Football February 03, 2016 Monmouth Sports Information

MONMOUTH FOOTBALL ANNOUNCES 2016 RECRUITING CLASS

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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth Head Football Coach Kevin Callahan announced the addition of 17 student-athletes to the program Wednesday.

"For the third consecutive year our staff has put together an extremely talented class," said Monmouth Head coach Kevin Callahan. "It has always been important that we work from the inside out, recruiting the state of New Jersey first, before going to out of state areas. Ten of the 17 that signed with us come from New Jersey, and Maryland has again proven to be a great area for us. Obviously, we had some specific positions of need, and I think we addressed those needs in a very big way."

The 2016 recruiting class includes 16 student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent, to go along with a mid-year prep school transfer. Ten total student-athletes hail from the Garden State, four from Maryland, two from New York and one Pennsylvanian.

Monmouth tentatively begins spring football practice on Wednesday, March 30 with the annual Blue/White Spring Game expected to be held on Sunday April 24, 2016.

2016 MONMOUTH FOOTBALL NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT SIGNEES
*Denotes player is already enrolled at Monmouth University

PLAYER	POS.	HT	WT	YR	HOMETOWN	HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS
Wendell Allen	DB	6-0	175	FR	Monmouth Junction, NJ	South Brunswick High School
Bryce Barneys	WR	6-0	160	FR	Avenel, NJ	Colonia High School
Jonathan Brice	DB	6-1	200	FR	Baltimore, MD	Archbishop Curley High School
Cameron Brown	OL	6-2	285	FR	Philadelphia, PA	Simon Gratz High School
Manny Christian	OL	6-5	280	FR	Newark, NJ	Newark Central High School
Da'Quan Grimes	LB	5-11	205	FR	Gaithersburg, MD	Damascus High School
Charles James	OL	6-5	265	FR	Union, NJ	Union High School
Adam Kakar*	DT	6-3	300	FR	Toms River, NJ	Toms River North/Milford Academy
Lowell Kelly-Gamble	DE	6-2	235	FR	Bloomfield, NJ	Bloomfield High School
Lonnie Moore	WR	5-10	160	FR	Sicklerville, NJ	Paul VI High School
Matt Mosquera	K	5-10	175	FR	Middletown, NJ	Middletown South HS
Evan Powell	LB	6-1	230	FR	Marlton, NJ	Cherokee High School
Mahmoud Shabana	OL	6-3	250	FR	New York, NY	Brooklyn Tech
Shamar Shanks	LB	6-2	220	FR	Baltimore, MD	Gilman High School
Brian Syracuse	OT	6-4	275	FR	Nanuet, NY	Nanuet High School
Michael Welsh	QB	6-1	215	FR	Medford, NJ	Shawnee High School
Keith Williams	OL	6-7	270	FR	Baltimore, MD	Overlea High School

2016 Recruiting Class Breakdown

Breakdown by Position		XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	Breakdown by State
Offensive Line	6		New Jersey	10
Linebacker	3		Maryland	4
Defensive Line	2		New York	2
Defensive Back	2		Pennsylvania	1
Wide Receiver	2
Kicker	1
Quarterback	1

2016 PLAYER BIOS

	WENDELL ALLEN DB w 6'-0" w 175 Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick High School Allen Highlights High School w Played defensive back and running back under coach Joe George at South Brunswick High School w Helped lead the Vikings to an 11-1 record in 2015 and a Central Jersey Group V State Championship w First Team all-area and all-conference selection as a senior w The Viking defense allowed 11.8 points per game in 2015 where Allen roamed the secondary w Had 10 pass breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery as a senior w Finished with 849 all-purpose yards, including 544 on the ground w lso ran track for the Vikings, winning a sectional championship in the 200m Personal w Son of LaTonya Hatcher and Wendell Allen w Major is undeclared

	Bryce Barneys WR w 6' 0" w 160 Avenel, NJ/Colonia High School Barneys Highlights High School w Played wide receiver and defensive back under coach Tom Roarty at Colonia High School w Led the Patriots to back to back conference championships, while earning All-GMAC honors w Registered 67 career receptions for 837 yards and nine touchdowns w Earned all-area honors in back to back seasons w Second Team All-GMAC selection as a junior w Also was a member of the Patriots basketball team, playing point guard Personal w Son of Kenneth and Shaaron Barneys w Plans to major in business administration

