Football | December 18, 2019

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Western Michigan University head football coach Tim Lester and his staff announced Wednesday that 20 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to join the Bronco gridiron program.

"I'm very excited about this class," Lester said. "It's a tight group already. They have been in communication for almost six months. They all get along, which will be huge for their development when they get here. The biggest thing about this class is that we addressed all our needs. We had 20 scholarships and signed 20. There were no surprises, which is a good thing."

The class includes three six defensive backs, three defensive linemen, three offensive linemen, two tight ends, two linebackers, two wide receivers, one running back and one quarterback.  A total of eight states and one province are represented in the group with six signees from Illinois, followed by four from Michigan, three from Wisconsin, two from Tennessee and one each from Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada.

"It's a really competitive group between the offense and defense," Lester added. "We have tough Midwest kids. The combination of toughness, length and speed is great."

The six Illinois products include running back Kentrell Beck (Shelbyville), safety Giacomo Iraci (Oak Lawn), safety Ryan Kilburg (Park Ridge), wide receiver Kaevion Mack (Peoria), safety Ronald Pledger (Chicago) and wide receiver Anthony Sambucci (Lemont). Beck comes from Shelbyville High School and was a three-time All-Central Illinois Conference honoree who earned Class 2A Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State honors as a senior. Iraci earned Chicago Sun-Times All-Area accolades as a senior, when Brother Rice High School reached the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 8A state semifinals. Kilburg, the Central Suburban League South Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, helped Maine South High School to the IHSA Class 8A state playoffs all four years.

Mack, ranked as the No. 23 prospect in Illinois by 247Sports.com, was a three-time first team All-Big 12 Conference selection on offense and the Journal Star Large School All-Area Player of the Year as a senior at Peoria High School. Pledger hauled in the game-winning touchdown catch in the IHSA Class 7A playoffs against Lincoln-Way West, sending Wendell Phillips Academy on to the second round. Sambucci accumulated more than 3,000 all-purpose yards and 32 touchdowns during his Lemont High School career.

Offensive lineman Kyle Arnoldi (White Lake), safety Anthony Enechukwu (Romulus), defensive tackle Eston Miles (Webberville) and cornerback Jeremiah Piper (Southfield) are in-state products making their way to WMU. Arnoldi received three all-state, all-Lakes Valley Conference and Detroit News All-North honors at Walled Lake Northern High School. Enechukwu, from Orchard Lake St. Mary's High School, earned a trio of All-Catholic League selections and as a senior helped the Eaglets to the quarterfinals in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 tournament. Miles earned second team Associated Press Division 3-4 accolades as a senior at Williamston High School. Piper booked 50 tackles and intercepted two passes during his final campaign at Southfield A&T.

Joining the Broncos from Wisconsin are tight end Mitch Bartol (Buchanan), offensive tackle Adam Vandervest (Verona) and defensive end Logan Wilson (Appleton). Bartol, out of Kimberly High School, is ranked as the No. 33 H-tight end nationally by ESPN.com. Vandervest earned second team All-Big Eight Conference and honorable mention Wisconsin State Journal All-Area accolades after his final campaign, when Verona Area High School went 7-3. Wilson, a teammate of Bartol at Kimberly High School, is ranked as the No. 87 defensive end by ESPN.com and the No. 50 strong side defensive end in the country by 247Sports.com.

From Tennessee, Western Michigan welcomes linebacker Tyler Fletcher (Nashville) and defensive end Stiles Moore (Knoxville) to the program. Fletcher totaled 43 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack as a senior, when East Nashville Magnet School advanced to the second round of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division I Class 3A playoffs. Moore, who attended Cocke County High School as a senior after three years at Knoxville Catholic, received 2019 All-Mountain Lakes first team honors as a defensive lineman.

Linebacker Quinton Cannon (Indianapolis) heads to Kalamazoo from Indiana after receiving Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA) Class 5-A All-State and IFCA Senior All-State accolades as a senior at Cathedral High School.

Cornerback Cam Griffin (Florissant) joins the Broncos from Missouri. Griffin received MaxPreps.com second team all-state accolades after his senior campaign at Lutheran North High School. During his senior year, he helped the Crusaders to a 14-0 record, the first undefeated season in program history, and Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 2 state championship after consecutive semifinal trips.

The offensive trio of tight end James Phillips (Youngstown, Ohio), quarterback Jack Salopek (Irwin, Pa.) and tackle Jack Taylor (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) complete the signing class. Phillips, a Division IV All-Northeast Inland District selection after his junior season at Ursuline High School, is ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 39 Y-tight end nationally. Salopek, out of Norwin High School, set school and Westmoreland County career records for passing yards (6,150) and touchdowns (40). He finished his final year completing 162-of-303 passes for a school single-season record 2,231 yards to go along with 16 touchdowns. Taylor, who attended The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, earned two All-Mid Atlantic Prep League selections, receiving second-team accolades as a junior and first-team honors as a senior.

"The length of this group is special," Lester believes of this class. "We have some guys who are hard to find, like Fletcher being a 6-foot-3 linebacker who can run. Pledger, Iraci and Kilburg all have really good length to them. Mack, as a receiver, has great length to him. Sambucci is another one who is more than six-feet tall. Bartol and Beck are long. We added some length that our team doesn't have. We have a lot of short and fast guys and brought in more speed with Piper. Then, of course, we added a quarterback who can do a little bit of everything – he's long, smart, can run it and can throw it. I'm very happy about this class."



 

2019 Signees

Kyle Arnoldi OL 6-3 270 White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Northern Mitch Bartol TE 6-3 230 Buchanan, Wis./Kimberly Kentrell Beck RB 6-1 180 Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville Quinton Cannon LB 6-1 200 Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral Anthony Enechukwu S 6-2 195 Romulus, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's Tyler Fletcher LB 6-3 205 Nashville, Tenn./East Nashville Magnet School Cam Griffin CB 5-11 160 Florissant, Mo./Lutheran North Giacomo Iraci S 6-2 175 Oak Lawn, Ill./Brother Rice Ryan Kilburg S 6-0 185 Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South Kaevion Mack WR 6-2 200 Peoria, Ill./Peoria Eston Miles DT 6-2 325 Webberville, Mich./Williamston Stiles Moore DE 6-2 250 Knoxville, Tenn./Cocke County James Phillips TE 6-2 240 Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline Jeremiah Piper CB 5-9 165 Southfield, Mich./Southfield Ronald Pledger S 6-1 175 Chicago, Ill./Wendell Phillips Academy Jack Salopek QB 6-2 175 Irwin, Pa./Norwin Anthony Sambucci WR 6-1 180 Lemont, Ill./Lemont Jack Taylor OT 6-5 285 Burlington, Ontario, Canada/Lawrenceville School Adam Vandervest OT 6-6 285 Verona, Wis./Verona Area Logan Wilson DE 6-3 280 Appleton, Wis./Kimberly

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