2016 Dayton football recruiting class
Name, High School, Height, Weight, Pos., Hometown
Jon Barker, Naperville Central, 6-0, 195, SS, Naperville, Ill.
Christopher Booker, John Burroughs, 6-0, 180, WR, St. Louis, Mo.
Brennan Burdo, Oswego, 6-2, 240, DE, Oswego, Ill.
Kyle Butz, Moeller, 5-9, 170, WR, Cincinnati
Matt Clifford, Lake Forest, 6-0, 180, DB, Lake Forest, Ill.
Turner Cook, Marquette, 6-4, 190, WR, Chesterfield, Mo.
San Costantino, Immaculata, 6-2, 185, WR, Middlesex, N.J.
Ryan Culhane, Naperville Central, 6-4, 285, OL, Naperville, Ill.
Zach Curoe, Holy Family, 6-4, 290, OL, Chaska, Minn.
Matt Durkin, Notre Dame Prep, 6-3, 185, QB, Oakland, Mich.
Brian Gillen, Don Bosco Prep, 6-0, 215, FB, Goshen, N.Y.
Clay Hamby, Priory, 6-0, 180, K, St. Louis, Mo.
Ryan Harkleroad, Upper St. Clair, 6-4, 245, DT, Upper St. Clair. Pa.
Markus Hurd, St. Vincent-St. Mary, 5-10, 170, WR, Copley, Ohio
Zack Jablonski, Montour, 6-1, 265, OL, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Cole Kaparos, Upper Arlington, 6-0, 190, RB, Upper Arlington, Ohio
Justin Karem, Trinity, 6-3, 230, OL, Louisville, Ky.
Kevin Kurasz, Mt. Carmel, 6-3, 220, DE, Lemont, Ill.
Andrew Lutgens, Ravenwood, 6-2, 185, DB, Brentwood, Tenn.
Andy Maschke, Hartland, 6-2, 275, OL, Howell, Mich.
Drew Melarango, Westminster Christian, 6-1, 170, DB, Chesterfield, Mo.
Jaxon Mills, Lake Forest, 6-2, 255, DT, Lake Bluff, Ill.
Vince Murdocco, Upper Arlington, 6-1, 185, QB, Columbus
Michael Newbold, Loveland, 6-4, 220, DE, Loveland
Johnny Noyen, Christian Hills Academy, 6-1, 190, QB, West Chester
Zach Pipoly, Walsh Jesuit, 6-1, 220, LB, Medina
Sean Prophit, St. Xavier, 6-0, 190, RB, Cincinnati
Brennan Quigley, Mason, 6-3, 275, OL, Mason
Andrew Rothstein, St. Mary’s, 6-1, 220, FB, Leonardtown, Md.
Joey Salowich, Saline, 5-11, 175, DB, Saline, Mich.
Dom Sciaretti, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, 6-2, 250, OL, Cuyahoga Falls
Tim Simon, Notre Dame, 6-2, 185, DB, Morton Grove, Ill.
Ryan Skibinski, Geneva 5-11, 165, WR, Geneva, Ill.
Jay Vallie, Goodrich, 6-4, 230, TE, Grand Blanc, Mich.
Tyler Vincent, Adlai Stevenson, 5-10, 180, RB, Vernon Hills, Ill.
Charlie Weidenbach, Benet Academy, 6-0, 210, LB, Naperville, Ill.
Colt Whitman, Dublin Coffman, 6-0, 205, LB, Dublin
Drake Yinger, St. Francis De Sales, 5-10, 165 SS, Columbus
Rick Chamberlin and his assistant coaches on the Dayton Flyers football staff have expanded the reach of their recruiting in recent years. Of the 38 recruits in the new class, only 12 are from Ohio.
That’s a big change in the last five to 10 years, Chamberlin said. Players from the Buckeye State used to comprise about 80 percent of classes.
“They’re from all over the Midwest,” Chamberlin said. “We’re hitting Ohio hard, but the University of Dayton name is really reaching out there.”
As is typical of a UD class, the group includes 20 team captains and 15 members of the National Honor Society. The average GPA of players in the class is 3.6. There are seven engineering majors and two pre-med majors.
Three of the players already have brothers on the team. Safety Drake Yinger, of Columbus DeSales, is the brother of redshirt sophomore running back Tucker Yinger. Running back Cole Kaparos is the brother of sophomore quarterback Kyle Kaparos. Linebacker Charlie Weidenbach is the brother of junior safety Joe Weidenbach. Both of the Weidenbach’s parents went to UD as well.
Chamberlin said the coaches focused on recruiting offensive and defensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive backs.
Among the standouts at wide receiver are Chris Booker, of St. Louis. He was headed to an Ivy League school before changing his mind at the last moment, Chamberlin said.
The Flyers finished 10-2 last season. Chamberlin was named American Football Coaches Association Region 4 Coach of the Year after taking the team to the Pioneer Football League regular-season title and to the first FCS playoff berth in school history. That playoff appearance was something the coaches used in recruiting.
“That definitely helps,” Chamberlin said. “Being a non-scholarship program, we have a conference we can play for, but when you get on that national level, with ESPN broadcasting three of our games, that grabs their attention.”
Attendance: The Dayton basketball team ranked 25th in the nation in attendance in the 2015-16 season, the NCAA announced this week. The average attendance of 12,942 was the second-best mark in school history. The record of 12,982 was set in the first season of UD Arena in 1969-70.
Conference honors: Of the 1,698 student-athletes named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in the spring semester, 126 were from UD. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better to make the list.
Former Flyers: Chris Wright won a championship in Israel on Thursday with Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion. He averaged 12.2 points per game. He scored 13 points in the final game, an 83-77 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem.
• Dyshawn Pierre has worked out for the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz. The NBA Draft is June 23. ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks Pierre 103rd overall in the draft class and expects him to get an opportunity in the NBA Summer League if he doesn’t get drafted.
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