SMSU Announces 21 Student-Athletes to Join Football Program
MARSHALL,Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State University football head coach Eric Eidsness announced today the signing of 19 high school and two junior college student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and football careers at SMSU. That announcement came today on the first day student-athletes are allowed to sign National Letters of Intent. Seven other student-athletes have signed Institutional Letters of Intent to participate in football.

The list includes student-athletes from six different states including Minnesota (9), Iowa (4), South Dakota (3),Wisconsin (2), Florida (1) and California (1). The list of signees includes five offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two linebackers, two defensive lineman, two defensive backs, two running backs, two fullbacks, two quarterbacks and one tight end.

“We are excited to attract an excellent group of young men,” Eidsness said on Wednesday. “The athleticism they bring to the program is very exciting.

Besides their physical talents these young men are quality student athletes with strong character who are committed to being successful in the classroom.”

Southwest Minnesota State is an NCAA Division II school located in Marshall, Minn., and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

SMSU finished with an overall record of 6-5 in 2008, including a record of 6-4 in the NSIC finishing tied for sixth in the 14-team conference.
The Mustangs are scheduled to begin spring practice on Mar. 30. SMSU will open the 2009 season on Saturday, Aug. 29 at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

2009 SMSU National Letter of Intent signees:
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School/Previous College)
J.J. Bobrowicz LB 6-3 212 Crystal Lake, Ill. (Central HS)
Josh Bousquet DL 6-3 227 Sioux City, Iowa (Heelan HS)
Phillip Breidall FB 5-10 215 Pine Island Minn. (Pine Island HS/Rochester C.C.)
Cody Condon TE 6-5 215 East Troy, Wis. (East Troy HS)
Shane Ekman RB 5-9 190 Lake Elmo, Minn. (North St. Paul HS)
Austin Iversen DE 6-3 221 Ft. Pierre, S.D. (Stanley County HS)
Brett Kanselaar OG 6-4 265 Centerville, Iowa (Centerville HS)
Ismail Karon FB 5-10 225 Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnetonka HS)
Jesse Meagher QB 6-2 200 Spring Lake Park, Minn. (Totino-Grace HS)
Gannon Moore RB 6-2 208 Sioux Falls, S.D. (Lincoln HS)
Cullen O’Brien S 6-1 187 Tampa, Fla. (Sickles HS)
Brandon Puffer C 6-1 296 Buffalo, Minn. (Buffalo HS)
Ryan Ratekin QB 6-3 210 Chico, Calif. (Pleasant Valley HS/Butte College (Calif.)
Michael Ricketts WR 6-0 170 Wabasso, Minn. (Wabasso HS)
Alex Sedrel OT 6-5 260 Grimes, Iowa (Dallas Center-Grimes HS)
Cody Schmidt WR-Slot 5-9 170 Northfield, Minn. (Northfield HS)
Peter Schwarz OG 6-4 245 New Ulm, Minn. (Cathedral HS)
Jake Skibinski LB 6-0 205 Sioux City, Iowa (Heelan HS)
Jacob Thiel OG 6-2 310 Oak Creek, Wis. (Oak Creek HS)
Britt Wickett WR-Slot 5-10 180 Brandon, S.D. (Brandon Valley HS)
Brad Wiest CB 5-11 175 Mankato, Minn. (West HS)

