SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - - Notre Dame Football is pleased to announce the signing of 18 student-athletes to NAIA Letters of Intent to continue their football careers with the new NDC program, which kicks off this fall.
“This is a talented and balanced group we've brought in so far,” said Head Coach #Adam Howard#. “I'm happy with the quality of student we've been able to attract. Each person in this class has expressed a sincere passion for academics. I feel like in this initial stage of recruiting we've been able to attract some of the best students and players in northeast Ohio.”
The 18 players are: Kamal Abed (Westlake, Ohio), George Balut (Grove City, Ohio), Michael Booker (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Aaron Brown (Orwell, Ohio), Paul Brown (Amherst, Ohio), Matthew Bryan (Concord Township, Ohio), Brad Dumas (Bellevue, Ohio), Shane Friend (LaGrange, Ohio), Mitchell Hagg (Amherst, Ohio), John Hamilton (Macedonia, Ohio), Derrick Paster (Berea, Ohio), Nick Rogerson (North Ridgeville, Ohio), Trevor Smith (Bellevue, Ohio), Travis Stevenson (Canal Winchester, Ohio), Jonathon Stickradt (Newark, Ohio), Lawrence Tischler (Berea, Ohio), Logan Wright (Vermilion, Ohio) and Steven Yung (Aurora, Ohio).
All 18 are currently high school seniors and will be enrolling at Notre Dame in the fall. Falcon Football will begin play in the fall of 2009, with its first intercollegiate varsity season slated for 2010.
Kamal Abed is a senior at Westlake High School, where he has earned two letters in football and two in baseball. An offensive tackle, Abed was a First Team All-Southwestern Conference (SWC) performer as a junior, when he also served as a team captain for the Demons.
George Balut is a senior at Central Crossing High School (Grove City, Ohio). A 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive end, Balut was a three-year letter winner for the Comets and was a team captain as a senior.
Michael Booker will be coming to College Road from across state lines. Booker was a three-time all-conference honoree and a two-time 1,000-yard rusher at running back for the Eagles of Grand Rapids High School. The 5-foot-7 speedster racked up 3,452 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns in his four-year high school career.
Aaron Brown comes from Grand Valley High School (Orwell, Ohio), where he was a three-sport athlete (football, wrestling, track) for the Mustangs. An offensive and defensive lineman, Brown was named Second Team All-Chagrin Valley Conference as a junior and earned an Honorable Mention in the same league as a senior.
Paul Brown is a senior at Steele High School (Amherst, Ohio), where he was a three-year letterman for the Comets. Brown is a 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive lineman who earned first team honors on the All-SWC team, the All-Lorain County team and the All-Lorain Journal squad.
Matthew Bryan comes to the Falcon program from Lake Catholic High School (Mentor, Ohio), where he earned three letters for the Cougars as a two-way player and return specialist.
Brad Dumas is a senior at Bellevue High School, where he earned three letters in football, one in baseball and one in basketball. Dumas is a 5-foot-11 receiver who caught 43 passes for 533 yards as a senior (2008). He was named to the All-Northern Ohio League (NOL) team as both a receiver and linebacker.
Shane Friend is a North Ridgeville High School senior who played quarterback and safety for the Rangers. Friend was named First Team All- West Shore Conference (WSC) and First Team All-Lorain County in both his junior and senior seasons (2007, 2008). He was an All-Morning Journal first teamer as a senior. Friend also wrestled for the Rangers for four seasons, compiling a 119-33 career record.
Mitchell Hagg is a running back who earned four letters at Firelands High School (Amherst, Ohio). Hagg earned First Team All-WSC and First Team All-Lorain County honors as a senior for the Falcons (2008).
John Hamilton is a product of Nordonia High School (Macedonia, Ohio), where he piled up 2,299 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons. Hamilton served as a team captain for Head Coach Al Huge's Nordonia squad as a senior. He twice earned accolades as first team all-conference and all-district performer.
Derrick Paster comes to Notre Dame from Berea High School, where he was a three-year letterman. Paster was versatile at BHS, where he played quarterback and defensive back. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Paster had 2,700 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. The Braves' team captain was named First Team All-SWC at quarterback and First Team All-Ohio at defensive back.
Nick Rogerson is a senior at North Ridgeville High School, where he earned three letters in football among the eight total he earned at NRHS (basketball, track). Rogerson led the Rangers in pass receptions in both his junior and senior seasons (2007, 2008), when he earned consecutive First Team All-WSC honors.
Trevor Smith, like Dumas, also comes to the upstart Falcon program from Bellevue High School. Smith is an athlete who was a three-year starter for the Redmen on offense and defense. The 6-foot, 185-pounder led BHS in receiving (801) and rushing yards (479) as a senior when he was named an All-Ohio Division III first teamer at wide receiver. Smith also earned First Team All-NOL honors three straight years (2006-08) on defense.
Travis Stevenson is a senior at Canal Winchester High School, where he earned three letters in football for the Indians. Stevenson played quarterback at CWHS and was a Second Team All-Mid-State League selection as a senior.
Jonathon Stickradt comes to NDC out of the Newark High School program. At Newark, the all-around athlete played football and baseball and was a four-year letterman in swimming. Stickradt was an All-Ohio Capitol Conference Honorable Mention as a senior.
Lawrence Tischler is a senior at Berea High School. He split time at linebacker and running back for the Braves, and was a three-year varsity letter winner. Tischler was Berea's defensive MVP in both his junior and senior seasons (2007, 2008), and he made 30 consecutive starts over his three seasons as a Brave. For his career, he recorded a school-record 343 tackles. As a senior, Tischler had 126 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and three sacks. He also had 300 yards rushing and 112 receiving in 2008.
Logan Wright is a Vermilion High School product who played center and defensive end for the Sailors in three seasons. The 6-foot-2, 280-pounder closed out his VHS career by earning First Team All-WSC and First Team All-Lorain County honors as a senior. Wright was an All-WSC second teamer in his first two seasons (2006, 2007) for the Sailors.
Steve Yung is a senior at Aurora High School, where he earned three letters as a running back and defensive back for the Greenmen. Yung earned a First Team All-Chagrin Valley Conference nod at running back his senior year, when he rushed for 1,528 yards and caught 26 passes for an additional 470. The team captain for the Division III-state champion Greenman scored 32 touchdowns.
“I'm extremely excited about the quality and the diversity in the recruiting class so far,” said Howard. “Starting a program requires an emphasis on balance, and I feel the student-athletes that we've signed so far represent quality at all positions. We are by no means done recruiting, but I feel our foundation is solid with these players.”
The development of a Football program at Notre Dame College was announced on Nov. 25. With their development of a team, Notre Dame becomes the only scholarship football team in the metropolitan Cleveland area. For information about the program and Head Coach Adam Howard, log onto www.NotreDameFalcons.com.
For media inquiries, contact sports information director Skip Snow at 216-373-5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu.
Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics sponsors the Falcons' participation in 21 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In 2008-09, Notre Dame athletic programs rank No. 21 in the nation, based on the NAIA Director's Cup all-sports ranking as published by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
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