Washburn inks 15 in 2004 recruiting class

Feb. 4, 2004 - as of 2:10 p.m.

Ichabod head football coach Craig Schurig has announced his third signing class as Washburn signed 15 high school recruits to National Letter of Intents and five mid-semester transfers.

“I am very pleased with this signing class,” Schurig said. “This freshman class will have a great opportunity to be part of Washburn University and Washburn Football over the next four to five years. It is a great time to be at Washburn with all of the facility and campus life improvements.”
“All of our coaches did an excellent job recruiting these student athletes. I am also proud of the fact we are keeping the best athletes in Topeka and surrounding areas to come to Washburn.
“We focused on improving our depth on the offensive line and tight end positions. We added eight offensive line and three tight ends to our team. The transfers and the high school offensive line and tight end signees will compete for immediate playing time next fall.”

Note: Player listing below with individual bios below.

2004 Washburn high school signees
David Becker OL 6-2 290 Omaha, Neb./Millard South High School
Eric Benke OL 6-2 250 Topeka, Kan./Topeka High School
Eric Eisenbarth DE 6-2 250 Holton, Kan./Holton High School
Kyle Hainline OL 6-3 275 Topeka, Kan./Seaman High School
Andy Kavanaugh OL 6-3 280 Lohrville, Iowa/Southern Cal High School
Justin Knutzen DE 6-3 220 Stilwell, Kan./Blue Valley High School
Kyle Kruger QB 5-11 180 Silver Lake, Kan,/Silver Lake High School
Aaron Lockwood OL 6-3 300 Topeka, Kan./Seaman High School
James Martin TE 6-2 240 Topeka, Kan./Hayden High School
Terrell McClendon TE 6-5 250 Kansas City, Mo./Raytown High School
Jeff Rickard OL 6-3 265 Westminster, Colo./Standley Lake High School
Steven Schuster RB/DB 5-11 180 Topeka, Kan./Hayden High School
Mark Scott TE 6-2 215 Lenexa, Kan./Shawnee Mission West High School
Nick Svoboda DE 6-4 213 Elkhorn, Neb./Elkhorn High School
Brandon Walker QB 6-1 195 Garland, Texas/Lakeview High School

2004 Washburn junior college signees
Adam Ewy S 6-1 195 Maize, Kan./Maize HS/Cowley County
Dan Schneider OL 6-0 275 Topeka, Kan./Hayden HS/Butler County
Rudy Su’e OL 6-1 300 San Diego, Calif./Escambia HS/East Central (Miss.)
Russell Munson S 6-2 213 Fort Gibson, Okla./Fort Gibson HS/University of Oklahoma
Trevor Hamilton LB 5-9 233 Silver Lake, Kan./Silver Lake HS/Allen County CC

David Becker, OL, 6-2, 290, Omaha, Neb./Millard South High School
Was named second team all-state in the Lincoln Journal Star and first all-metro by the Omaha World Herald. Is the fifth Becker son to play in the MIAA.
Anticipated Washburn major: Broadcasting

Erick Benke, OL, 6-2, 250, Topeka, Kan./Topeka High School
Was named honorable mention all-city at center for the Trojans.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

Eric Eisenbarth, DE, 6-2, 250, Holton, Kan./Holton High School
Was a three-year starting letterman and was a first team all-Big 7 selection on the offensive and defensive lines as a junior and a senior. He was also a first team all-county offensive and defensive line selection as a junior and senior. He was a first team all-state class 4A selection by the Capital Journal, the Wichita Eagle and the Kansas Coaches Association on the offensive line and honorable mention all-state as a junior. He was a third team all-state pick on the defensive line by the Captial Journal as a senior. He was a member of the 2003 4A Champion Wildcat squad.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

Kyle Hainline, OL, 6-3, 275, Topeka, Kan./Seaman High School
As a senior he was an all-class 5A selection as well as all-conference first team on the offensive and defensive lines. As a junior he was an honorable mention all-city pick. As a junior he finished fifth in state in the shot put.
Anticipated Washburn major: Business

Andy Kavanaugh, OL, 6-3, 280, Lohrville, Iowa/Southern Cal High School
Was a three-time all-district defensive tackle and two-time all-state defensive tackle recording 171 career tackles. His high school career record was 31-9 winning the 2000 state championship. Also a two-time state qualifier in wrestling placing fourth at 275 as a junior.
Anticipated Washburn major: Elementary/special education

Justin Knutzen, DE, 6-3, 220, Stilwell, Kan./Blue Valley High School
Was named second team all-Eastern Kansas League on defense and an honorable mention all-Sun County selection.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

Kyle Kruger, QB, 5-11, 180, Silver Lake, Kan,/Silver Lake High School
As a senior he was named to the Capital Journal’s Top 11 after becoming passing for a state-record 3,095 yards and 26 touchdowns completing 180 of 377 passes while rushing for 318 yards on 120 carries. On defense he had 82 tackles with six interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He received all-state, all-class honors as a junior and senior after being named all-conference as a sophomore. For his career, he passed for a state-record 8,781 yards and 79 touchdowns completing 542 of 769 passes. He is a 2004 Shrine Bowl pick.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

