Defending NSIC Champion Bulldogs Announce 2012 Recruiting Class

Feb 1, 2012

Northland Sports Online

A talent-laden group of 19 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to attend and play football for the reigning four-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference champion University of Minnesota Duluth in 2012.

“All and all, we are extremely pleased with this recruiting class — it’s a high-quality and promising group of athletes,” said Bob Nielson, the 2010 American Football Coaches Association Division II National Coach of the Year who completed his ninth season with the Bulldogs last fall.

“I think our coaching staff once again did a tremendous job in identifying and addressing our future needs on offense, defense and special teams. We were successful in bringing the kids we had targeted at each of the various positions and that’s a testament to all of the hard work our staff put into our recruiting efforts.”

The 2012 UMD recruiting class, which is comprised of 11 incoming freshmen from Minnesota (including three from Eagan High School), six from Wisconsin, and one each from Iowa and Indiana is as follows:

Player – Position – Height – Weight – Hometown – (High School)

Beau Bates LB 6-0 215 Excelsior, Minn. (Minnetonka H.S.)

Drew Bauer QB 6-2 195 Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Eagan H.S.)

Caleb Belknap RB 6-0 205 Menasha, Wis. (Menasha H.S.)

Beau Bofferding WR 5-9 170 Marshall, Minn. (Marshall H.S.)

Matt Catton OL 6-4 250 Maple Grove, Minn. (Osseo H.S.)

Darion Fletcher DB 5-9 175 Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Simley H.S.)

Gavin Glenn QB 6-1 180 Adel, Iowa (Adel DeSoto Minburn H.S.)

Cameron Hehn OL 6-6 265 Waukesha, Wis. (Pewaukee H.S.)

Jake Lambrecht DL 6-4 215 Little Falls, Minn. (Little Falls H.S.)

Justin Laureys QB 6-1 180 Granger, Ind. (South Bend Clay H.S.)

Ben McDonald LB 6-1 210 Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi H.S.)

Lex Pelke WR/P 6-2 200 Menomonie, Wis. (Menomonie H.S.)

Connor Randall OL 6-4 295 Eagan, Minn. (Eagan H.S.)

David Runnoe OL 6-1 280 Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly H.S.)

Jacob Sass OL 6-6 240 Waseca, Minn. (Waseca H.S.)

Tyler Smrcina DB 5-11 180 Hudson, Wis. (Hudson H.S.)

Isaac Vesel DL 6-0 265 La Crescent, Minn. (La Crescent H.S.)

Eric Woodcock TE 6-4 235 Eagan, Minn. (Eagan H.S.)

Ben Young DB 6-1 195 Madison, Wis. (Edgewood H.S.)

UMD closed out its 79th season of intercollegiate football this past December with an 11-3 overall record while advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA II playoffs. Along the way, the 2010 national champion Bulldogs won a share of their fourth consecutive NSIC title (a program first) with an 8-2 mark and held down the No. 6 position in the final American Football Coaches Association Division II Poll.

In addition, four Bulldogs earned some kind of All-American distinction in 2011 (including junior offensive guard Garth Heikkinen, who was a first or second team pick on four different squads) and 15 received All-NSIC honors.

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