Western announces 2017 recruiting class, including 5 CFC100’s

LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs football program officially welcomed 34 new players into the family on Thursday evening at an event unveiling the team’s 2017 recruiting class.

“This class can be characterized as an outstanding group of student-athletes. We’ve got some outstanding students here, and we believe some great character,” said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall. “[Character] is important. We spend a lot of time together over the course of four or five years. You look at the time that we practice and train and you want to get a good group that are good people. We believe that we have some outstanding character on this team.”

“There’s still a few guys out there, there’s three or four guys that will finish off this class very nicely, but overall, I’m very, very happy with the quality and the depth of this class.”

This year’s recruiting class is made up of 14 players on offence, and 20 on defence. The majority of this year’s class is from Ontario including 18 players from London who will don the colours of their hometown Mustangs. Along with the 31 players from Ontario the Mustangs added two players from British Columbia, and one from Quebec.

“I think this class is a great class,” said Mustangs recruiting coordinator Chris Marcus. “A ton of talent, but more so, great character kids from great families. We’re really, really happy with the kids that are coming here. They come from strong academic backgrounds, so I think it’s one of our better classes.”

“Our main focus was the defensive line, and we’re still waiting for two or three commits on the d-line. We were also looking to improve our defensive secondary, and this may be one of the best defensive secondary classes we’ve had in a long time. Great talent, great football IQ from a lot of these kids, and we’re really happy with that [group].

“Traditionally Western’s attracted top student-athletes year-in and year-out, and this year is no different,” said offensive coordinator Steve Snyder. “Loaded with talented football players and high academic achievers, this is another strong class coming in to Western Football to carry on the great tradition we have here.”

Western’s 2017 recruits are certainly no strangers to success as 14 of the 34 recruits announced on Thursday were named as all-stars in their respective regions, while eight have played on a provincial team, four have or will soon represent Canada in international competition, and five were listed on CanadaFootballChat.com’s #CFC100 rankings.

The Mustangs kick off their 2017 schedule on August 27 on the road against the York Lions. Western’s first home game is the following week on September 4 when the Mustangs host the Guelph Gryphons, while Western’s annual Homecoming Weekend contest is scheduled for October 21 against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Information on each of this year’s recruits is available below.

Note: Athletes who commit to Mustangs teams will be eligible to compete at Western provided they are academically admissible to Western University and have applied through the normal process with the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre in Guelph, Ont.

Mustangs Football 2017 Recruiting Class

Name: Jacob Andrews
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 5’10
Weight: 205 lbs
Hometown: Niagara Falls, Ont.
Last Team: A.N. Meyer, Niagara Spears
Awards: Team Canada, Team Ontario, 2016 OFSAA Champion

Name: Cam Bailey
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6’4
Weight: 233 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: A.B. Lucas, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: 2014 OFSAA Champion, 2014 LDAA All-Star

Name: Isaiah Ballah
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’4
Weight: 275 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Saunders

Name: Elliot Beamer
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’3
Weight: 255 lbs
Hometown: West Vancouver, B.C.
Last Team: West Vancouver
Awards: B.C. Provincial All-Star

Name: Chase Boycotte
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 6’3
Weight: 190 lbs
Hometown: Windsor, Ont.
Last Team: Holy Names, Essex Ravens
Awards: Team Ontario, Essex Defensive Player of the Year, WECSSAA First Team All-City

Name: Dante Brown
Position: Defensive Back/Kicker
Height: 6’0
Weight: 190 lbs
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Last Team: St. Joseph’s College
Awards: Three-time GTA All-Star, NCAA Five Star Recruit, 26^th ranked kicker and 31^st ranked punter in NCAA 2016

Name: Peter Brown
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’3
Weight: 268 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Catholic Central, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: Team Ontario, 2015 OFSAA Champion

Name: Griffin Campbell
Position: Receiver
Height: 6’1
Weight: 175 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: London Central, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: Two-time TVRA All-Star, London Jr. Mustangs Offensive MVP

Name: Sean Foulkes
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’6
Weight: 290 lbs
Hometown: North Vancouver, B.C.
Last Team: Handsworth
Awards: Pacific Conference All-Star, North Shore All-Star

Name: Jack Hancock
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’1
Weight: 280 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Sir Wilfrid Laurier, London Jr. Mustangs