	Johnathan Brice DB w 6' 1" w 185 Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley HS Brice Highlights High School w Played defensive back under coach Sean Murphy at Archbishop Curley HS w Helped the Friars to a 10-0 record and a MIAA Conference Championship in 2015 w Finished 2015 with 25 tackles, 13 pass breakups and two forced fumbles w Averaged 37 yards per kick return w Scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns w Also a standout baseball and basketball player Personal Son of John and Lashawn Brice Plans to major in physical therapy

	Cam Brown OL w 6' 2" w 285 Philadelphia, PA/Simon Gratz High School Brown Highlights High School w Played offensive tackle under coach Erik Zipay at Simon Gratz High School w Captained the Bulldogs to an 11-3 record and the 4A Public League Championship in 2015 w Two-time All-Public and All-City selection w Selected to play in the Blue-Gray All-American Bowl Personal w Son of Cornell Brown and Leslie White w Major is undeclared

	Manny Christian OL w 6' 5" w 280 Newark, NJ/Newark Central High School Christian Highlights High School w Played offensive tackle and defensive end under coach Julius Montford at Newark Central High School w First Team All-Super Essex Conference selection at offensive line as a senior w First Team All-Conference defensive lineman and second team all-conference offensive lineman as a junior w Finished career with 91 solo tackles and 8.5 sacks w Recorded four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries for the Blue Devils Personal w Son of Sandra Christian and Kevin Rennie w Major is computer science

	Da'Quan Grimes LB w 5' 11" w 205 Gaithersburg, MD/Damascus High School Grimes Highlights High School w Played linebacker under coach Eric Wallich at Damascas High School w Helped lead the Hornets to a 14-0 record and a state championship as a senior w Concensus All-State selection w Had 81 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, eight sacks and an interception in 2015 w All-League and All-Montgomery County selection w Holds the school record with 210 career tackles w Damascus was 46-4 while Grimes was a Hornet, including a No. 1 ranking by the Washington Post Personal w Grandson of Wanda Grimes w Plans to major in biology

	Charles James OL w 6' 5" w 265 Union, NJ/Union High School James Highlights High School w Played offensive line and defensive line under coach Lou Grasso at Union High School w First Team All-Mid State 38 Conference selection at offensive line as a senior w Also throws the shotput for the Farmers' track and field team Personal w Son of Charles and Tina James w Major is undeclared

	Adam Kakar DT w 6' 3" w 300 Toms River, NJ/Toms River North/Milford Academy/ Kakar Highlights High School w Played defensive line under coach Bill Chaplick at Milford Academy in 2015 w Played high school football at Toms River North High School under coaches Chip LaBarca and Dave Oz w First Team All-Shore Conference selection w Finished high school with 49 tackles, four sacks w Also had 15.5 tackles for a loss for the Mariners Personal w Son of Mohammad and Muzlifer Kakar w Major is undeclared

	Lowell Kelly-Gamble DE w 6' 2" w 235 Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield HS Kelly-Gamble Highlights High School w Played defensive end and linebacker under coach Michael Carter at Bloomfield High School w Helped lead the Bengals to a 7-3 record and the first round of the state playoffs w Finished career with 80 tackles and 12.5 sacks w First Team All-Super Essex County selection as a senior w All-State Honorable Mention by MSGVarsity.com w Honorable Mention all-conference as a junior w NJ.com selected Kelly-Gamble as top sophomore in the state in 2013 Personal w Son of Thomas Gamble and Linda Kelly-Gamble w Major is business administration

	Lonnie Moore WR w 5' 10" w 160 Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI Moore Highlights High School w Played wide receiver under Paul Doherty at Paul VI High School w Rated as a three-star athlete by 247 Sports w Non-Puble All-State selection as a senior w Also returned kicks and played defensive back for the Eagles w Three-time first team all-conference selection w Finished career with 2,111 receiving yards on 112 receptions w Also had 1,000+ rushing yards w Recorded 32 total touchdowns w Second Team All-South Jersey selection as a junior Personal w Son of Lonnie III and Shante Moore w Plans to major in business administration

