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South Dakota School of Mines football program along with Hardrocker head coach Dan Kratzer is pleased to announce the signing of 13 additional recruits committed to playing ‘Rocker football for the 2007 campaign.
Kratzer along with the rest of the SDM football staff, have had a busy off-season, finding high quality football players across the nation to help boost the Hardrocker football program
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| Title | South Dakota School of Mines football program along with Hardrocker head coach Dan Kratzer is pleased to announce the signing of 13 additional recruits committed to playing ‘Rocker football for the 2007 campaign. Kratzer along with the rest of the SDM football staff, have had a busy off-season, finding high quality football players across the nation to help boost the Hardrocker football program |
| Identifier | Intercollegiate Athletics Collection\South Dakota School of Mines football program along with Hardrocker head coach Dan Kratzer is pleased to announce the signing of 13.pdf |
| Digitaization Specification | Master file format: 31505 bytes, application/pdf; Uncompressed, PDF, ; Checksum: 73be81d04330abc2264cd8bec3e53c0f; Adobe Photoshop CS3
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| Transcript | By Brad Blume Sports Information Director South Dakota School of Mines RAPID CITY --- The South Dakota School of Mines football program along with Hardrocker head coach Dan Kratzer is pleased to announce the signing of 13 additional recruits committed to playing ‘Rocker football for the 2007 campaign. Kratzer along with the rest of the SDM football staff, have had a busy off-season, finding high quality football players across the nation to help boost the Hardrocker football program. This batch of recruits come from a variety of backgrounds, locally hailing from South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona and also getting a good core from the West Coast including four from California while others came in from Alaska, Nevada and Washington. Locally, the Hardrockers found a real talent in Custer Wildcat Rich Knuppe. Knuppe was a standout at CHS his senior season as a wide receiver and defensive back. Knuppe is a two-time All Black Hills Conference selection as well as a Class 11A All State honoree. During his senior season, Knuppe led the team in interceptions (3), was first on the receiving list (17 catches for 285 yards), and second on the team in total tackles (36.5). He led the team in all purpose yards, racking up 829. He scored six touchdowns for Custer his senior year and was utilized quite a bit returning kickoffs and punts. "Rich is a young man that has a lot of athletic ability. He is an All State player and he reminds me a lot of Chad Westendorff (junior defensive back for SDM) when he came in as a freshman, " Kratzer said. "He's a good athlete that will certainly be able to compete at the college level. With his speed, he is capable of being in the secondary on defense or a receiver on offense." Another South Dakota recruit is Jared Dykstra from Lennox. Dykstra will bring some solidarity to the front line. Standing 6-foot-2inches and weighing 250 pounds, he could play both sides of the ball on the line. According to Kratzer, Dykstra fits the mold of a lineman and admires his work ethic on the field. "He is a hard worker who is intense and dependable on every down, " the coach added. Regionally, the Hardrockers found a pair of athletes out of North Dakota. The first is a transfer student from Williston State College named Andy Rogers. Rodgers is 6-0 and weighs 185 pounds. In 2004, during his high school career, he received North Dakota All Conference Honorable Mention for offense as well as defense. Rodgers has spent the last two years playing baseball for Williston State College. "Andy Rogers is an outstanding young athlete that has been out of football for a couple of seasons. If he comes into camp in top condition, he will be able to be a contributor to our program with his speed and strength. He will be a fine receiver with his good hands and good quickness, " Kratzer said. The other North Dakota recruit is Tyler Barth from Dickinson. Barth was a premier high school athlete and will look to be an impact player as he begins his college football career as a Hardrocker. Barth played on both sides of the ball for Dickinson Trinity High School --- as a linebacker on defense and quarterback for the offense. "Tyler was an outstanding leader and athlete for his football team in high school. He is going to be a great addition to the Hardrockers, " Kratzer said. "We are not certain as to (what position) he will play, but we are giving preference to the defense. He would make a good size defensive back and Tyler would fit in good at the strong safety or rover position." Another recruit at the regional level is Dustin Rougeau of Big Horn, Wyo. At 6-0 and 190 pounds, Rougeau will bring depth to the running back position. He could also help out at the defensive back position. Offensively, he had an outstanding senior season at Big Horn High School where he rushed for over 1, 000 yards. "Dustin's potential for the future is outstanding and we look forward to having him as a Hardrocker, " Kratzer said. The West Coast has been a hot spot for plucking quality athletes this off-season as the Hardrocker found four of the best ---- Eric Taylor (Fontana), Chris Carr Jr., (Santa Rosa), Greg Martinez (Mont Clair) and Joshua Jones (Long Beach). Taylor looks to be a promising wide receiver despite only playing the game a short time. He made an immediate impact in high school and looks to continue that trend under the guidance of coach Kratzer and the rest of the Hardrocker coaching staff. "Eric is one of the top skill players ever recruited here at Mines. He has only played football for one and a half years, so he is just starting to develop his skills. He is a tremendous athlete and I look for great things from him, " Kratzer said. Carr will be a tremendous help at the linebacker spot at 6-2, 220 pounds. He is an ideal middle linebacker for the Hardrocker scheme – a system that has produced an all conference player at that position for the past two seasons. In high school Chris was his league's defensive player of the year, named to the first team all conference, first team all region and all metro honorable mention. During his senior season, in 12 games played, Carr had 124 tackles (86 solo 4 sacks) and 1 interception returned for a touchdown and recording a safety. "Chris is going to be an outstanding fit for our defense. He has great intensity, quickness and strength to stop the run. He has the agility and speed to also be an able body in pass coverage, " Kratzer said. Never judge a book by its cover. Martinez proves that rule. Standing 5-5 and weighing 155 pounds, Martinez has played a lot of position in his football career, but has specialized at the linebacker position. His size has fooled a lot of opponents as the new Hardrocker recruit has been first team all league for the past three years as well as earned team MVP honors all four years of high school. After his senior year, Greg averaged 17 total tackles a game and was ranked 22nd in the nation for total tackles per game. Jones is another junior college transfer who also was apart of the Air Force Academy Div. I team a few years ago. Jones comes to South Dakota Mines from Santa Ana College. He stands 6-1 and weighs 230 pounds. During his senior season of his high school career Joshua rushed for 1020 yard. Also during his senior year he was named to the Sunset All League team and earned the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award. SDM also found a pair of recruits in Arizona – from the same high school --- in Dominick Ortiz (offensive lineman) and Joe Sanchez (quarterback). Both athletes spent their high school careers at Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz. Ortiz is a top of the line 4.0 student as well as an exceptional athlete. The 6-0 240 pound computer engineering major will compete for the center position for the Hardrockers and act as the short and long snapper. Sanchez was a two-year varsity letter winner and starter for the Highland Hawks. He helped his football team earn postseason playoff berths both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, Joe threw for 1, 100 yards and connected for eight touchdown passes, completed 80 of 140 passes and was also the punter for the Hawks. "Dominick is as quick and strong as any other lineman we have. He is really a special player and will be in the hunt to compete for the center position, " Kratzer said. "Joe Sanchez is a natural leader by example. He can run, throw and make quick decisions. His leadership at Highland High School should be strong carry over here at Mines. Joe is the kind of player that will give you nothing but his best. I look forward to working with him in August." The SDM staff also found a gem in Nevada recruit Everett Brill who will also be an impact player at the linebacker and running back positions. Brill is a 6-0, 220 pound gifted athlete, that in nine games played during his 2006 senior season, recorded 154 total tackles, which was a school record --- 99 of which were solo tackles, also a school record. "Everett Brill is one of the strongest recruits we have coming into camp. Everett is a 515 pound dead lifter and has the speed and quickness to be an outstanding linebacker in our system, " Kratzer said. "He has shown us great commitment and I believe he will be a leader on the field. Everett was also a very good running back in high school." From the way far north, the Hardrockers will employ the services of Anchorage Ak., recruit Paris Butler. A linebacker at 5-10 and 220 pounds, Butler is the definition of a defensive player, according to the Hardrocker coaching staff. "When we saw Paris on tape, we knew he was a defensive player that we wanted. He has a lot of strength and quickness and just a nose for football, " Kratzer said. "He could be a linebacker or a strong safety and he's even a good enough athlete to be a running back --- but his forte is defense." The Hardrockers are looking to add depth to every position --- including quarterback so they recruited an impressive athlete out of Vancouver, Wash., in Trevor Roberts. Roberts is a 6-2 player that is an upper tier athlete capable of playing any position he is put in. He's been on the offensive line, he's been a linebacker, but when he took the spot at quarterback, all of his natural ability really shined bright. "Trevor is a talented athlete. He filled in wherever (his team) needed him. He filled in at quarterback and just stayed there. We are excited to have him here in our program. He is a big, strong young man with a strong arm, " Kratzer said. The Hardrockers start fall camp in early August and first game will be at home Sept. 1 against Trinity Bible College. |
| Creator | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Intercollegiate Athletics; |
| Subject | Football -- South Dakota; |
| Local Subject | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
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| Digital Publisher | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Devereaux Library
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| Contributors | Blume, Brad |
| Date | 2007-05-15 |
| Type | Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Intercollegiate Athletics |
| Language | eng |
| Relation | Intercollegiate Athletics Collection |
| Rights | The work from which this copy was made did not include a formal copyright notice. This work may be protected by U. S. copyright law (Title 17, United States Code), which governs reproduction, distribution, public display, and other uses of protected works. Uses may be allowed with permission from the copyright holder, if the copyright on the work has expired, or if the use is fair use or within another legal exemption. The user of this work is responsible for compliance with the law. |
| Submitting Institution | Devereaux Library. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. |
| Date Digital | 2009 |
| CONTENTdm number | 5577 |
| CONTENTdm file name | 6557.pdf |
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