University of Delaware football program brings in 13 new recruits

When Dave Brock took over the University of Delaware football program on January 18th he knew his first job was to meet each high school student recruited by former coach K.C. Keeler.

Brock put out the University’s list of 13 new recruits coming to Delaware this fall. All of them were recruited by Keeler.  Only two of Keeler’s recruits opted to go to another school after initially committing to Delaware.  “I want to thank Coach Keeler and his staff.  They did a terrific job of building relationships.  They, and now I, have a tremendous product to sell,” said Brown.

Brock said this class was part of his goal to bring the right players on to the team. He wanted to meet with the 13 high school recruits, adding that he didn’t want them to step foot in Delaware without knowing who he was.

The new coach had high praise for the quarterback selected.  Kyle Yocum is 6’2″ student from Exeter High in Reading.  He called Yocum an impressive leader with a terrific arm.  He said that Yocum was instrumental in keeping the recruiting class together by not wanting to go to another school after Keeler had recruited him.

One of the transfers in this group was Jordan Thomas who came from Rutgers.  Brock was also at Rutgers, but said Jordan had left before he was there.  He said he did know Jacob Trump through his Rutgers connections and called him a physical player.

There are no Delaware high school players on this list.  However, Thomas and linebacker Kennedy Ogbonna are already enrolled at the University.  Also eligable to play this year is Eric Patton who sat out the 2012 season as a greyshirt player after being recruited last year. Brock said he was also trying to recruit Patton’s brother, Andre, for Rutgers.

He described the last 3 weeks as a whirlwind of going from home to home talking to these recruits.  He said it was like “an infomercial” for the Delaware program.  He said on a personal level it was a great experience to have.  He told each player,  “to come for Delaware for right reason, not because you think you have to.”  

Brock said now that this is official, he plans to meet with the players who are here.  He will also work to complete his coaching staff.