Army Navy Football Games

Class of 2010 Arrives at Academy

Army head coach Bobby Ross welcomed the newest members of the Black Knights' football program into the fold today as he announced his club's 2006 recruiting class.

Thirty-two recently graduated high school student-athletes and 34 others that attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School last year help comprise Ross and his staff's second full recruiting class since taking over the reins of Army's fabled football program in December 2003.

For the second straight year, Ross and his staff focused on adding size and strength to the Army program, importing a group that includes18 players standing 6-3 or better and seven new plebes weighing at least 275 pounds.

"I'm very pleased with this class. We brought in 34 kids from the prep school and 32 others on direct admits," explained Ross. "Clearly, this is the best class we've had in terms of potential. We brought in two very fine quarterbacks and this class has some great potential in the offensive backfield.

"The real strength of this class right now might rest in the defensive line and at cornerback. We have some people in the defensive secondary that might help us as early as this year. There is decent size in the offensive line as well. I really like the height this group possesses. We've got several kids that have a chance to really mature and fill out. We've already tested some of the new players from the prep school and some are stronger than some of our varsity players right now. That is a good sign."

The group of signees includes 34 defensive standouts and 32 offensive players. Heading the positional breakdown is defensive line where Ross and his staff injected 14 newcomers, followed by linebacker (13), offensive line (12), defensive secondary (7), fullback (5), running back (5), tight end (4) and quarterback (3).

Twenty-three different states are represented in the class. Florida, a longtime recruiting bastion for the Army program, leads the way with 11 new Black Knights, followed by Texas with seven, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania with five each, and Georgia and Virginia with four apiece. California, Iowa, Maryland and Oklahoma are represented by three players each and Alabama by two.

"All in all, it's a good group," Ross added. "I think there are as many as 10-15 players from this class that could possibly help us this year, particularly in the secondary at cornerback and possibly in the offensive backfield."

The Class of 2010 includes the intriguing brother combination of Fritz and Ted Bentler. Ted saw action in seven games at defensive tackle last fall as a redshirt freshman at the University of Iowa. He elected to transfer to West Point as a member of this year's freshman class, joining his brother Fritz (6-4, 230), who was recruited as a defensive end by Ross and his staff. Ted Bentler (6-2, 280) registered four tackles last year for the Hawkeyes and was considered one of the fast-rising defensive line talents in the Iowa program following a strong showing this spring. While Fritz is immediately eligible to play for the Black Knights, Ted will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer guidelines. He will be eligible next fall and will retain two years of football eligibility.

"It takes a high-character individual to make the decision Ted Bentler made - to start out as a freshman after two years in college in order to serve your country," Ross stated. "Ted just likes this style of structured life. He appears to be very excited about the opportunity to be here and has already taken a leadership role in his cadet company from what I understand.

"Ted is a good, solid football player. We've seen film on him and are very impressed by what he did at Iowa. We're excited about him, and his brother Fritz, joining our program."

Fans can order 2006 Army Football season tickets, individual home game tickets or Army-Navy tickets by calling 1-877-TIX-ARMY or via the internet at www.goARMYsports.com.

