 200 | San Lorenzo, Calif./Junipero Serra (USMAPS) |
| Shelby Jackson | Fr. | OL | 6-2 | 270 | Rockledge, Fla./Rockledge (USMAPS) |
| Scott Jones | Fr. | RB | 5-10 | 184 | St. Augustine, Fla./St. Joseph Academy |
| Shane Jones | Fr. | OL | 6-1 | 270 | Van Alstyne, Texas/Van Alstyne |
| Colin Joy | Fr. | OL | 6-3 | 230 | West Islip, N.Y./St. John Baptist |
| Ryan Kalnins | Fr. | DE | 6-1 | 210 | Watertown, Conn./Holy Cross |
| Quentin Kantaris | Fr. | DE | 6-2 | 205 | Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark |
| Clayton Keller | Fr. | LB | 6-2 | 220 | Lakeville, Conn./Salisbury School (USMAPS) |
| Michael Kime | Fr. | OL | 6-2 | 230 | Zionsville, Ind./Culver Academies |
| Robert Kough | Fr. | DE | 6-3 | 220 | Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Colony (USMAPS) |
| Patrick Laird | Fr. | WR | 6-3 | 195 | Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury |
| Matthew Luetjen | Fr. | QB | 6-1 | 205 | Hennessey, Okla./Hennessey |
| Raymond Maples | Fr. | RB | 6-1 | 200 | Philadelphia, Pa./West Philadelphia Catholic (USMAPS) |
| Ryan McCollum | Fr. | OLB | 6-1 | 224 | Cortland, Ohio/Kennedy |
| Jared McFarlin | Fr. | WR | 6-5 | 195 | Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury |
| Marcus McInerney | Fr. | RB | 5-11 | 190 | Stamford, Conn./Stamford (USMAPS) |
| Mitch McKearn | Fr. | DL | 6-3 | 215 | West Point, N.Y./O’Neill |
| Keegan Merrigan | Fr. | DE | 6-3 | 235 | Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton |
| Colby Miller | Fr. | LB | 6-1 | 205 | Phenix City, Ala./Smiths Station (USMAPS) |
| Dylan Mohamed | Fr. | WR | 5-10 | 175 | Brawley, Calif./Brawley Union |
| Reggie Nesbit | Fr. | QB | 6-2 | 190 | Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor |
| Brandon Porter | Fr. | DB | 5-7 | 160 | Laplace, La./John Curtis Christian (USMAPS) |
| Richard Rainey | Fr. | OL | 6-4 | 240 | Cedar Park, Texas/Vista Ridge |
| Zachary Reichert | Fr. | OL | 6-2 | 270 | Quincy, Ill./Quincy Notre Dame |
| Victor Ripley | Fr. | DE | 6-4 | 230 | Glen Allen, Va./Henrico |
| James Rutherford | Fr. | LB | 6-2 | 210 | Marietta, Ga./Kell (USMAPS) |
| Luke Shumacher | Fr. | WR | 6-3 | 170 | Indianapolis, Ind./Culver Academies |
| Michael Sikorski | Fr. | DT | 6-0 | 230 | Temecula, Calif./Chaparral (USMAPS) |
| Matthew Strack | Fr. | OL | 6-4 | 285 | Champaign, Ill./Centennial |
| John Szott | Fr. | OT | 6-3 | 265 | Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley |
| Hayden Tippett | Fr. | LB | 5-11 | 215 | Tempe, Ariz./McClintock |
| Charles Tobin | Fr. | DL | 6-3 | 225 | Hope Mills, N.C./South View |
| Justin Trimble | Fr. | WR | 6-0 | 185 | Ashburn, Va./O’Connell (USMAPS) |
| Earnest Tucker | Fr. | DB | 5-11 | 205 | Morganville, N.J./Marlboro (USMAPS) |
| James Tully | Fr. | LB | 6-1 | 205 | Park City, Utah/Battle Ground Academy (USMAPS) |
| Corey Watts | Fr. | LB | 5-11 | 220 | Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny (USMAPS) |
| Daniel Whitaker | Fr. | OT | 6-3 | 250 | San Ramon, Calif./California (USMAPS) |
| Scott Williams | Fr. | WR | 5-8 | 160 | Villa Park, Calif./Lutheran (USMAPS) |
| Zachary Williams | Fr. | QB | 5-11 | 210 | Van Alstyne, Texas/Melissa (USMAPS) |
| James Woodward | Fr. | WR | 6-4 | 185 | Anna, Ill./Anna-Jonesboro |
| Brian Zalneraitis | Fr. | OL | 6-2 | 220 | Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock |
3 Comments
Good Luck Keegan, both on the field and off, you will be a great leader for all.
Watch out Navy! There is a man from TN you’ll have to try to stop!
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