MINNESOTA
Phillip Breidall, FB, 5-10, 215, Pine Island, Minn. (Pine Island HS/Rochester C.C.)
Played two season at Rochester Community College for coach Brad LaPlante ... has two years of eligibility at SMSU ... named all-conference at Rochester
in 2007 ... prepped at Pine Island High School for coach Shane Strong ... four-year letterwinner and two-time all-conference honoree ... son of Bruce and
Brenda Bridall.
Shane Ekman, RB, 5-9, 190, Lake Elmo, Minn. (North St. Paul HS)
Prepped at North St. Paul High School for coach Eric Longtin ... four-year letterwinner ... two-time first team all-conference honoree ... school’s all-time
leading rusher with over 2,600 yards ... finished career with 21 touchdowns ranking third in school history ... also ranks in top ten in career receiving
yards ... team captain ... team most valuable player as a senior ... also in baseball ... son of John and Debbie Ekman.
Ismail Karon, FB, 5-10, 225, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnetonka HS)
Prepped at Minnetonka High School for coach Dave Nelson ... team captain ... three-time all-conference honoree ... rushed for 636 yards and 18 touchdowns
in senior season ... rushed for 121 yards and four touchdowns in win over Edina as a senior ... finished career ranking fourth in school history in
rushing yards and ranking second in rushing touchdowns ... as a junior rushed for 914 yards ... also in track ... son of Tanya Karon.
Jesse Meagher, QB, 6-2, 200, Spring Lake Park, Minn. (Totino-Grace HS)
Prepped at Totino-Grace High School for coach Jeff Ferguson ... four-year letterwinner ... named honorable mention all-conference at wide receiver as a
senior ... finished with 11 receptions for 385 yards and six touchdowns during senior season ... also in wrestling and baseball ... son of Dan and Teri
Meagher.
Brandon Puffer, C, 6-1, 296, Buffalo, Minn. (Buffalo HS)
Prepped at Buffalo High School for coach Gerard Rohl ... two-year letterwinner ... first team all-conference as a senior ... named honorable mention allsection
... named team’s top lineman of the year as a senior ... also in wrestling and track ... son of Julie and Wes Puffer.
Michael Ricketts,WR, 6-0, 170,Wabasso, Minn. (Wabasso HS)
Prepped at Wabasso High School for Joe Kemp ... two-time all-conference honoree ... team captain ... two-time all-state honorable mention ... Marshall
Independent all-area team ... finished senior season with 28 receptions for 658 yards and seven touchdowns ... caught 46 passes for 831 yards and eight
touchdowns as a junior ... finished career with 100 receptions for 2,133 yards ... also in basketball, baseball and golf ... son of Charles and Myra Ricketts.
Cody Schmidt,WR-Slot, 5-9, 170, Northfield, Minn. (Northfield HS)
Prepped at Northfield High School for coach Bubba Sullivan ... three-year letterwinner ... two-time all-conference ... named all-metro and all-state ...
rushed for 1,891 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior ... set school record with 2,950 career rushing yards ... finished career with over 4,000 all-purpose
yards and 31 touchdowns ... also in hockey and baseball ... son of Walt and Lisa Schmidt.
Peter Schwarz, OG, 6-4, 245, New Ulm, Minn. (New Ulm Cathedral HS)
Prepped at New Ulm Cathedral High School for coach Denny Lux ... two-year letterwinner ... member of two state tournament teams ... all-conference
honorable mention honoree ... two-year, two-way starter in his career ... helped an offense average 320 yards per game as a senior ... on defense finished
career with 37 tackles ... also in basketball ... son of Joel and Kathleen Schwarz.
BradWiest, CB, 5-11, 175, Mankato, Minn. (West HS)
Prepped atMankatoWest High School for coachMark Esch ... named all-conference and all-city as a senior ... holds school single-season record for interceptions
with seven ... also had 40 tackles during final season ... finished career with 10 interceptions ... member of 2008 state championship team ... academic
all-state ... also in track ... son of Richard and Mary Wiest.
IOWA
Josh Bousquet, DL, 6-3, 227, Sioux City, Iowa (Heelan HS)
Prepped at Sioux City Heelan High School for coach Roger Jansen ... two-time all-district, all-metro and all-western Iowa ... also named all-northwest
Iowa ... three-year letterwinner ... led team to 2008 state championship with 98 tackles, including eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss ... finished career
with 24 sacks ... also in track ... son of Jeff Bousquet and Shelly Bousquet.
Brett Kanselaar, OG, 6-4, 265, Centerville, Iowa (Centerville HS)
Prepped at Centerville High School for coach Jim Knott ... named all-district ... first team all-state honoree by Des Moines Register as a senior ... 2009
Shrine Bowl participant ... 2007 all-district honorable mention ... on defense finished career with 70 tackles and four sacks ... also in track, baseball and
basketball ... son of Don and Chris Kanselaar.
Alex Sedrel, OT, 6-5, 260, Grimes, Iowa (Dallas Center-Grimes HS)
Prepped at Dallas Center-Grimes High School for coach Scott Heitland ... three-year letterwinner ... two-time first team all-district ... second team allstate
