The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (0) Comments
Busters football recruiting focuses on big linemen
Published 2/4/2010 in Sports
By MIKE KESSINGER
mkessinger@gctelegram.com
The focus of this year's recruiting class was to think big among the Garden City Community College football coaching staff.
If the first day of when high school seniors are allowed to sign their name to a national letter of intend is any indication, the Broncbuster coaching staff did just that. In fact, of the 24 signees head Garden City football coach Lucas Aslin released Wednesday from western Kansas, five of the recruits weigh 250 pounds or more, Another 10 of them weigh between 210 and 245. The Busters are coming off a 4-5 season and missed the Jayhawk Conference playoffs for the first time since the postseason format went to four teams in 2006.
"The main thing was we had to go out and get big kids," Aslin said. "We had to go out and sign some linemen. There were three or four guys in the west -- three in particular that they're linemen, tight end type players that we ended up getting."
Along with wanting to make bringing in as many big players as they could, Aslin was also looking for some athletic bigger players. He certainly found it in Southwestern Heights senior Cory Ryan, who at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, and was inked as a tight end, also plays basketball for the Mustangs.
"Next year if he gains some weight he might move in (to a lineman spot), " Aslin said of Ryan. "He's a very big kid, very athletic, so we'll have a bigger presence there this year. Then if you go along with some of the linemen we have back from last year, we get a lot bigger."
Aslin and his staff gave the western part of the state the most attention for Kansas recruiting. Aslin did not release every player's name the Broncbusters inked from Kansas, but there were just five who inked early Wednesday that are from within the state east of Hoisington. The Busters did sign just one from Garden City High School, as linebacker Mitch Bean added his name to the recruiting class. Bean, a 6-1, 225-pound, will be his high school's representative to play in this summer's Kansas Shrine Bowl in Pittsburg.
Along with Bean, GCCC received signed commitments from five recruits who went to a high school within The Telegram coverage area. Scott City linebacker Calvin Erven will play for the Busters with Hugoton lineman David Hawk and linebackers Angel Lopez and Keithan Martin. Erven and Hawk were members of the 2009 Telegram All-Area Top 11 team.
"We wanted to do like we've tried to do the last couple of years, just get the best guys out of the western half (of Kansas)," Aslin said. "Especially southwest Kansas. Last year I don't think there were as many good players in southwest Kansas, but this year there are. Last year there was (Liberal running back) Nate Davis who I felt was the best out here. Now, there's three or four guys."
The Busters signed six from Liberal, while also receiving a letter of intent from linemen Chris Villanueva (Sublette), Trevin Pfannenstiel (Meade) and James Callahan (Ashland) and Billy Stensland (Greensburg). GCCC landed five commitments from western Kansas who will be playing at a skill position. Jake Kissar, from Chase, may be one the Busters most interesting singees. A 5-10, 190-pound, tailback, who played eight-man, ran for 610 yards in a game during the fall. He broke a Kansas High School single-game rushing record.
Found 0 comment(s)!
Twitter Updates
