Wayne, Neb. — Wayne State College head football coach Dan McLaughlin announced today that 17 student athletes have signed national letters of intent and/or tender agreements for athletic scholarship to attend Wayne State College and continue their football careers with the Wildcats. The 2016 recruiting class includes 14 high school signings and three transfers. The 14 high school signings come from 10 different states.

Wayne State College will be announcing additional signings on Thursday as a number of expected signings were not able to get paperwork turned in today due to the snowstorm and other circumstances.

“This year we really focused on improving our overall team speed and athleticism,” said Coach McLaughlin. “Of course, you don’t really know until the kids get here and get out on the field, but we really feel good about the kids we are signing this year.”

McLaughlin added, “We wanted to bring in junior college help at each level of the defense and we did that signing a safety, linebacker and defensive tackle. We needed depth in the secondary and at receiver and we signed four wide receivers and five defensive backs who can all run. We added needed depth on the offensive line with six commits and five linebackers should help our special teams play. And perhaps our biggest commit/addition is Ethan Knudson, a kicker from Harlan, Iowa who is a tremendous kicker.”

“We signed kids from all over the country, so it shows just how hard this coaching staff worked to find and target kids that we wanted to add to our football team,” stated McLaughlin. “I cannot give them enough credit for all of the time and effort they have expended over the past few months to secure this great class of recruits.”
Wayne State College is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Wildcats finished the 2015 season with a 4-7 overall record.

Nebraska signees (1)
Tristan Mills Offensive Line 6-3, 230 Bellevue, Nebraska (Bellevue East HS)
Earned honorable mention All-Metro Conference honors as an offensive lineman during senior season…was a two year letter winner in football and started one season.

Iowa signees (3)
Odessa Clark Wide Receiver 6-1, 185 Sioux City, Iowa (Bishop Heelan HS)
Clark played wide receiver and linebacker for the Crusaders during senior season, helping Bishop Heelan High School to an 8-2 record and Class 3A playoff appearance…recorded 36 catches for 444 yards (12.3 avg.) with one TD while rushing for another 173 yards on 21 rushes (8.2 avg.) and two TD’s…added 48 tackles on defense with one sack and two tackles for loss as a senior…was a three year starter in football and track and field…served as co-captain on football team during senior season and as a junior in track and field qualified for the Drake Relays in the long jump.

Marquise Jones Offensive Line 6-3, 340 Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls HS)
Earned All-Metro and All-District honors during senior season as an offensive lineman at Cedar Falls High School, helping team to a 6-4 record and first round of Iowa Class 4A playoffs…was a two year starter, earning All-Metro honorable mention honors during junior season…as a junior was a Class 4A State Track Meet qualifier in the shot put.

Ethan Knudson Kicker/Punter 6-4, 175 Harlan, Iowa (Harlan HS)
Made 49 of 52 PAT kicks and 10 of 12 field goals during senior season to earn Iowa Newspaper Association Class 3A First Team All-State honors, helping Harlan to 8-2 record and Class 3A state playoff appearance…had 49 touchbacks on 73 kickoffs as a senior while averaging 37.7 yards per punt…also named First Team All-District during senior season and selected to play in the Iowa Shrine Bowl Game…finished high school career making 139 of 149 PAT kicks and 18 of 24 field goals with 76 career touchbacks on kickoffs…career long field goal was 45 yards during senior season…is a two year starter in basketball and three year starter in soccer at Harlan High School…also excels in the classroom earning Academic All-District and All-State honors.

South Dakota signees (2)
Jamal Albousafi Wide Receiver 6-2, 180 Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Roosevelt HS)
Earned All-City honors at wide receiver for the Rough Riders during senior season, helping team to Class 11AAA state championship game the last two seasons…had 35 catches for 650 yards and nine TD’s as a receiver…is a three year starter in basketball and four year starter in track and field, placing eighth in Class AA High Jump as a junior in 2015.

Mitch Hansen Quarterback 6-0, 210 Madison, South Dakota (Madison HS)
Hansen helped the Bulldogs win the school’s first state title last fall as a senior, going 12-0 to win the Class 11A title in South Dakota…named to the Argus Leader Elite 45 and South Dakota Football Coaches Association 11A All-State Team after completing 107 of 191 passes for 2,073 yards and 22 TD’s while rushing for another 537 yards during senior season…finished career completing 230 of 396 passes (58%) for 3,960 yards and 41 TD’s to go with 1,552 yards rushing…named All-Dakota 12 Conference, SDFCA All-State and Argus Leader Elite 45 during junior season as well and was an All-Conference and All-State baseball selection last summer…helped Madison to Class 11A state runner-up finishes as a sophomore and junior in football.

