“It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of month,” Andrews said. “We had our feet to the fire the whole month of January before we even tried to catch our breath. We had four official visit weekends. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work. But we got people here. We were able to put great visits together, and the whole staff impressed me. Everybody rose to the challenge. I was anticipating not really wrapping things up probably until well into February, but we got to a point where we were filling up. That’s always a good thing.”
Andrews, who was hired on Dec. 12, and his staff built a 37-man class. Dayton had a 30-man class in 2022, the last season for head coach Rick Chamberlin. The 2021 class had 26 players. Dayton had 45 recruits in 2020, 35 recruits in 2019, 26 in 2018, 35 in 2017 and 38, 36, 38 and 28 players in the previous seasons.
The 2023 class includes 21 players from Ohio, eight from Illinois and two each from Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and New Jersey. There are 18 offensive players, 17 defensive players and two kicking specialists.
“We’ve got a pretty well-rounded class,” Andrews said Wednesday. “We were able to recruit quality and depth at almost every position.”
One area of focus was building depth on the offensive and defensive lines.
“We don’t have a ton of bodies there,” Andrews said. “I think we’ve got seven offensive linemen and about the same on the defensive line.”
2023 University of Dayton Football Recruits
Name, Pos., Ht., Wt., Hometown (High School)
Brock Adams, OL, 6-1, 303, Waverly (Waverly): First Team All-Conference; two-time team captain; allowed only one sack in his career.
Jack Ahlbrand, QB, 6-1, 186, Ballwin, Mo., Marquette: Two-time all-conference; passed for 4,448 yards with 49 TDs during career; threw for six TDs in a game.
Joel Allen, DL, 6-1, 271, Cincinnati (Wyoming): First team all-state 2022; four years varsity; 129 tackles and 10 sacks in 2022; career record of 50-4.
Collin Ansel, DL, 6-1, 235, Columbus (Upper Arlington): 2022 second team all-conference with 25 tackles, 6.5 for loss; team won first D-I regional championship.
Matthew Barnes, OL, 6-4, 280, St. Louis, Mo. (St. Louis University High School): Second team all-conference; academic all-Missouri; Played 21 games on the O-line.
Dan Calicari, DB, 5-10, 174, Hazlet, N.J. (Raritan): 2022 second-team all-conference; first team all-state; 45 tackles; school record with a 99-yard pick six.
Noah Dudik, WR, 5-11, 150, Indianapolis, Ind. (Bishop Chatard): 104 career catches for 1218 yards with 10 TD; School Record with 78 receptions in a season.
Evan Fleetwood, OL, 6-3, 307, Cincinnati (St. Xavier): Two-year starter; Honorable mention all-state; 2020 state champion.
Rashaad Glenn, LB, 5-10, 202, West Chester (Moeller): 47 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception in 2021; 90 tackles with 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions throughout his career.
Mason Hackett, RB, 5-8, 198, Granville (Newark Catholic): First Team All-Ohio; Rushed for 1356 yards and 21 TD; Career 3561 all-purpose yards with 50 TDs.
Stan Heuler III, TE, 6-3, 220, Rocky River (Rocky River): 2022 All-Ohio Third Team; 2021 Honorable Mention All-Ohio; Career 45 receptions for 613 yds and 13 TDs.
Will Holt, K/P, 5-9, 166, Kettering (Fairmont): Four-year varsity; 86/89 career on extra points; kicked a 48-yard field goal in 2022.
Mirko Jaksic, DL, 6-2, 280, Norridge, Ill. (Fenwick): Won 2021 Class 5A state championship; 15 career sacks, 101 tackles, three interceptions.
Joe Kingsbury, LB, 6-0, 219, Frankfort, Ill. (St. Rita): 93 total tackles, one sack in 2022; all-conference.
