Stan Brock Announces 2008 Football Recruiting Class

June 30, 2008 | Football

WEST POINT, N.Y. Army head coach Stan Brock welcomed the newest members of the Black Knights' football program into the fold on Monday as he announced his club's 2008 recruiting class.

Thirty recently graduated high school student-athletes and 31 others that attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School last year help comprise the football-playing members of West Point's Class of 2012 that arrived at the Military Academy for Reception Day activities.

"R-Day is always a very exciting time for those associated with the football program," Brock explained. "In general, we are very proud of this recruiting class. We have a great group of young men coming up from the prep school and the players coming in directly from high school are special.

"I believe several members of this class will have an immediate impact. Some will add depth to our program and others will play right away. A lot of people have heard about Paul McIntosh, who was Mr. Football' in the state Indiana last year. He has great upside at the quarterback position, and we are expecting great things from him. Defensively, we'll probably see Cory Laufasa and Steve Erzinger help out immediately at linebacker. Those guys will add some depth. We also have a group of defensive players from the prep school Andre Shinda at defensive back, Jason Rothamel and Derek Eling at defensive end, and Brogan Carnes at linebacker that could help immediately. We would expect some of them to see playing time this fall."

The group of signees includes 35 offensive standouts, 21 defensive players and five specialists. Heading the positional breakdown is offensive line where Brock and his staff injected 11 newcomers, followed by linebacker (9), quarterback (9), defensive line (7), defensive back (5), wide receiver (5), specialists (5) and fullback (4).

Twenty-eight different states are represented in the class. Texas, a longtime recruiting bastion for the Army football program, leads the way with nine Army newcomers, followed by California with six and Florida with five. Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia boast four new Black Knights each, while New Hampshire and New York feature three apiece.

"I believe the strength of this class is in its overall depth," Brock added. "We are bringing in a lot of quality individuals at almost every position and that will help fortify our football team across the board. We're very excited about the young men joining our program."

Also included in Army's Class of 2012 is Taylor Hall, son of the Black Knights' former record-setting quarterback Leamon Hall; Robert Kava, a native of Pago Pago, American Somoa and brother of current Army defensive lineman David Kava; John King, brother of current Black Knight defensive back Richard King; and Davyd Brooks, a native of nearby Newburgh, N.Y., and a graduate of Newburgh Free Academy. Brooks, a 6-3 wide receiver, spent last season at the USMA Prep School.

Army opens its 119th season of intercollegiate competition on Friday, Aug. 29 when the Black Knights host Temple at 7 p.m. on "Back to School Night." The first 5,000 fans (ages 14 and under) entering Michie Stadium that night will receive a special Army Football-themed lunch box. Army's undefeated 1958 football team that captured the Lambert Trophy will also be honored at halftime, as the Army Athletic Association commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Academy's last unbeaten squad.  The game will be televised nationally by ESPN Classic and will mark the advent of a season-opening three-game homestand for the Black Knights.

Full season, mini-plan and single-game tickets for all Army home contests are currently on sale at the Army Ticket Office, by phone at 1-877-TIX-ARMY or online by clicking here. Full season ticket packages in a special section dubbed "Brock's Brigade," begin at just $99 for lower-deck seating locations in Michie Stadium. Fans purchasing tickets in that section also receive a special "Brock's Brigade" T-shirt.

