Illinois State added nine more players to the roster Wednesday on the second national signing day. The group included five walk-ons, four transfers and one high school signee. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
Illinois State added nine new players Wednesday on National Signing Day, two of which are familiar faces from a rival school.
The Redbirds added Western Illinois transfers Seth Glatz – a junior running back – and Garret Steffen – a defensive lineman with one year of eligibility remaining.
Steffen likely will fit in immediately in the ISU defensive line rotation, and both players are familiar with the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which Western departed for the Big South-Ohio Valley Association this fall.
“(Steffen) already had Missouri Valley size,” Spack told Prairie State Pigskin. “He’s 280 pounds and close to 6-4. He fits our system very well and can play multiple positions. That’s really big. We can plug him in at a lot of different spots. He’s more than just a depth guy. He’s going to be a front-line player.”
Last season, Steffen had 27 tackles in 11 games, including 4.5 tackles for loss at WIU.
Illinois State recruited Glatz out of high school in Morton near Peoria but could only offer him a walk-on opportunity.
“We had a stacked backfield when he came out and we just didn’t have enough room to take another guy on scholarship,” Spack said of Glatz, who rushed for a career-high 78 yards as a freshman against ISU.
“He’s a hard-running, downhill guy,” Spack said. “Those guys are hard to tackle.”
Among the 32-player recruiting class, the group’s balance stuck out to Spack, who will enter his 16th season at ISU this fall. He specifically highlighted the offensive and defensive line additions, along with strong back-to-back groups of high school defensive backs.
“We made tons of effort on making our front better, particularly offensively, and we helped our rotation on defense,” he said. “I think we’re considerably better, numbers wise, and in the number of guys who can play on our offensive line.”
During this recruiting cycle, ISU added five offensive linemen and six defensive linemen. In addition, Spack said Duke transfer Elijah Wroten, who joined the program last summer but was not eligible to practice with the team as he completed his undergraduate degree, also will compete for playing time along the offensive line.
Five prep defensive backs also were part of this recruiting class.
“This is a pretty balanced class,” Spack said. “There are guys I like at every position. I think we improved our team quite drastically.”
In December, ISU added 23 players, including 18 from the high school ranks.
QB competition
One of the biggest changes on offense will be at quarterback, where Kansas State transfer Jake Rubley will compete with junior Tommy Rittenhouse, who started the final two games for ISU last fall in relief of the injured Zack Annexstad.
“I do like competition,” Spack said. “I think we’ve got two guys in Tommy and Jake and it’s going to be a great battle. Tommy is a really good player. You can win with Tommy. But Jake’s been impressive so far.”
Rittenhouse completed 67% of his passes in his two starts, throwing for three touchdowns while rushing for one. Rubley, who joined the Redbirds last month, played in six games as a reserve over the past two years after redshirting in 2021.
Spack said he does not expect to choose a starter during spring practices, which culminate with ISU’s spring game April 13.
“I’d like it to play out a little bit going into the fall,” Spack said. “But I’m not going to wait until the end of training camp (in August), unless it’s been so tight that you just don’t know.”
Oh brother
Current redshirt sophomore wide receiver Eddie Kasper caught 48 passes last season for ISU, the third-most on the team. He will have a familiar face joining him on the 2024 roster – his younger brother, Brett.
The younger Kasper starred at quarterback and defensive back last fall at Wheaton Academy, throwing for 22 touchdowns, rushing for 10 scores and intercepting seven passes. The Redbirds announced Brett Kasper as a wide receiver.
News and notes
Running back Mason Blakemore, who earned MVFC Newcomer of the Year last season after rushing for 983 yards and 14 touchdowns, has changed his last name this off-season to King, which Spack said is the maiden name of the athlete’s mother. … Defensive line addition Emmet Wolf originally signed last February with fellow MVFC program North Dakota. As a prep senior in 2022 at Maine South in Park Ridge, Ill., Wolf was named the Central Suburban League’s Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection. …. Wide receiver Dylan Lord, who played prep football at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., was a teammate of December ISU signee Beckham Pellant, a quarterback who helped Lord rank No. 1 in Hamilton’s region in receiving yards. … Kicker/punter Dylan Ritchie, who joined the 2024 class Wednesday, is a high school teammate of defensive lineman Wyatt Boals, who signed with ISU in December.
Illinois State February signing day recruits
(Name, Position, Height, Weight, Previous School, Hometown)
Garret Steffen, DL, 6-4, 270, Western Illinois University, Altoona, Wis.
Seth Glatz, RB, 5-11, 195, Western Illinois University, Morton, Ill.
Emmet Wolf, DL, 6-4, 235, Maine South HS, Park Ridge, Ill.
Valentino Garcia, DL, 6-3, 310, Orlando Christian Prep, Orlando, Fla.
Recruited walk-ons
Brett Kasper, WR, 5-10, 170, Wheaton Academy, Warrenville, Ill.
Jashawn Echols, DB, 6-1, 165, Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.
Tommy Johl, OL, 6-3, 270, Prospect HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Dylan Ritchie, K/P, 6-0, 155, Northridge HS, Goshen, Ind.
Dylan Lord, WR, 5-9, 170, Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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