Aaron Lockwood, OL, 6-3, 300, Topeka, Kan./Seaman High School
Was a Capital Journal Top 11 pick and a first team all-Centennial League selection on both the offensive and defensive lines and was the Vikings’ second-leading tackler and he was named Topeka’s Defensive Player of the Year. For his career, he was a two-time all-conference pick. He was also a two-time all-city selection helping the Vikings rush for 363 yards per game and average 417 yards in total offense a game as a senior.
Anticipated Washburn major: Criminal Justice

James Martin, TE, 6-2, 240, Topeka, Kan./Hayden High School
Was a two-time honorable mention All-4A pick. He was a two-time all-city selection and two-time all-conference pick earning unanimous All-Centennial League at tight end as a senior and second-team honors at linebacker.
Anticipated Washburn major: Business

Terrell McClendon, TE, 6-5, 250, Kansas City, Mo./Raytown High School
As a senior he was a team captain and was named to the Independence Examiner’s all-Suburban first team all-conference pick at offensive tackle and a second team all-district pick at defensive end. As a junior he was an honorable mention all-district pick at offensive tackle and he was an honorable mention all-district pick on the defensive line.
Anticipated Washburn major: Pre-Med

Jeff Rickard, OL, 6-3, 265, Westminster, Colo./Standley Lake High School
Was a second team all-conference selection as a sophomore and then was named first team all-conference as a junior and senior. Also was a long-snapper. He finished fifth in the state in wrestling as a junior.
Anticipated Washburn major: Business

Steven Schuster, RB/DB, 5-11, 180, Topeka, Kan./Hayden High School
Was named all-state and the City Offensive Player of the Year with 2,479 total yards to help Hayden to a 12-2 record and runner-up finish in the Class 4A playoffs. He was a all-state Top 11 pick as a senior. He was named all-city as a junior playing tailback when he rushed for 1,549 yards, but he switched to quarterback his senior year and rushed for 1,703 yards and 31 touchdowns while passing for 776 yards and six TDs. He was All-Centennial League at quarterback, second-team at defensive back and All-Class 4A at defensive back as a senior. As a sophomore he was named city offensive player of the year. For his career he rushed for 3,924 yards and 48 TD’s. Named to the 2004 Shrine Bowl.
Anticipated Washburn major: Engineering

Mark Scott, TE, 6-3, 220, Lenexa, Kan./Shawnee Mission West High School
Was named all-Sun County at tight end and named school’s Offensive Player of the Year. Joins older brother Jeff, who will be a junior next season on the Ichabod squad.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undeclared

Nick Svoboda, DE, 6-4, 213, Elkhorn, Neb./Elkhorn High School
Was named all-conference and all-district at tight end and on the defensive line and was also a state qualifier in track as the anchor on two relay teams.
Anticipated Washburn major: Business

Brandon Walker, QB, 6-1, 195, Garland, Texas/Lakeview High School
Rushed for 500 yards and eight touchdowns and passed for 484 yards and was named one of Dallas’ top 100 recruits.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

2004 Washburn junior college signees
Adam Ewy, S, 6-1, 195, Maize, Kan./Maize HS/Cowley County
Was a first team all-conference selection at wide receiver and defensive back and was all-state all 6A at defensive back. He finished top 10 in rushing and receiving in the conference. Transferring from Cowley County where he played baseball.
Anticipated Washburn major: Business

Trevor Hamilton, LB, 5-9, 233, Silver Lake, Kan./Silver Lake HS/Allen County
Was named all-class 3A at linebacker and all conference as a junior and an all-league, all-class, all-state pick at linebacker as a senior. Was an all-league pick at offensive line as a junior and senior. A 2003 Shrine Bowl Participant.
Anticipated Washburn major: Education

Russell Munson, S, 6-2, 213, Fort Gibson, Okla./Fort Gibson HS/Oklahoma
Was an all-conference selection in basketball, baseball and football. Redshirted last fall at Oklahoma.
Anticipated Washburn major: Nursing

Dan Schneider, OL, 6-0, 300, Topeka, Kan./Hayden HS/Butler County CC
At Butler County, he was an all-Jayhawk Conference selection as a sophomore and a two-year starter and a starter on Butler’s 2003 National Championship squad. At Hayden High School, he was a two-time all-state, all-conference and all-city pick.
Anticipated Washburn major: Undecided

Rudy Su’e, OL, 6-1, 300, San Diego, Calif./Escambia HS/East Central (Miss.)
Was a first team all-state selection among the Mississippi Junior Colleges. At Escambia High School, he was a three-time all-conference selection and garnered all-state honors as a senior.
Anticipated Washburn major: Physical Education