News Nuggets, 08.03.03
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Jurich: Big East move or not, Cardinals want in on BCS

LOUISVILLE, KY — Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said he has no timeline for a decision on when or if the Cardinals will leave Conference USA and join the Big East.

"It's going to be a slow, deliberate process everybody's going to be very conservative with," Jurich said earlier this week.

Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference on June 30, setting off speculation that Louisville was among the leading candidates to join the depleted league. The Big East needs to add at least two teams in order to maintain its conference status and secure its membership in the Bowl Championship Series.

Jurich acknowledged that Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has talked with Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, but said no decisions have been made regarding Louisville and indicated that a move by the Cards to the Big East is but one of multiple potential scenarios.

"There have not been a lot of organized discussions," Jurich said. "This is a decision that the Big East and their presidents will make. If we do receive an invitation, fine. If we don't, then we'll look at better options. And Conference USA will be one of those."

Conference USA is a BCS outsider, a distinction that frustrates Jurich. The Cardinals have played in a bowl game each of the past five seasons, but miss out on millions of dollars that trickle down to lesser teams in BCS-eligible leagues.

"We don't have any BCS money. We don't get checks at the end of the year worth $9.5 million," Jurich said, but he noted the appeal of joining a BCS league goes beyond money.

"The BCS is very important when it comes down to recruiting," he said. "When you're sitting across the table from a kid and one school says, 'We're in the BCS' — whether they have a chance at a national championship or not — they're living off their affiliations.

"When our coaches are in that room, I want them to have an equal opportunity to get those kids. That's what we're looking for."

West Point Class of '07 includes N.C. players

WEST POINT, NY — The newest members of Army's football program were officially welcomed to the squad this week as head coach Todd Berry announced the names of the Black Knights' 2003 recruiting class.

Offensive lineman Scott Harris from Fayetteville and quarterback Chase Laws of Matthews are among 39 incoming members of the storied West Point program.

Unlike the recruiting calendar followed by most Division I-A schools, which signed their newcomers last February, the Army rookies emerged from the rigid and recently completed appointment process.

Twenty-nine high school student-athletes and 10 others that attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School last year help comprise West Point's football-playing Class of 2007. The group represents Berry's third full recruiting class since taking over the reins of Army's historic program in December 1999.

Twelve of the new players earned all-state recognition and 24 of them served as team captains during their senior year in high school. From a physical standpoint, this year's group of freshmen rates as one of the largest in school history, with 13 players standing 6-4 or better and seven weighing at least 275 pounds.

"I am very excited about this recruiting class for a number of reasons," Berry said. "I think it addresses some needs for this year as far as depth is concerned. We don't look for a lot of these freshmen to step in and play major roles as we have in the past, yet we expect some of them to challenge for playing time. That's the way that it should be.

" ... We battled the right people for these young men. You want to compete against other Division I-A schools for players and I think we were able to do that. We are excited about this group as a whole."

Altogether, eighteen different states are represented in the class. Texas, a longtime recruiting stronghold for the Army program, leads the way with 12 new Black Knights, followed by Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania with three each. The states of Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina and Tennessee are represented by two players apiece.

The list of signees includes 19 offensive standouts, 17 defenders and three kickers. Offensively, Berry and his staff added eight linemen, four tight ends, three quarterbacks, two running backs and two wide receivers. The defensive group includes eight linemen, six secondary members and three linebackers.

ARMY FOOTBALL CLASS OF 2007

Name, Cl., Pos., Hgt., Wgt., Hometown/High School
Greg Arrowsmith, Fr., OL, 6-1, 265, Redford, Mich./Catholic Central
Andre' Broussard, Fr., RB, 5-9, 185, Lafayette, La./St. Thomas More
Hamilton Cadwell, Fr., OL, 6-2, 265, Umatilla, Fla./Umatilla (USMAPS)
Grant Carriker, Fr., DL, 6-3, 255, Chattanooga, Tenn./Soddy Daisy
Alex Clamon, Fr., DL, 6-5, 245, Dandridge, Tenn./Jefferson County
Nathan Collier, Fr., OL, 6-7, 325, Stephenville, Texas/Stephenville
Jonathan Connon, Fr., OL, 6-7, 310, Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley (USMAPS)
Cameron Craig, Fr., DL, 6-4, 230, Garden City, Kan./Garden City
Tim Dunn, Fr., TE, 6-4, 260, Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West
Dusty Eggleston, Fr., DB, 5-10, 175, Dalton, Ga./Dalton
Tyler Freeze, Fr., DL, 6-3, 235, Pottsboro, Texas/Marine Military Academy
David Green, Fr., TE, 6-5, 245, Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro
Chris Grevious, Fr., DB, 5-11, 165, South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield (USMAPS)
Sean Grevious, Fr., DB, 5-11, 165, South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield (USMAPS)
Peter Harrington, Fr., DL, 6-5, 235, Salem, Mass./Salem
Scott Harris, Fr., OL, 6-3, 260, Fayetteville, N.C./Westover
Michael Herndon, Fr., LB, 6-2, 215, Dallas, Texas/Greenhill (USMAPS)
Walter Hill, Fr., WR, 6-0, 185, Randallstown, Md./St. Paul's School (USMAPS)
Justin Koenig, Fr., K, 5-11, 170, Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain (USMAPS)
Chase Laws, Fr., QB, 6-2, 180, Matthews, N.C./Providence
Rick Lay, Fr., QB, 6-4, 205, Southlake, Texas/Carroll (USMAPS)
Andy Locke, Fr., QB, 5-11, 190, Houston, Texas/St. Thomas
Zac Maodus, Fr., OL, 6-3, 280, Pembroke Pines, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas
Chase McCoy, Fr., TE, 6-3, 240, Tulsa, Okla./Union
Austin Miller, Fr., K, 6-2, 205, Austin, Texas/McNeil
Chris Mitchell, Fr., DL, 6-3, 275, San Antonio, Texas/Reagan
Miles Murray, Fr., OL, 6-4, 295, Kerrville, Texas/Tivy
Sean Navin, Fr., WR, 5-10, 180, Springfield, Va./West Springifeld
Paul Padegimas, Fr., TE, 6-6, 225, Suffield, Conn./Suffield
Luke Pell, Fr., DB, 6-1, 185, Burnet, Texas/Burnet
Travis Prikryl, Fr., DL, 6-4, 255, San Antonio, Texas/Central Catholic
Tielor Robinson, Fr., RB, 5-11, 220, Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich
Barrett Scruggs, Fr., LB, 6-2, 205, Tampa, Fla./Plant
Cason Shrode, Fr., LB, 6-3, 220, Irving, Texas/Irving
Joe Sponem, Fr., OL, 6-4, 280, Madison, Wis./LaFollette
Wes Stewart, Fr., DL, 6-4, 275, Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park
Felice Terrigno, Fr., DB, 6-1, 205, Bridgeton, N.J./Cumberland (USMAPS)
Bryan Vavruska, Fr., DB, 6-2, 185, Naperville, Ill./Naperville North
Matt Weisner, Fr., LS, 6-2, 255, East Fishkill, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes (USMAPS)

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007

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