Other signings (8)
Michael Bentley Defensive Line 6-1, 275 Atlanta, Georgia (Early College HS)
Was a three year starter at Carver Early College High School in Atlanta, Georgia…earned First Team All-Region 6 honors as an offensive lineman during senior season, averaging four pancakes per game…also averaged four tackles per game on defense.

Jordan Lampkin Linebacker 6-0, 230 Las Vegas, Nevada (Sierra Vista HS)
Was a two year starter and three year letter winner at Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas, Nevada…earned Second Team All-Sunset Conference honors at defensive lineman as a senior, recording 39 tackles in eight games with eight tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and one sack…named All-Sunset Conference honorable mention honors as a junior, helping team to Division 1A first round playoff victory and best record in school history.

Jordan Leake Fullback 6-1, 215 Burnsville, Minnesota (Burnsville HS)
Named All-District Class 6A and All-East Metro White District Conference honors during senior season…as a fullback, rushed for 315 yards and scored three TD’s and on defense recorded 62 tackles with 12 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble…also competed in Olympic weightlifting and track and field at Burnsville High School.

Troyante McConico Quarterback 6-3, 195 Pinole, California (Pinole Valley HS)
Was a three year starter in football at Pinole Valley High School in California…was an All-League First Team selection at quarterback and named Offensive Player of the Year during senior season…as a dual threat quarterback, rushed for 1,332 yards on 267 carries (5.0/carry) with 24 TD’s while completing 113 of 192 passes for 1,575 yards and 12 touchdowns during senior season…as a junior, combined for 2,531 yards and 29 touchdowns (1,128 rushing and 1,403 passing).

Isaiah Otis Running Back 5-9, 180 Camarillo, California (Adolfo Camarillo HS)
Rushed for 1,520 yards (126.7/game) and added another 507 yards receiving with 29 combined touchdowns during senior season at Adolfo Camarillo High School in California…named All-Camino League First Team Offense, All-CIF Conference and All-CIF Southern Section First Team, helping team to a 15-1 record…averaged 7.7 yards per carry and 13.7 yards per catch during senior season.

Shaqualle Paddy Cornerback 6-3, 185 Kissimmee, Florida (Haines City HS)
Received honorable mention All-Polk County Conference honors while leading his team in tackles during senior season…played football, basketball and ran track and field at Haines City High School in Kissimmee, Florida.

Kevin Ransom Safety 6-0, 190 Port Allen, Louisiana (Port Allen HS)
Was a four year starter in football and three year starter in baseball at Port Allen High School in Louisiana…selected Second Team All 13-A District during senior season in football after recording 80 tackles and 12 pass breakups….received Second Team All-District honors the last two seasons in baseball with averages of .385 in 2015 (junior) and .365 in 2014 as a sophomore.

Willie Walton Wide Receiver 5-11, 180 Homewood, Illinois (St. Laurence HS)
Was a three year starter in football and basketball at St. Laurence High School in Illinois…set a single season receiving yards record during senior season with 63 catches for 1,028 yards and 11 TD’s, averaging 16.3 yards per catch…also averaged 23 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown and had 13 total TD’s…as a junior at Urban Prep West HS, accumulated 2,252 all-purpose yards with 1,184 yards rushing, 755 receiving and 29 total TD’s…received All-Conference honors in the Chicago Catholic League as a junior and senior and was named Newcomer of the Year in the Chicago Catholic League as a senior…was an All-Conference Academic honoree in football as a senior and received All-Conference honors in basketball as a junior.

Transfers (3)
Emeka Etta Outside Linebacker 6-0, 210 Pinole, California (Laney College)
Transferring to Wayne State from Laney College in Oakland, California…credited with 24 tackles in eight games during 2015 season with two sacks and five tackles for loss (11 yds).

Glenn Harris Safety 6-3, 195 Kansas City, Missouri (Chabot College)
Transferring to Wayne State from Chabot College in Hayward, California…played in seven games during 2015 season, helping team to a 9-3 record…had 18 tackles with one interception (25 yards), two breakups and one blocked kick.

Joe Rauseo Offensive Line 6-7, 290 Daytona Beach, Florida (Weber State)
Sat out last season with a leg injury…transferred to Wayne State from Division I Weber State where he saw action in eight games as an offensive lineman and special teams in 2013 season…in high school, earned All-State honors as a long snapper and First Team All-County at offensive line for Mainland High School.