Army Football Class of 2010

Name Cl. Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Hometown/High School
Steven Allen Fr. DB 5-9 157 Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison
Patrick Alvarez Fr. LB 6-0 230 Victoria, Texas/Memorial (USMAPS)
Kyle Bates Fr. LB 6-1 243 Springfield, Va./Robert E. Lee
Fritz Bentler Fr. DE 6-4 230 Bettendorf, Iowa/Assumption
Ted Bentler Fr. DT 6-2 280 Bettendorf, Iowa/Assumption
Ernie Bernal Fr. TE 6-4 246 San Antonio, Texas/Judson (USMAPS)
Hunter Byles Fr. DT 6-1 282 Many, La./Many (USMAPS)
Bryson Carl Fr. FB 5-11 234 Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva
Vincent Comasco Fr. DB 6-1 191 Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
Jude Cooke Fr. OL 6-6 285 Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge
Matt Coulthard Fr. TE 6-3 230 Tripoli, Iowa/Tripoli (USMAPS)
Taylor Dawson Fr. DT 6-2 246 Plano, Texas/Trinity Christian Academy (USMAPS)
Andrew Dieugenio Fr. LB 6-0 210 State College, Pa./State College
Nicholas Emmons Fr. FB 5-11 230 Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis (USMAPS)
Zachary Enlow Fr. RB 5-11 202 Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall Prep
Matt Feiden Fr. FB 5-7 208 Delray Beach, Fla./North Broward (USMAPS)
Ryan Flanagan Fr. OL 6-5 270 West Chester, Pa./West Chester East
Michael Gann Fr. DE 6-2 258 Roswell, Ga./Marist School
Dean Garretson Fr. OL 6-3 285 Lothian, Md./Southern (USMAPS)
Don Gbaanador Fr. WR 6-0 182 Missouri, Texas/Dulles (USMAPS)
Shane Gillis Fr. OL 6-2 275 Mechaniscsburg, Pa./Trinity
Michael Haigler Fr. LB 6-1 230 Charlotte, N.C./Providence
Ozzie Harrell Fr. DB 6-0 190 Ellenwood, Ga./Cedar Grove (USMAPS)
Geoffrey Hewitt Fr. LB 6-0 230 Corona, Calif./Santiago
Dennis Hilburn Fr. LB 6-1 230 Phoenix, Ariz./Paradise Valley (USMAPS)
Mario Hill Fr. DB 5-11 190 Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley (USMAPS)
Damion Hunter Fr. WR 5-10 166 Naples, Fla./Barron Collier (USMAPS)
Aaron Irby Fr. DE 6-1 232 Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Scioto (USMAPS)
John Jacobs Fr. DE 6-3 247 Loretto, Tenn./Loretto
Jordan Jarosz Fr. DB 5-10 170 Charlotte, N.C./Providence
Antoine Johnson Fr. LB 5-8 230 Houston, Texas/Bellaire (USMAPS)
Grant Johnson Fr. OL 6-0 256 Southlake, Texas/Carroll (USMAPS)
Jason Johnson Fr. OL 6-2 269 Las Flores, Calif./Tesoro
Jeremy Jonas Fr. OL 6-4 270 Harrison, Ohio/Harrison (USMAPS)
Justin Kay Fr. DT 6-1 269 Vestavia Hills, Ala./Vestavia
David Labensky Fr. LB 6-1 232 Winter Park, Fla./Lake Highland Prep
Dean Lisante Fr. LB 5-11 198 Ponte Verde Beach, Fla./The Bolles School
Kenric Lull Fr. OL 6-3 261 Littleton, Colo./Columbine (USMAPS)
Bradley Marren Fr. LB 6-0 217 Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg
Richard Maszarose Fr. DT 6-0 243 Finksburg, Md./Calvert Hall College (USMAPS)
Sean McGrath Fr. TE 6-4 205 Mundelein, Ill./Carmel
Brian McSween Fr. WR 5-11 161 Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton (USMAPS)
Richard Miller Fr. OL 6-3 286 Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale (USMAPS)
Tony Moore Fr. RB 5-11 223 Sand Springs, Okla./Tulsa Union (USMAPS)
Joe Muldoon Fr. OL 6-5 274 Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic (USMAPS)
Mitch Odom Fr. DL 6-3 210 Franklin, N.C./Franklin (USMAPS)
Chase Prasnicki Fr. QB 6-0 222 Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County
Joseph Puttmann Fr. DB 6-2 210 Cincinnati, Ohio/SHAPE American (USMAPS)
Ross Richert Fr. FB 6-1 231 Ringwood, Okla./Ringwood
Nicholas Sabellico Fr. RB 5-9 188 Pittsfield, Mass./New Mexico Mil. Inst. (N.M.) (USMAPS)
Alan Sheehan Fr. LB 6-2 230 Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian (USMAPS)
Ian Smith Fr. RB 5-7 193 Lake City, Fla./Columbia (USMAPS)
Phillip Smith Fr. DE 6-3 230 Burton, Mich./Davison
Greg Spencer Fr. DT 6-0 269 Sharpsburg, Ga./Northgate (USMAPS)
David Sprague Fr. OT 6-3 260 Moorpark, Calif./Grace Brethren
Patrick St. Pierre Fr. FB 6-0 248 New Philadelphia, Ohio/Central Catholic (USMAPS)
Kyle Stancombe Fr. QB 5-11 175 Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North (USMAPS)
Chad Thayer Fr. LB 6-0 204 Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto (USMAPS)
Karl Thompson Fr. OL 6-2 291 Richmond, Va./Varina (USMAPS)
Justin Turner Fr. RB 5-7 181 Boynton Beach, Fla./American Heritage-Boca Delray
Victor Ugenyi Jr. Fr. DE 6-2 232 Atlanta, Ga./North Springs
Alejandro Villanueva Fr. DT 6-7 265 Belgium/SHAPE American
Bryant Watrous Fr. LB 6-1 210 Satellite Beach, Fla./Satellite (USMAPS)
Carson Williams Fr. QB 6-3 216 Cullman, Ala./Cullman
Parker Woolwine Fr. DB 5-10 175 Tampa, Fla./Freedom
J.D. Ybanez Fr. TE 6-3 212 El Paso, Texas/Coronado