... first team all-county ... helped an offense rush for 235 yards per game ... on defense finished with 30 tackles and two sacks ... also in soccer and
basketball ... son of Tim and Kathy Sedrel.
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Jake Skibinski, DL, 6-3, 227, Sioux City, Iowa (Heelan HS)
Prepped at Sioux City Heelan High School for coach Roger Jansen ... all-district, all-metro, all-western Iowa and all-northwest Iowa ... helped lead team
to 2008 state championship ... finished with 101 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior ... also in basketball and track ... son of Mark and Kim Skibinski.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Austin Iversen, DE, 6-3, 221, Ft. Pierre, S.D. (Stanley County HS)
Prepped at Stanley County High School for coach Tom Rogers ... four-year letterwinner ... two-time first team all-conference honoree ... finished senior
season with 64 tackles, two sacks and one interception ... ended career with 210 tackles, 10 sacks and five interceptions ... team captain ... named all-conference
as a sophomore at Gettysburg HS ... will play in 2009 South Dakota All-Star game ... son of Bob and Tammy Iversen.
Gannon Moore, RB, 6-2, 208, Sioux Falls, S.D. (Lincoln HS)
Prepped at Sioux Falls Lincoln High School for coach Aaron Beavers ... named team most valuable player ... member of 2008 state championship team
... named to Class 11AA All-State first team ... rushed for over 1,700 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior ... set Class 11AA single-season record for rushing
touchdowns ... named All-City ... named to Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 team ... all-conference honoree ... son of Doug and Celeste Moore.
BrittWickett,WR-Slot, 5-10, 180, Brandon, S.D. (Brandon Valley HS)
Prepped at Brandon Valley High School for coach Chad Garrow ... first team all-conference as a senior ... four-year letterwinner ... two-time honorable
mention all-conference ... two-time honorable mention all-state ... as a senior caught 37 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns ... also rushed for 378
yards and three touchdowns ... finished career with 57 receptions for 676 yards and seven touchdowns ... holds school record for longest kickoff return
for a touchdown (96 yards) ... also hold school record for best kickoff return average in a season (29.0) ... recorded 85 tackles and six career interceptions
... also in basketball and track ... son of Matt and Kris Wickett.
WISCONSIN
Cody Condon, TE, 6-5, 215, East Troy,Wis. (East Troy HS)
Prepped at East Troy High School for coach Chad Peloquin and Eric Salik ... four-year letterwinner ... two-time all-conference ... three-time all-county ...
set school single season and career records for both receptions and yards ... finished high school career with 92 receptions for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns
... also plays basketball ... son of Rod and Laurie Condon.
Jake Thiel, OG, 6-2, 310, Oak Creek,Wis. (Oak Creek HS)
Prepped at Oak Creek High School for coach Mike Bartholomew ... honorable mention all-state ... named all-conference and all-area ... participate in
Wisconsin All-State game ... three-year letterwinner ... also in basketball and baseball ... son of Robert and Julie Thiel.
ILLINOIS
J.J. Bobrowicz, LB, 6-3, 212, Crystal Lake, Ill. (Crystal Lake HS)
Prepped at Crystal Lake High School for coach Jon McLaughlin ... four-year letterwinner ... first team all-conference ... first team all-area ... finished senior
season with 110 tackles including five sacks and two interceptions ... ended career with 224 tackles and 11 sacks ... also in basketball, baseball and track
... son of Jeff and Candy Bobrowicz.
CALIFORNIA
Ryan Ratekin, QB, 6-3, 210, Chico, Calif. (Pleasant Valley HS/Butte College)
Played last two seasons at Butte College in Oroville, Calif., for coach Jeff Jordan ... has two years of eligibility at SMSU ... helped lead team to 12-0 record
and California state championships in 2008 ... team ranked No. 1 in the country by JCGridiron.com and Scout.com ... ranked as No. 6 junior college quarterback
in the nation by JC Gridiron.com ... team captain ... offensive most valuable player ... missed four games in 2008 with injury ... ended the 2008
season passing for 1,736 yards and 17 touchdowns ... started all 11 games in 2007 passing for 1,877 yards and 20 touchdowns ... set school career record
for touchdowns and passing yards ... prepped at Pleasant Valley High School for coach Sterling Jackson ... team captain and offensive most valuable player
as a senior ... all-conference honoree ... passed for 19 touchdowns as a senior ... son of Jim and Diane Ratekin.
FLORIDA
Cullen O’Brien, S, 6-1, 187, Tampa, Fla. (Sickles HS)
Prepped at Sickles High School for coach Pat O’Brien ... three-year letterwinner ... St. Pete Times all-county honorable mention ... passed for 1,147 yards
and seven touchdowns during senior season ... also rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns ... also in basketball and track ... son of Pat and Carla
O’Brien.
*Courtesy: SMSU Sports Information