NT Daily -NT grabs 18

MeanGreen61 · February 2, 2006

NT football grabs 18 recruits

Linemen take majority of newcomers

By Michael Niglia

Staff Writer

February 02, 2006

The NT football team announced Wednesday the signing of 18 players for next season. Out of the 18, 14 are high school seniors while four are junior college transfers.

“We feel very excited about this recruiting class,” said NT head coach Darrell Dickey. “I think there’s still a lot of kids out there that want to be a part of it [Mean Green football.]”

Ten out of the 14 high school recruits are listed as linemen, with three offensive linemen and eight defensive linemen.

The two offensive linemen that signed were Kelvin Drake of Galveston Ball High School and Nick Foster of Allen. Drake made the first team all-district last season and measures in at 6 feet 2 inches tall, 300 pounds. Foster is 6 feet 3 inches, 340 pounds and was also named first team all-district.

Trent Stanley is 6 feet 2 inches, 290-pound offensive lineman from Coffeyville Community College, and he was voted second best offensive lineman in his conference last season.

Perhaps the most impressive defensive lineman of the group is Tim Patton of Tulsa East Central who was named to the Class 5A All-State team.

Dickey said that Kail Krider, 6 feet 3 inches, 245-pound linebacker, should also be an important addition.

“If he can gain a little bit more weight, he may be a heck of a defensive end or defensive tackle.” Dickey said. “We like everything about him.”

Dickey also mentioned the possibility of the linemen making an immediate impact.

“They already have the size necessary, it’s just if they can handle the physical part of the game and adjust to the system,” he said. “We recruited them and try to play them as soon as they’re ready.”

Two tight ends also signed National Letters of Intent; one is a junior college transfer while the other will be a true freshman. Brian Carlson was known as a blocking tight end at Kilgore College and isn’t very experienced at tight end. He has a small possibility of playing defensive line next season. Bryant Seidle from Cy-Fair High School is also known more as a blocking tight end, and was twice named to the first team all-district squad.

The Mean Green also signed two defensive backs, one high school graduate and one junior college transfer. Robert Gordon graduated last season from Ardmore High School in Oklahoma, was voted best defensive back in his district, and finished with five interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

Roy Loren, 6 feet 2 inches, 205-pound defensive back, also played for Coffeyville, who held opponents to an average of 143 passing yards per game. Dickey said that he has a chance to start next season.

“We like his ability, his speed, his size and the fact that he has experience,” he said.

Craig Robertson of Stafford High School was recruited to play either linebacker or safety. He was named to his district’s first-team defense and finished last season with 101 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles. Dickey said his position depends on his development.

Chris Neal from Kaufman High School is listed as an athlete. He rushed for over 800 yards last season and was named to the second team all-state as a kick returner.

Finally, the player that may receive the most talk out of the recruits is quarterback/athlete Woody Wilson.

“He’s going to get a serious look in the spring,” Dickey said. “We recruited him to play quarterback. We need a little more experience at that position and a little more competition at that position.”

The 2006 recruiting class has the possibility of providing depth for both lines on a team where the line failed last season, while adding a new name to the mix of quarterbacks.

“We’re very pleased,” Dickey said. “You’ll never know how the overall class is until three or four years down the road, but we feel like we may have one of our better classes.”