James Kwiecisnki, RB, 5-10, 172, Frankfort, Ill. (Lincoln Way East): Once scored five touchdowns in a game; career stats: 2,374 rushing yards with 36 TDs
Carson Labensky, TE, 6-3, 222, Bellbrook (Bellbrook): Five TDs and 316 yards receiving on 23 catches in 2022.
Ben Lavelle, K/P, 6-2, 185, Westlake (St. Edward): 2021 and 2022 D-I State Champion; 2022 first team All-Northeast Lakes District; had a 68-yard punt.
Gavin Lochow, ATH, 5-11, 191, Proctorville, Ohio (Huntington): 2022 Class AAA West Virginia state champion; Passed for 35 TD/4 INT and 2,192 yards; Ran for 1,132 yards, 16 TDS; father was an Academic All-America defensive lineman at UD from 1990-93.
Josiah Love, WR/TE, 6-4, 200, Cincinnati (Moeller): 12 receptions for 283 yards receiving and two TD in 2022; Greater Catholic League athlete of the year.
Jackson Martin, DL, 6-2, 225, Hamilton (Badin): 2022 first-team all-state; 57 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4 sacks; conference defensive player of the year.
Ryan Martin, WR, 6-0, 185, River Forest, Ill. (Oak Park River Forest)): Had 26 receptions, 374 yards receiving with five TDs as a junior.
Zachary McDowell, OL, 6-4, 300, Westerville (Olentangy Orange): Second Team All-OCC; honorable mention all-district.
Ben Meehan, OL, 6-2, 260, Orland Park, Ill. (Marist): ESCC/CCL Blue All Conference; team captain; brother Danny was a Flyer linebacker.
Desmond Owens, DB, 6-0, 181, Miamisburg (Miamisburg): 54 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss in 2022.
Reece Richardson, DB, 6-1, 173, Elmhurst, Ill. (York): All-conference; played on league championship team; 30 tackles; only allowed eight receptions in 2022.
Sam Schmiesing, LB, 6-0, 201, Piqua (Piqua): Two-time D-II first team all-district; 2022 D-II First Team All-Ohio; Brother Ben played two seasons at UD and was a team captain.
AJ Schuller, DL, 6-1, 232, Toledo (St. John’s): 2021 All-Northwest District honorable mention.
Colin Schulz, DL, 6-2″, 235, Lincolnshire, Ill. (Stevenson): All-North Suburban Conference as a two-way lineman.
Lucas Shallal, OL, 6-3, 280, West Bloomfield, Mich. (Detroit Country Day): Played on 2020 state championship team; all-region and all-state 2022.
Tehron Spencer, Jr., DB, 5-11, 159, Canal Winchester (Reynoldsburg): First Team All-OCC in 2022.
Ethan Thulin, WR, 5-11, 167, Downers Grove, Ill. (Downers Grove North:) Two-time All-West Suburban Conference; two-time all-area.
Owen Trick, DL, 6-1, 261, Clarksville (Clinton-Massie): 2021 and 2022 First Team All-Ohio; won 2021 D-IV championship; Ohio all-star game selection.
Drew VanVleet, QB, 6-5, 186, Richmond, Ind. (Bishop Chatard): Won an Indiana state championship. brad lb
Martin Wantong, EDGE, 6-0, 240, Edison, N.J. (Immaculata): 31 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2022; averaged 4.7 yds/carry with six TDs in 2022.
Donovan Weatherly, WR, 6-0, 176, Clinton Township, Mich. (L’anse Creuse): 2021 MHSFCA All Region; Had 60 receptions, 1,181 yards, and 19TD’s along with 5 interceptions as a safety during career.
Joshua Williams, DB, 5-10, 170, Huber Heights (Wayne): 35 tackles, four tackles for loss in 2022 with one forced fumble, one interception; first team all-conference.
Ricky Wolverton, OL, 6-1, 331, Avon Lake (St. Edward): First team All-Ohio; played on 2021 and 2022 state champs; never allowed a sack in high school.
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