Army Football Class of 2012

Name	Cl.	Pos.	Hgt.	Wgt.	Hometown/High School
Antuan Aaron	Fr.	CB	5-9	192	Dallas, Texas/Crandall (USMAPS)
DC Adamic	Fr.	K	5-11	240	Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser (USMAPS)
Jake Arbanas	Fr.	TE	6-3	205	Leawood, Kan./Rockhurst
Matt Arent	Fr.	QB-P	6-3	216	Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro
Joe Bailey	Fr.	OT	6-2	250	Marietta, Ga./Marist School
Tom Balough	Fr.	K	5-10	170	Rolling Hills Estates, Calif./Chadwick
Austin Barr	Fr.	WR	6-4	190	Lake Oswego, Ore./Jesuit (USMAPS)
Tanner Boucher	Fr.	QB	6-4	220	Keene, N.H./Keene
Sean Boyle	Fr.	WR	6-0	180	Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth (USMAPS)
Davyd Brooks	Fr.	WR	6-3	205	Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy (USMAPS)
Stephen Brown	Fr.	OL	6-4	275	Houston, Texas/Klein Forest (USMAPS)
Jeff Caraccio	Fr.	P	6-0	145	Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North (USMAPS)
Alex Carlton	Fr.	K	6-0	170	Wilmington, Del./Newark
Broghan Carnes	Fr.	LB	6-2	240	St. Petersburgh, Fla./Shorecrest Prep (USMAPS)
Jon Cohen	Fr.	DE	6-4	220	Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield
Bruce Compton	Fr.	TE	6-6	225	Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City (USMAPS)
Jean Pierre Cooper	Fr.	DB	5-11	180	Papillion, Neb./Papillion-LaVista (USMAPS)
Chris Daniels	Fr.	QB	6-1	209	Cannonsburg, Pa./Barbers Hill
Matt Dillon	Fr.	OT	6-3	290	Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell
Derek Eling	Fr.	DE	6-2	262	Seminole, Fla./Seminole (USMAPS)
Steve Erzinger	Fr.	LB	6-1	215	Houston, Texas/Lamar
Jack Finan	Fr.	LB	6-1	195	Hinsdale, Ill./Fenwick (USMAPS)
George Fletcher	Fr.	RB	5-9	188	West Covina, Calif./Bishop Amat (USMAPS)
David Ford	Fr.	LB	6-1	225	Canyon Lake, Calif./Antonian College Prep
Johnny Franco IV	Fr.	DB	5-8	170	Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone
Taylor Hall	Fr.	QB	6-0	180	Alpharetta, Ga./Legacy Christian Academy (Texas)
Chris Hardee	Fr.	DE	6-5	250	Pacific Grove, Calif./Pacific Grove (USMAPS)
Patrick Hastings	Fr.	OL	6-2	220	Orland Hills, Ill./Leg. Chr. Academy (Texas) (USMAPS)
Daniel Hinkson	Fr.	QB	6-1	185	Irvine, Calif./Irvine (USMAPS)
Max Jenkins	Fr.	QB	6-2	197	Houston, Texas/Langham Creek
Josh Jones	Fr.	QB	6-1	190	Baytown, Texas/Robert E. Lee
Eric Jones	Fr.	DB	5-11	189	Springdale, Ark./Springdale
Robert Kava	Fr.	LB-DE	6-0	237	Pago Pago, American Samoa/Tafuna
Jay Kazen	Fr.	DT	6-2	250	Boerne, Texas/Boerne
Brad Kelly	Fr.	TE	6-4	210	Exeter, N.H./Exeter Area
Chris Kenny	Fr.	OL	6-2	275	Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland (USMAPS)
John King	Fr.	FB	6-0	220	Houston, Texas/Klein Forest (USMAPS)
Zak Lankford	Fr.	OL	6-4	260	Vinita, Okla./Vinita (USMAPS)
Corey Laufasa	Fr.	LB	6-0	225	Seattle, Wash./Evergreen
Chad Littlejohn	Fr.	FB	6-0	234	Houston, Texas/Deer Park
Jeremy Maness	Fr.	OL	6-3	250	Norcross, Ga./Berkmar (USMAPS)
Mike McDermott	Fr.	OL	6-7	245	Stewartsville, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.)
Doug McFarland	Fr.	OL	6-0	267	Kansas City, Mo./Rockhurst
Paul McIntosh	Fr.	QB	6-2	195	Evansville, Ind./Francis J. Reitz
Michael Meier	Fr.	FB	6-0	207	Chantilly, Va./Robinson Sec. School (USMAPS)
Jordan Pleasants	Fr.	OL	6-2	300	Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson (USMAPS)
Joe Poropatic	Fr.	LB	6-1	225	Sharpsburg, Ga./Northgate
Bill Prosko	Fr.	LB	6-2	210	Hanoverton, Ohio/United
Jimmy Reitter	Fr.	QB	6-0	175	Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke (USMAPS)
Andrew Rodriguez	Fr.	LB	6-3	215	Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton
Jason Rothamel	Fr.	DE	6-3	266	Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge (USMAPS)
Justin Schaaf	Fr.	FB	5-11	225	Erie, Pa./McDowell (USMAPS)
Andre Shinda	Fr.	DB	6-0	195	Fontana, Calif./A.B. Miller (USMAPS)
Christopher Swain	Fr.	DT	6-3	240	Oswego, N.Y./Hannibal Central (USMAPS)
Kyle Sweetser	Fr.	DE	6-1	220	Mobile, Ala./Baker (USMAPS)
Daniel Tucker	Fr.	OL	6-3	260	Palmyra, Va./Fluvanna County
Justin Volk	Fr.	RB	6-0	205	Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius
Kolin Walk	Fr.	P	6-0	180	McPherson, Kan./McPherson
Robert Wells	Fr.	WR	6-2	190	Prairieville, La./Saint Amant (USMAPS)
CeDarius Williams	Fr.	RB	5-11	195	Cocoa, Fla./Merritt Island (USMAPS)
Samuel Zelinskas	Fr.	WR	6-0	180	Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Fort Walton Beach (USMAPS)