DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team has received commitments from 24 student-athletes to join the Bulldogs for the 2015 season, second-year head coach Rick Fox announced Wednesday to open the signing period.

“We're really excited about this group,” Fox said. “They meet our criteria and are the kind of young men we're looking for. They're great students like we need here at Drake University in addition to being high character guys and talented football players. It's an exciting group, they come from 10 different states across the country because they want to be a part of the program at Drake, both academically and athletically.”

The 24 student-athletes that will continue their academic and athletic careers hail from those 11 states spanning from Florida, up the eastern seaboard to Pennsylvania, north to Minnesota, out to the west coast and California plus the football hotbed of Texas. Thirteen of the newcomers are projected as offensive players while 10 are defenders plus one specialist.

“We always want to recruit as full of a team as possible,” Fox said. “We want to make sure we have depth at every position. We feel like we did a good job of that with this class while focusing on some needs, like the receiver position group. We feel like we met our needs with this class.”

The 2015 commitments join a program that has laid claim to two of the last four Pioneer Football League championships. The Bulldogs are slated to return 12 all-PFL selections from the 2014 season in which the team posted a 7-4 schedule.

“We look for guys who have their best football in front of them,” Fox added. “We want to find the guy that is constantly improving and developing while making an impact. We look at how much of an impact they make on the field as opposed to 40-yard times and bench press numbers. We look at that, but we look more and what kind of impact they make on the field and what their future projects here at Drake.”

2015 Drake Football Commitments

2015 Drake Football Commitments – Career Highlights
Thomas Arcand (WR, 5-9, 175, Falcon Heights, Minn./Roseville)
- Named all-conference as a senior, junior and sophomore
- Had 581 receiving yards and 425 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns as a junior
- Recorded three touchdowns as a senior.

Devin Cates (WR, 6-3, 180, Yuba City, Calif./River Valley)
- Had 32 catches for 417 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior
- Named second-team all-state, team MVP, all-league, all-area and all-metro
- Played quarterback as a junior and passed for 918 yards with 10 touchdowns

Cooper Christiano (DB, 5-11, 171, Melbourne Beach, Fla./Melbourne)
- Was team's offensive MVP and named second-team all-state
- As a senior, led the team to the final 16 of the 7A state playoffs

Alex Ciszewski  (TE, 6-3, 208, Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East)
- Was named team captain
- Named academic all-conference
- As a junior, was the team's top receiver

Donte Hartsfield (DB, 5-10, 164, Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East)
- Recorded 42 total tackles, 27 solo, as a senior with three interceptions and five deflections
- Had 50 tackles as a junior with three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns

Isaiah Kent-Schneider (OL, 6-4, 254, Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen)
- Team captain and team's lineman of the year as a senior
- Helped lead to a conference title as a junior

Alex Minton (RB, 5-9, 190, Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park)
- Rushed for 1,250 yards as a senior with 250 receiving yards. On defense, he made 80 tackles with six sacks
- Named team captain, first-team all-conference as a senior
- Ran for 800 yards as a junior

Anthony Mooney (OL, 6-4, 305, Ames, Iowa/Ames)
- Named honorable mention all-conference and earned an all-academic award
- Led team to the second round of the playoffs in 2014
- Helped squad to an 11-1 record as a junior and a division title

Luke Oja (OL, 6-2, 270, Des Moines, Iowa/Carlisle)
- Named first team all-state, all-district and was a Shrine Bowl invitee
- Helped team to the second round of the playoffs as a senior
- Was first team all-district and a team captain as a junior

Jeremiah Peoples (S, 5-11, 165, Savoy, Ill./Centennial)
- As a senior, recorded 83 tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown and returned two fumbles for touchdowns
- Also had 900 yards or kick returns
- During his junior season, he recorded 65 tackles with one interception

Zac Rujawitz (LB, 6-1, 228, Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville)
- Led the team in tackles as a senior with 100, including six for a loss
- Finished his career as the school's all-time leader in tackles (302) and wins as a starter (36)
- Team went 31-5 and he was a three-time first team all-conference, all-St. Louis metro and all-area selection

Jakeb Yeggy (OL, 6-2, 291, Riverside, Iowa/Highlan
- As a senior, he was voted offensive line MVP and first team all-district
- As a junior, he was second team all-district and offensive line MVP
- Finished 19th in the state as a junior in the discus