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FOOTBALL: July Recruiting Round-Up

By: Scott Burnstein, July 23, 2013, 12:00 am

The past two weeks has seen four of the states’ top prep football players find future homes at Division I college programs.

Birmingham Detroit Country Day running back Richie Wilson committed to Boston College, Clarkston running back Ian Eriksen committed to Eastern Michigan, Wyandotte Roosevelt linebacker Damon Singleton committed to Ball State and Farmington safety Josh Craven committed to Indiana State.

All four gridiron stars hail from winning programs at the prep level.

Country Day played for a Division 5 state title last November at Ford Field. Clarkston was undefeated in the regular season, capturing league and district championships before losing in regionals. Roosevelt advanced into the Division 2 final four and Farmington has made five straight playoff appearances and six in the last seven years.

Wilson and Eriksen were a pair of the most prolific rushers in the state last fall as juniors.

The shifty 5-foot-11, 175-pound Wilson rushed for 1,450 yards and 34 touchdowns. Eriksen, a speedy and powerful-between-the-tackles 5-foot-10, 185-pound freight-train of a runner, led Oakland County in rushing with 2,175 yards, while matching Wilson’s touchdown total with 34 trips across the goal line.

Both Wilson and Eriksen are part of ultra-talented returning squads in 2013, as Wilson is one of three BCS-bound offensive weapons at Country Day this year (Rutgers-commit and quarterback Tyler Wiegers and Michigan-commit and wide receiver Maurice Ways being the two others) and Eriksen is one of four Clarkston recruits to commit to Division I colleges (along with defensive linemen David Beedle and Nick Matich committing to Michigan State and Western Michigan, respectively, and cornerback Timmy Cason joining Matich in Kalamazoo with the Broncos) in the past month.

Singleton is a steal for Ball State at the linebacker position for Ball State. Fast and furious, whether against the run or the pass, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Singleton plays on the outside and broke heavy onto the college recruiting radar last fall on Roosevelt’s regional title-winning club, recording 65 tackles, six sacks, six forced-fumbles and six fumble recoveries.

Craven (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) is ball-hawk in the secondary and can line-up and be a difference-maker at either full or strong safety.