13 football commits move to campus, become IU students

With their high school careers, graduation and cafeteria food in their rearview mirrors, 13 IU football recruits became IU students Sunday when they arrived on campus.

From wide receivers Kevin Davis and Caleb Cornett to defensive linemen Nick Mangieri and Alex Todd, players unloaded cars and settled into their on-campus rooms.

Many junior college transfers, such as defensive back Tregg Waters and defensive end Justin Rayside, came to campus for the spring semester, while freshman quarterback
Nathan Sudfeld made it to Bloomington in time for summer classes.

“Excited for Frosh QB Nate Sudfeld,” IU Head Coach Kevin Wilson said Friday via his Twitter account, @IUCoachWilson. “Already In Summer School. Grades Looking Gr8 & Physically Looks the Part! A Gym Rat!! Gonna B A Player.”

Another group of players is set to arrive in the coming weeks, such as Westfield High School (Houston, Texas) offensive tackle Dimitric Camiel. He is set to arrive June 13 because his high school graduation ceremony is June 10.

For the athletes, summer conditioning starts Monday and will run until fall practice starts Aug. 2. Only strength and conditioning coaches are allowed access to the players during the summer.

Last summer, Strength Coach Mark Hill and his staff made a priority of making the players leaner. The slogan for the summer was “nutrition and condition,” as the team added nutritionist Amy Freel  to the mix while increasing the amount of running and decreasing resting time.

The transition was difficult for many of the players during summer 2011.

“Guys were a little in awe, if you will,” Hill said that fall. “But coming into this fall camp practice, when you’re in the best shape of your life, you’ve been running, you’ve been doing the things you need to do. There’s no longer a shock.”

The current strength and conditioning staff includes Hill, Associate Strength and Conditioning Coach Will Peoples, Director of Strength and Conditioning Rick Danison, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Lyonel Anderson and newly appointed Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Deonte Mack.

Mack, who was an intern in the 2011 season, is also a four-year letterwinner on the IU defensive line from 2007-10. He played in 36 career games, starting nine. He compiled 45 tackles, a pair of sacks, three and a half tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in his IU career.

The strength staff’s track record is full of NFL talent and bowl wins. Hill has coached 13 All-Americans and 37 NFL Draft picks, including six first-round selections, during tenures at IU and the Universities of Arizona, Minnesota and Oklahoma. Danison, meanwhile, has worked with more than 40 All-Americans and a pair of national champions.

After a spring during which the team was playing without both graduated seniors and upcoming freshmen, IU Coach Kevin Wilson said he is more than ready for a fresh batch of players to arrive.

“The only think I hated about spring was that we were about 20 bodies short,” Wilson said after the spring game. “I wish those high school kids could have been here because with that depth, I think we could have looked like a much better team and made some great strides.”