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2008 Football Signing Class
Offensive Player Notes
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Quarterbacks |
| With incumbent signal caller Ben Kisner, the school's all-time leading passer, entering his senior year, the Lions looked at a number of prep quarterbacks. The local product is Duchesne HS star Taylor Jasin, a good athlete who threw for 4,186 yards the last two seasons in the GAC North ... from the southwest part of the state, the Lions reached out to grab Nevada's Ronnie Herda, a player with tremendous junior film whose senior year was cut short by injury - he could be one of the biggest sleepers in the class ... tall and lanky, Lathrop's Dillon Stonum is an intriguing athlete (35" vertical, 4.6 40 during summer combine work) who is only going to get better and better as he gains more experience in LU's no-huddle spread offense. |
| Ronnie Herda |
Nevada, MO |
Nevada HS |
6'1 |
205 |
QB |
| Taylor Jasin |
St. Charles, MO |
Duchesne HS |
6'1 |
185 |
QB |
| Dillon Stonum |
Lathrop, MO |
Lathrop HS |
6'4 |
180 |
QB |
Tailbacks |
| The Lions could not
be more ecstatic with the addition
of the new tailback crew: if not
for some nagging senior injuries,
three of the four would probably
have been Div. I-A recruits. The
local guy is Zumwalt North's
Matt Espey,
a state wrestling champion who also
rushed for 2,206 yards and 25 TD's
as a senior ... another exciting
back who'll be joining the Lions
in the fall is LeMarien
Parson from Shreveport,
La. - his highlight clips on YouTube
have created a small cult following,
after he racked up over 1,500 yards
and 19 TD's in an injury-shortened
senior year ... over in the Kansas
City area, the Lions found one of
the Sunflower State's fastest athletes
in three-sport star J.D.
Steffen - a three-year
starter for the 2006 Class 6A state
champion Vikings, Steffen rushed
for over 3,200 yards in his career,
despite playing in only six games
as a senior; he also clocked a 10.7
100 meter and a 49.4 400 meter time
last spring in track ... one of
the most explosive backs in the
state of Missouri the last two seasons
has been Washington's Denodus
O'Bryant, who clocked a
10.7 100 (and a 22.1 200) this spring,
rolling up 1,227 yards and 17 TD's
in seven games this fall. |
| Matt Espey |
O'Fallon, MO |
Fort Zumwalt North HS |
5'6 |
170 |
TB |
| Denodus O'Bryant |
Washington, MO |
Washington HS |
5'9 |
180 |
TB |
| LeMarien Parson |
Shreveport, LA |
Green Oaks HS |
5'8 |
190 |
TB |
| J.D. Steffen |
Overland Park, KS |
Shawnee Mission West |
5'11 |
190 |
TB |
Wide
Receivers |
| The two headliners
in this outstanding group are 1st
team All-Staters Matt Angell,
out of Owensville, and Lathrop's
6'5" jumping jack Matt
Holt ... Angell posted
some serious numbers as a senior,
with 60 receptions, good for 1,387
yards and 21 TD's, and he is also
a threat as a return specialist
... Holt was one of the state's
top two-way players in 2007, also
earning All-State recognition as
a free safety ... a pair of receivers
with atlhletic ability similar to
Holt's are Myles Becquette
(2nd team All-State) from Festus,
and Charleston's Allen Hemphill
(3rd team All-State)
- both have the good height
LU coaches look for, and both should
provide explosiveness after they
catch the ball ... Hemphill led
the state in average yards per catch
at 27.4 ... Illinois native Zach
Thetard was a 1st team
All-State Class 5A selection at
his suburban Chicago school, and
was named the Walter Payton Roundhouse
Player of the Year ... Brock
Reed was a two-time first
team All-State Class 2 selection
at Palmyra, Mo., HS ... Blue Springs
product Andrew Lawrence,
Farmington's Doug Noble
and Shane Tackett
from Ft. Zumwalt South come from
good programs, and should be able
to compete early in their Lion career.
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| Matt Angell
|
Owensville,
MO |
Owensville
HS |
5'11 |
175 |
WR |
| Myles Becquette |
Festus, MO |
Festus HS |
6'3 |
175 |
WR |
| Allen Hemphill |
Charleston, MO |
Charleston HS |
6'3 |
195 |
WR |
| Matt Holt |
Lathrop, MO |
Lathrop HS |
6'5 |
200 |
WR |
| Andrew Lawrence |
Blue Springs, MO |
Blue Springs HS |
6'2 |
185 |
WR |
| Doug Noble |
Farmington, MO |
Farmington HS |
5'10 |
170 |
WR |
| Brock Reed |
Palmyra, MO |
Palmyra HS |
6'2 |
205 |
WR |
| Shane Tackett |
St. Peters, MO |
Ft. Zumwalt South HS |
6'3 |
185 |
WR |
| Zach Thetard |
Morris, IL |
Morris HS |
6'0 |
190 |
WR |
Offensive
Linemen |
| After signing a huge
class of 15 offensive linemen last
spring, the need for numbers was
not there this year along the offensive
front. Ross and his staff are very
happy, though, with the quality
of the Signing Day group ... Cabool
native Chance Iott
is big and strong, and showed great
leadership potential at LU's camp
last summer ... Hillsboro's Matt
Atley is one of the state's
top heavyweight wrestlers, and was
a 1st team All-MAFC selection on
both sides of the football ... another
future Lion who first caught the
eye of LU coaches at the summer
camp is Pattonville product Stephen
Franklin, a 2nd team All-Suburban
North selection as a senior ...
Farmington's Trevor Walker
was a 2nd team All-MAFC selection
at center ... another young Lion
with experience at center will be
California native Matt Andreolli,
whose father, Andy, coached LU mentor
Patrick Ross in high school ...
Granite City, Ill., product Wes
Hockaday will bring good
size and athleticism to the LU front
wall. |
| Matt Andreolli |
Simi Valley, CA |
Royal HS |
6'2 |
245 |
OL |
| Matt Atley
|
Hillsboro,
MO |
Hillsboro
HS |
6'2 |
260 |
OL |
| Stephen Franklin |
St. Ann , MO |
Pattonville HS |
6'3 |
275 |
OL |
| Wes Hockaday |
Granite City, IL |
Granite City HS |
6'3 |
270 |
OL |
| Chance Iott |
Cabool, MO |
Cabool HS |
6'3 |
285 |
OL |
| Trevor Walker |
Farmington, MO |
Farmington HS |
6'0 |
275 |
OL |
Athletes |
Hopefully, everyone in the recruiting class could be referred to as an "athlete", but these two future Lions are such a great mix of speed, athleticism and playmaking ability that the staff is going to wait and see where they're needed most in the fall ... lightning quick Fort Zumwalt West star Brett Gordon was a 1st team All-GAC North selection at running back after rushing for 892 yards, catching 23 passes, and averaging 35.9 yards per kickoff return ... Centralia product Dyson Dick will bring a unique blend of size and speed to the LU roster - he runs the 100, 200 and 400 in track, and returned punts while playing WR and CB for head coach Earle Bennett ... Dick was an All-State selection at two positions in high school, catching 70 passes the last two seasons. |
| Brett Gordon |
O'Fallon, MO |
Ft. Zumwalt West HS |
5'11 |
170 |
ATH |
| Dyson Dick |
Centralia, MO |
Centralia HS |
6'2 |
195 |
ATH |
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