Name: Dawson Hitsman
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’1
Weight: 300 lbs
Hometown: Alymer, Ont.
Last Team: East Elgin, London Jr. Mustangs

Name: Garrett Holmes
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’0
Weight: 185 lbs
Hometown: Oakville, Ont.
Last Team: St. Thomas Aquinas

Name: Daniel Jaffe
Position: Receiver
Height: 5’11
Weight: 163 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: London Central

Name: Noah Johns
Position: Receiver
Height: 6’0
Weight: 170 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: London South, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: U19 Team Canada, Team Ontario, 2016 OFSAA Champion

Name: Hunter Joseph
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 5’10
Weight: 185 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: A.B. Lucas, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: TVDSB All-Star

Name: Zach Lindley
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 6’0
Weight: 170 lbs
Hometown: Chatham, Ont.
Last Team: Chatham Kent

Name: Myles Manalo 
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’3
Weight: 245 lbs
Hometown: Burlington, Ont.
Last Team: Corpus Christi, Burlington Stampeders
Awards: #CFC100, Team Ontario, Corpus Christi MVP, Burlington Stampeders Defensive MVP, Team Canada U19 Captain

Name: Austin Miller 
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6’3
Weight: 270 lbs
Hometown: Chatham, Ont.
Last Team: Canada Prep
Awards: #CFC100, Team Ontario

Name: Nick Morello
Position: Fullback
Height: 5’11
Weight: 200 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: London South
Awards: 2016 OFSAA Champion

Name: Tommy Ngongo 
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 5’11
Weight: 185 lbs
Hometown: Windsor, Ont.
Last Team: L’Essor, Essex Ravers
Awards: #CFC100, Second Team All-Canadian, 2016 WECSSAA and SWOSSAA AA Champions

Name: Justin Nickson
Position: Receiver
Height: 6’1
Weight: 175 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Jean Paul II

Name: Jake Pow
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’2
Weight: 177 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: London Central, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: Two-time TVRAA All-Star

Name: Dimitri Pronko
Position: Offensive Line
Height: 6’2
Weight: 290 lbs
Hometown: Ottawa, Ont.
Last Team: Bishop’s Gaiters

Name: Thomas Ramsay
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6’1
Weight: 270 lbs
Hometown: Milton, Ont.
Last Team: Royal Imperial Collegiate
Awards: Top 10 Midwest Defensive Line

Name: Ben Schmidt
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’2
Weight: 205 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: St. Andrew’s College, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: St. Andrew’s Addison Award Winner, 2015 London Jr. Mustangs Offensive MVP, Team Ontario

Name: Spencer Smyth 
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’2
Weight: 225 lbs
Hometown: Dundas, Ont.
Last Team: Canada Prep
Awards: #CFC100, Team Canada, Team Ontario

Name: Nicolas Theriault
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6’0
Weight: 230 lbs
Hometown: Quebec City, Que.
Last Team: Champlain College

Name: Brandon Thompson
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6’3
Weight: 190 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Catholic Central, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: 2015 OFSAA Champion

Name: Daniel Valente 
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 5’10
Weight: 170 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Catholic Central
Awards: #CFC100, 2015 OFSAA Champion, LDAA All-Star, U19 Team Canada

Name: Kyle Watson
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6’3
Weight: 225 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Catholic Central
Awards: 2015 OFSAA Champion, Mike Circelli Leadership Award

Name: Zach Wilson Jr.
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 6’3
Weight: 252 lbs
Hometown: Ajax, Ont.
Last Team: Pickering
Awards: Team Canada, Team USA East, Three-time National Bowl MVP

Name: Ali Yasir
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’1
Weight: 175 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Oakridge, London Jr. Mustangs
Awards: Oakridge Rookie of the Year, Oakridge Defensive Player of the Year

Name: Jacob Zynomirski
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’1
Weight: 213 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Saunders
Awards: TVRA Defensive MVP, Saunders Defensive MVP, TVRA All-Star

Name: Zach Zynomirski
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6’1
Weight: 208 lbs
Hometown: London, Ont.
Last Team: Saunders
Awards: Saunders Special Teams Player of the Year, Saunders Defensive MVP, TVRA All-Star

 

Source: Western Mustangs