2016 Complete Recruit Signing List

(Ann Arbor, MI) After a record breaking season for the Cardinal football program on the field, the success quickly carried over to the recruiting trails as well. Head Coach Lonnie Pries announced that 38 student athletes have signed their national letter of intent to become Cardinals in the fall. This is Coach Pries' fourth recruiting class since taking over the helm of Cardinal football. "We are very excited about this year's recruiting class. This group of recruits are not only talented football players, but are young men with a tremendous amount of potential to grow into leaders within our football program and university.

The 2015 campaign saw the Cardinals set a school record of wins (5) and was one game short from having the first winning record in program history. Coach Pries and his staff have increased wins by two every season while playing in arguably the toughest conference in the NAIA. The last five NAIA National Championship games have included a team from the Mid-States Football Association including the 2015 champion, Marian University.

Creating a more balanced attack on both sides of the ball has allowed the Cardinals to compete with top programs at the NAIA level. First year offensive coordinator, Andrew Rode, established a consistent run game which was 2^nd overall in the MSFA with an average of 196 yards per game. Rode was pleased with the depth of the class of 2016 offensive players and will make the unit more dynamic. "This will be an outstanding offensive class coming in. We have built the strength of the class around the offensive line. We will be bigger, longer, and faster up front as we continue to improve in all facets of our offense. A great offensive line will be paired with some dynamic skill players that will definitely help us compete at a higher level offensively."

Coach Rode's offensive approach complimented the steady defensive schemes of Defensive Coordinator, Joshua Schumacher which allowed the Cardinals to be more efficient on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals had a turnover margin of +6 which was 5^th overall in the conference. Schumacher's creative schemes combined with a physically tough unit enabled two defensive players to finish the year in the top 10 for tackles in the MSFA with another leading the league in interceptions. Schumacher believes this group of recruits addresses specific needs and continues to raise expectations for his unit. "We are very excited about the class of 2016. We believe that we have recruited a number of student-athletes that will address specific needs that we have on defense. We believe in these student-athletes and the high schools that have prepared them academically and spiritually."

The Cardinal football program has been clear in establishing specific priorities when recruiting the right type of student athletes to be Cardinals. Coach Pries stated, "As a staff, we are committed to helping these young men grow as students, athletes, men, and Christians; and are looking forward to having them join forces with our current Cardinals." This approach by the Cardinal staff has been integral to the development of student-athletes both on and off the field.

	Trevor Barndollar	Brendan Beerer	Theo Branch
Cody Brassey-Brierley	Daniel Breen		Marwin Chambers
Ethan Church	Ju'Juan Clowers	Devin Collins	Sonny Cooper
Tarek Dalou	Donte Desalle	Joe Duff	Collin Emmendorfer
Kyle Foster	Javon Gabriel	CJ Geluso	Jeff Gill
Ari Goldberg	Jim Gregory	Porter Groce	Jacob Hernden
Ryon Honea	Sam Jakabcic	Jose Jolly	Mitchell Kauffman
Joe Manuel	Tyler Mayo	Kordell McNeal	Jacob Muhammad
William Neumeyer	Cooper O'Gara	Kimon Patrick	Amaan Payne
Tyler Pummell	Nick Quarandillo	Reggie Thompson	TaJo'N Williams
Alex Wojewoda	Larry Foster	Aaron Rahn	Sean Russ