	Matt Mosquera K w 5' 10" w 175 Middletown, NJ/Middletown South Mosquera kicking highlights High School w Played quarterback, kicked and punted under head coach Steve Antonucci at Middletown South w Converted 22 of 24 career field goals and 142 of 144 extra points w Led his team to a perfect 12-0 record, No. 1 state ranking and the Group IV State Title in 2015 w Averaged 37.2 yards per punt over his career w First Team All-Conference selection as a kicker also a third team all-state selection w Made three out of four field goals with a long of 47 as a senior w Threw for 2,750 and 24 touchdowns as a quarterback Personal w Son of Robert and Jeanette w Plans to major in business administration

	Evan Powell LB w 6' 1" w 230 Marlton, NJ/Cherokee Powell Highlights High School w Played linebacker and quarterback at Cherokee High School under coach PJ Mehigan w Two-time Group V All-State selection w Helped lead the Chiefs to a 34-11 record over four varsity seasons and two Group V State Champions w Named Brooks Irvine TD Club Defensive Player of the Year w His 297 career tackles is the most in Cherokee history w Three-time all-county and all-academic selection w Two-time all-conference selection w Second team all-state selection at linebacker as a junior w Captained both Cherokee's football and baseball teams Personal w Son of Todd and Charlene Powell w Brother, Jake, is a redshirt freshman tight end on the Hawks w Plans to major in graphic design

	Mahmoud Shabana OL w 6' 3" w 250 New York, NY/Brooklyn Tech Shabana Highlights High School w Played offensive and defensive line under coach Kyle McKenna at Brooklyn Tech w First Team All-Public School Athletics League w Named All-Brooklyn (Big 44) w Defensively had 34 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 blocked PAT Personal w Son of Elsayed Shabana and Abby Abbas w Major is software engineering

	Shamar Shanks LB w 6' 2" w 220 Baltimore, MD/Gilman High School Shanks Highlights High School w Played linebacker under coach Biff Poggi at Gilman High School w Helped the Greyhounds finish with a 10-1 record, No. 2 ranking in Maryland and No. 19 national ranking w Finished his senior season with 88 tackles and 13 sacks w Also had three pass breakups w First Team All-MIAA Conference selection in 2015 Personal w Son of Lanette Walker w Major is undecided

	Brian Syracuse OL w 6' 4" w 275 Nanuet, NY/Nanuet High School Syracuse Highlights High School w Three year letterwinner on the offensive and defensive line under coach Phil Carbone at Nanuet High School w Helped lead the Knights to a league championship as a senior w Second Team All-State selection in 2015 w Two-time first team all-conference selection w Nanuet High School was 23-6 with Syracuse as a varsity player w Selected as the Section 1 Class B Offensive Lineman of the Year Personal w Son of Bob and Gloria Syracuse w Major is undeclared

	Mike Welsh QB w 6' 0" w 220 Medford, NJ/Shawnee High School Welsh Highlights High School w Played quarterback for head coach Tim Gushue at Shawnee High School w Consensus All-South Jersey, all-county and All-Olympic Conference selection w Led the Renegades to a pair of South Jersey Group IV State titles w Owned a 35-12 record in his four years, making at least the semifinals in each season w Finished his career winning more games than any other QB in Shawnee history w Named Brooks Irvine Offensive Player of the Year w Threw for 4,158 yards and 46 touchdowns in his career w Also ran for 32 touchdowns and over 1,500 yards w Owns four Shawnee career records, including passing yards and touchdowns Personal w Son of Tim and Michelle Welsh w Major is undeclared

	Keith Williams OT w 6' 7" w 270 Baltimore, MD/Overlea HS Williams Highlights High School w Played offensive tackle under coach Craig Rollins at Overlea High School w Three-time all-division selection w Selected to play in the Baltimore Touchdown Club All-Star Game w Also a Crab Bowl All-Star Game selection w Two time first team all-county and all-league selection Personal w Son of Kenneth and Shanelle Williams w Majoring in sports science