March 15, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head football coach Denver Johnson increased his 2007 recruiting class to 17, after Romunn "Ro" Grigsby and Joe Doyle each signed National Letters of Intent to attend Illinois State University in the fall. Grigsby, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver, will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Redbirds, while Doyle (6-foot-2, 230-pounds) is a sophomore long-snapper.
Last season, Grigsby played at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, after starting his collegiate career at Kansas State. With the Cardinals, Grigsby played in seven games and posted 11 catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
"Ro is a guy that we've known about for a long time," Johnson said. "He was certainly an outstanding prospect coming out of high school. He has size, speed and ball skills, and we think he is going to be a great addition to our program."
At Kansas State, Grigsby played in two games during the 2005 season and had one catch on the year for 10 yards against North Texas. He redshirted during the 2004 season with the Wildcats. As a prep, Grigsby was rated as a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. A two-year starter at Northmont High School in Dayton, Ohio, Grigsby earned first team all-state honors from both The Associated Press and OhioPrepScene.com in 2003.
A Prepstar All-Midwest region selection, he was also a first team all-area selection and a first team Greater Western Ohio Conference choice. Grigsby finished his senior season with 67 receptions for 1,244 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Greater Western Ohio Conference in receiving yardage.
The MVP of the Ohio All-Star Classic after hauling in three touchdown passes and leading the South to a 44-28 victory, Grigsby was also named MVP of the The Grange Insurance Ohio North-South All-Star game with five catches for 110 yards.
Doyle, from Wellington, Fla., will challenge for ISU's long-snapping duties with the graduation of Jake Weber. A product of Chris Sailer's kicking camp, Doyle transfers to Illinois State from Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif. He played with the Marauders for a season, after a redshirt year at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.
"Joe comes highly recommended from a deep-snapping guru," Johnson said. "He has (snapped) in junior college, so we have been able to see him in games and do it extremely well. We think he is a very talented snapper and that is such a critical part of a football team. We had an opportunity to bring Joe in and solidify that position."
