UIW Cardinals sign Monash Warriors Offensive Lineman Rory Dew!

www.cardinalathletics.com/news/2011/2/2/FB_0202112020.aspx

From Dalhart to Brownsville. From Beaumont to Australia? Incarnate Word’s football signing class of 2011 numbers 29 and they come from all over the state, and yes, one player is from Melbourne, Australia.

Coach Mike Santiago announced the class at a media function on Wednesday, the first official day high school players could sign letters-of-intent with colleges. This is the fourth class for Incarnate Word and it is the largest in terms of numbers.

“One more class,” Coach Santiago said, “and we will have a full roster. You don’t get a full roster until the fifth year. Our staff did a great job of canvassing the state and then going outside the box. I am proud of this staff. This is a lot of hard work.”

Also, in terms of size, 10 of the 29 new Cardinals go 250 pounds or more in physical size. And the Aussie is the largest of them all. Rory Dew played at St. Kevins High School in Melbourne. He is an offensive lineman and he goes 6-8, 315. “This guy is all Coach (offensive line coach Tony) Marciano,” Santiago said. “Rory was in a football camp in Florida for the past month when we heard about him. We are now looking at international players.”

For local Cardinals fans, the San Antonio area is highly represented. Eight signees are from Alamo City schools. “We are seeing more recruiters than ever before in San Antonio,” Santiago said. “But our recruiting always begins at home.”

Another aspect of what Santiago calls a “UIW guy” is how each player does in the classroom and how each is projected to perform in UIW classrooms. “The average grade point average of this group,” Santiago said, “is 3.71. And their average SAT score is 1,040. And we think when a player does well in the classroom there is a high probability of him bringing good character to us.”

UIW’s coaches covered thousands of miles just inside Texas in assembling this class. From Beaumont’s Ozen High School and running back Melvin Adderton to up north and Dalhart tight end Harper Scofield then back to the Gulf Coast and Corpus Christi area’s Kyle Fishbeck and Nick Ginn. The list even includes a quarterback from Tucson, Ariz., Jordan Scelfo.

Santiago talked about what the fourth year was like. “After four years the high school coaches know our staff when they come through the door. We get places quicker because we don’t have to explain who we are.”

Incarnate Word has now played two full seasons of Division II football, the second of which, 2010, as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The original class of 2008, in most part, will be juniors this coming season.

2011 signing class (pdf)