NORMAL, Ill. - The 2014 Illinois State football season was one for the record books, but the page was turned towards the future on Wednesday, as ISU head coach Brock Spack and his staff announced the newest additions to the Redbird football team at a press conference held at the Kaufman Football Building on 2015 National Signing Day. A total of 22 student-athletes committed to the Redbirds to continue their collegiate and athletic careers at Illinois State.
Despite the Redbirds' deep run in the playoffs and appearance in the FCS National Championship game that cost Spack and his staff some crucial recruiting time, he felt that the class they put together will be a good one.
"The long playoff affected us both positively and negatively, but we will take that any year, and I think we have a great class in 2015," Spack stated. "We were able to get a lot of players to commit early before we even started the playoffs, which helped, but we had to scramble at the end to close out a few of the guys because we weren't able to get in their homes to see them like other schools did after the regular season ended. I think we will see the biggest effects in next year's class and we should see an uptick with that class."
The group of NLI signees includes 13 players from the state of Illinois, as well as players from Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, Kansas and Texas. The class is comprised of four versatile athletes, four defensive backs, three defensive linemen and three offensive linemen, two linebackers, quarterbacks and tight ends, one wide receiver and one running back.
In addition to the prep signees, the Redbirds added transfers Stephen Amoako (DB, Oregon), David Kenney (DL, Indiana) and Reggie Spearman (LB, Iowa) prior to the start of the spring semester, and each will be immediately eligible to play for the Redbirds next season. They have enrolled in classes and will take the field with their new teammates when spring practices commence in March.
Spack felt the depth of his team needed improvement at certain positions, necessitating several signees at certain positions.
"I think we addressed several depth issues and questions with this class and were able to add three transfers at the semester that will help us immediately," Spack said. "From that standpoint, our staff did a great a great job, particularly at the end holding onto these talented recruits. Recruiting the state and the Chicago area extremely hard has always been a priority for us and we were able to add some local kids as well this year. As with every year, we think this will be a great class, but we won't know for a couple years."
The Redbirds will take the field to begin spring practice in March, with the annual spring showcase set for Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m.
The day will end with the signing day party in the Hancock Stadium Club, beginning at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, however fans are urged to get there early as seating and appetizers will be limited.
For the complete release, including signee bios, click HERE
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown / High School | Highlights |
|---|
| Jawill Aldridge | ATH | 5-10 | 185 | Chicago, Ill. / Marist HS |  |
| Jeremy Bivens | ATH | 6-0 | 180 | Springfield, Ill. / Rochester HS | |
| Jamal Brown | DB | 6-0 | 185 | Chicago, Ill. / Phillips HS | |
| Tuvone Clark | LB | 6-2 | 205 | St. Louis, Mo. / McCluer South HS | |
| DeMarco Corbin | RB | 6-0 | 205 | Euless, Texas / Colleyville HS | |
| Steve Covington | DB | 6-1 | 175 | Peoria, Ill. / Notre Dame HS | |
| Willie Edwards | DB | 6-1 | 175 | Wichita, Kan. / East HS | |
| Jason Harris | DL | 6-5 | 215 | Barrington, Ill. / Barrington HS | |
| Jake Hendershot | TE/H | 6-2 | 230 | North Salem, Ind. / Tri-West HS | |
| Drew Himmelman | TE/OL | 6-8 | 230 | Geneseo, Ill. / Geneseo HS | |
| Bryce Jefferson | ATH | 5-10 | 190 | Wentzville, Mo. / Lutheran HS | |
| Decxavier Kelly-Martin | LB | 6-3 | 205 | Plainfield, Ill. / Nazareth Academy | |
| Luther Kirk | DB | 6-2 | 170 | Garland, Texas / Garland HS | |
| Michael Kolzow | WR | 6-2 | 175 | Naperville, Ill. / Central HS | |
| Aston Langley | DL | 6-1 | 280 | Pleasant Prairie, Wis. / Indian Trail HS | |
| LaCale London | DL | 6-4 | 270 | Peoria, Ill. / Peoria HS | |
| Erik Mikkelson | OL | 6-3 | 280 | Oswego, Ill. / Oswego HS | |
| Marc Miller | OL | 6-2 | 270 | Beverly Hills, Mich. / Brother Rice HS | |
| Hasan Muhammad-Rogers | QB | 5-11 | 170 | Calumet Park, Ill. / Richards HS | |
| Jared Rients | OL | 6-5 | 290 | Minonk, Ill. / Fieldcrest HS | |
| Josh Syromovsky | ATH | 6-2 | 200 | Brooklyn, Wis. / Oregon HS | |
| DeMarco Washington | QB | 6-3 | 205 | Peoria, Ill. / Notre Dame HS | |
