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FOOTBALL RECRUITING: D2s from around the state start to heat up in the recruiting game
The state’s Division II college football ranks filled up with prep star-commits in the early portion of this week.
Between Sunday and Wednesday, five players committed to schools at the next level.
Grand Valley State continued its prospect pilfering, adding three more recruits to the ten it shored up last week.
Offensive lineman Tony Jazvac (Warren Cousino), all-around super-athlete Heath Hoogerhyde (Caledonia) and defensive lineman Keane Belcher (Grand Rapids Catholic Central) each committed to become Lakers, giving GVSU 13 current commits for its 2013 recruiting class.
Sturdily built at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, Jazvac was a three-year starter at Cousino and has the chance to be an anchor of the Lakers offensive line of the future.
Hoogerhyde (6-2, 215) was a two-way menace for Caledonia and a runaway all-state pick. Whether at running back, wide receiver, linebacker or in the secondary, he made tons of noise on the field. From his spot in the middle of the defense, Hoogerhyde registered 112 tackles and snared nine interceptions this year. On the offensive side of things, he combined for over 2,000 yards, 1,422 of them coming on the ground for a squad that made a run all the way into the state semifinals.
Belcher (6-foot-3, 270) is a fast and aggressive rush end, who tallied 77 tackles and eight sacks as a senior in the fall. Add him to Jake Slobin (Farmington Hills Harrison), committed to GVSU as of last week, and they form quite the incoming duo of punishing quarterback pursuers. Both Belcher and Slobin won state titles as sophomores in 2010.
Michigan Tech and Ferris State got in on the action, too. Traverse City Central offensive lineman Tyler Gildersleeve committed to Michigan Tech on Tuesday and Warren Mott linebacker Jack Steele committed to Ferris State on Wednesday.
A mammoth presence in the trenches at 6-foot-7, 295 pounds, Gildersleeve will line-up at tackle in college. Behind Gildersleeve’s powering of the offensive line, Traverse City Central quailed for the playoffs this year for the first time in seven seasons.
Steele (6-2, 200) was one of the top defensive players in Macomb County the past two years. As a junior he racked up 83 tackles and six sacks. During his senior year back in the fall, he made 92 tackles and had seven sacks.
