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| Football Team Has 60 Newcomers Ready to Compete "On paper, this is the best class of recruits I can recall during my 18 years here at River Falls." The group includes one All-State player, six All-Region choices, three conference Player of the Year award winners, and a long list of athletes who earned post-season accolades. "I particularly like the fact that the overwhelming majority of them are solid students with good test scores and strong academic backgrounds," O'Grady noted. "Championships are built on players who maintain their eligibility and compete all four years of their college careers." Replacing graduated quarterback Jeremy Wolff was a priority in this year's recruiting efforts, O'Grady said. Five candidates are set to challenge holdover Storm Harmon for the job. "We've seen all five on film, and all are capable of playing at this level. The competition should be fierce. We hope one or two of them will emerge early during the preseason. If that happens, it's not out of the questions that a freshman will be seeing a lot of playing time at that vital position." Lack of team speed was also addressed in the off season. "If their self-reported 40 times are accurate, seven or eight of our 10 fastest players next fall will be newcomers." O'Grady said that many factors figured into this year's recruiting success. "My staff has always worked hard at finding new talent, but having top-notch facilities was a difference-maker this year. Kids' eyes got big when they walked into our new University Center. They appreciated our first class locker room and training facilities, too." "Luck is a factor in recruiting," O'Grady added. "For example, we had almost 30 players interested in majors sponsored by our highly-regarded College of Agriculture Food and Environmental Sciences. I would be willing to bet that's the highest level of interest in these programs by our potential recruits in the history of this school - maybe by a factor of two. A couple of players looking at UW-Madison have had second thoughts after seeing our new Dairy Science facility." Academic appointments are scheduled for all campus visitors. "We've had excellent cooperation in this process from faculty of all departments," O'Grady said. "Other larger WIAC schools do this only upon request or not at all. I know parents appreciate our efforts." O'Grady noted that there are other reasons for optimism on the University campus. Incoming Offensive Coordinator Stan Zweifel has a long track record of success at UW-Whitewater and UM-Morris. "Stan possesses boundless energy. His enthusiasm and love of the game of football is truly contagious, and I think it will carry over to infect our players, students and fans who have stuck with us through thick and thin." "Chancellor Don Betz has brought a "can do" sense of purpose to UWRF during his short tenure here," O'Grady concluded. "I think Falcon football is on the verge of doing our part in making this campus a good place to be." The Falcons open the 2007 season on Sept. 1 at Hope College. The first Falcon home game will be on Sept. 8 against St. John's University, a perennial NCAA playoff participant.
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