Tech Football Signs 31 Student-Athletes to National Letters of Intent
Michigan Tech head football coach Tom Kearly today announced the addition of 31 student-athletes to the Huskies’ roster for the 2011 season.
Tech’s incoming class includes 17 offensive players, 13 defensive players and one kicker. Of the 31 student-athletes, 22 are from Michigan including four from the Upper Peninsula. Eight players hail from Wisconsin, and one is from Arizona.
“We’re very excited about this class,” said Kearly, who begins his sixth season as the Huskies’ head coach. “Coming off a successful season opened some doors for us in recruiting, and our staff did a great job of identifying talented student-athletes in Michigan and Wisconsin who fill the needs we had.
“We have a number of quality offensive and defensive lineman in this class, and all of them are first and foremost quality students.”
Michigan Tech posted an 8-2 record in 2010, finishing second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The eight-win season was the eighth in school history and the second in the last three years.
Listed below are the 31 student-athletes that will attend Michigan Tech and play football this fall. A brief biography on each is also available below.
Here\’s a brief description of the four U.P. natives:
Chris Berndt OL 6-4 245 Kingsford, Mich.
Played at Kingsford High School … Earned All-UP Class ABC honors and All-Great Northern Conference First Team accolades as a senior … Helped Flivvers to back-to-back GNC titles in 2009 and 2010 and a regional finals appearance in 2010 … Also participated in track and field …Plans to major in pre-professional biological sciences.
Brett Gervais DB 5-11 165 Lake Linden, Mich.
Played at Lake Linden-Hubbell High School … Earned UP Dream Team honors as a senior defensive back …Helped the Lakes to three straight league titles (2008-10) … Named all-state honorable mention …Also participated in basketball and track and field … Was the UP champion in the pole vault and the long jump … Plans to major in exercise science.
Paul Kuoppala LB 6-2 220 Iron Mountain, Mich.
Played at Iron Mountain High School … Named UP Defensive Player of the Year and Detroit Free Press All-State Division 6 as a senior … Helped Iron Mountain to a state semifinal appearance in 2010 and regional appearance in 2009 … Also participated in hockey and tennis … Plans to major in exercise science.
Ian Wienke TE 6-5 230 Kingsford, Mich.
Played at Kingsford High School … Named to the All-UP Class ABC and All-Great Northern Conference teams in 2010 … Helped Flivvers to back-to-back GNC titles in 2009 and 2010 and a regional finals appearance in 2009 … Also particpated in basketball and track and field … Plans to major in civil engineering.
The current team has been conditioning and lifting weights since returning from the semester break. Spring practices for Michigan Tech will begin March 24, with the annual spring game to be played at Sherman Field on April 16.