By Chad Courrier
Free Press
If you believe Jeff Jamrog - and there's no reason not to - this Minnesota State football recruiting class will help to build upon last season's success and bring the program to new levels of national notoriety in the future.
That remains to be seen, but there were some interesting stories to come out of the new pack of high schoolers who will be joining the squad in the fall.
Tony Aker, a receiver, from Brown Deer, Wis., is apparently talented enough that once the football season is done, he will join the basketball team. Though he is just 6-foot-3, he put on a dunk clinic during a workout at Minnesota State, and there's always room for an athletic wing on the basketball team.
According to Jamrog, Aker was the top receiver on the wish list of Nebraska-Omaha, as was running back Julian Phipps of Cretin-Derham Hall. So not only did the Mavericks pin the only conference loss on Nebraska-Omaha in the season finale, which probably kept Nebraska-Omaha out of the playoffs, the Mavericks are getting their rival's top recruits.
Ryan Fick, a quarterback from Davenport, Iowa, has good bloodlines. His dad was the quarterback and team MVP for the University of Iowa's 1974 team. The younger Fick led his to the state Class 4A championship last season with a 13-0 record. While Fick was being recruited by another NCC school, that coach told Fick that if he chose Minnesota State, he'd surely lose when the two teams played. Fick reportedly said, "bring it on."
Offensive lineman Nate Fehr had a scholarship offer from Wyoming that he turned down to come to Minnesota State. Jamrog said that if any kid from this recruiting class could end up playing professionally, he'd choose Fehr, who is already listed at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds and could someday easily approach 300.
Defensive end Austin Hayner, who played at Spring, Texas, wanted to attend a college in the Midwest. His dad played basketball at South Dakota State and his mom grew up in Brookings, S.D. Hayner visited South Dakota State the week before he came to Mankato, and things obviously clicked here.
One offensive lineman that the Mavericks weren't able to sign ended up getting a scholarship at Northern Iowa.
The Mavericks were able to use the staff's regional ties to get a couple of players away from rivals, such as two kids from Omaha, Neb., and three from Kansas City, Mo., which is less than a two-hour drive from Northwest Missouri State.
The Mavericks got two recruits from Cretin-Derham Hall, which is one of Minnesota's top programs, and another from Eden Prairie, which until two years ago had been untapped ground for Minnesota State. In fact, Jamrog said he told safety Blake Freese of Eden Prairie to tell his former teammate Walker Lee Ashley Jr., that if things don't work out at Southern California, there'd be a future scholarship waiting at Minnesota State.
Although if this recruiting class is as good as it appears, there's only going to be so much room for studs.
Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 344-6353 or e-mail him at ccourrier@ mankatofreepress.com
