X Days until 2017 Leatherneck Football

[ST_Lawson]

98 Days

There's no current #98 on the Leathernecks roster, so we go back a few years to find....#98 Gavin Ricketts from Davie, FL. Ricketts was a Defensive Lineman who played from 2012-2015. Gavin did something that's difficult to do at any position, but even moreso when you play on the line and end up slamming into the opposing line's players on every play...he played in every single game possible during his time at Western. He played in all 11 games as a true freshman in 2012, all 12 games as a sophomore, started in all 12 games as a Junior, and started in all 13 games as a Senior in 2015 (including the two playoff games). Ricketts had a total of 87 tackles in his 48 games including 4 sacks. He also had a forced fumble in 2013 and a fumble recovery in 2014. I never met the guy, but it seemed like in just about every photo of him, he's always smiling.

Other Leathernecks to have worn #98:
Rob Hollinger.........................1950-53
Duane Woddall......................1958-59
David Tipton...........................1972-74
Doug Onstot ..........................1979-80
Jeff Patterson ........................1982-83
Scott Tourtellott......................1984-85
Joe Redding ..........................1987-89
Ricky Newman............................ 1990
Stevie Green..........................1993-94
Mike Spelich ............................... 1996
Levi Ulin.................................1998-99
Jeff Shields ................................. 2000
Drew Schmitt .........................2001-04
Davie Pierson ............................. 2006
Emeka Nwankwo........................ 2011

[ST_Lawson]

Today we have #97...

#97 Eryk Preston is a Redshirt Freshman Defensive End from Harvey, IL. He actually played in three games last year as a true freshmen until suffering a season-ending injury against South Dakota State. Because his playing time was minimal (in few enough games), they were able to classify it as a medical redshirt year, so this coming season will count as his first year of eligibility. He picked up 2 unassisted tackles last year through those three games.

Other Leathernecks who have worn #97:
Ronald Rio.............................1954-57
Tom Rucks.............................1976-78
Thomas Morgan ......................... 1980
Lane Bennett .............................. 1986
Rob Klaric..............................1987-89
Brent Harbold ............................. 1992
Jemal King.............................1996-99
Shaefrey Griffin........................... 2000
D.J. Bagwell...........................2001-04
Buddy Dudczak .....................2005-06
Dominick Corsiglia...................... 2010

[ST_Lawson]

I realize it's kinda "early" although it is technically Saturday. I've got a pretty busy weekend, so I'm going to have to get these posted whenever I am able to.

#96 for the Leathernecks this year is Fabian Harris. Harris is a R-Freshman Defensive Lineman from Gateway Tech STEM Academy in St. Louis, MO. No disrespect intended, but honestly there's not too much else I know about him besides what's on his page: http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football (doesn't even have a photo).
He just kinda showed up on the roster one day as a Redshirt Freshman. He wasn't on the roster last year, his hudl page says he was class of 2016, so I don't really know what he was doing last fall, and I can't seem to find a twitter account for him.
Here's his hudl page for anyone who's interested in checking out game film for him: http://www.hudl.com/profile/6755809/fabian-harris

Other Leathernecks who have worn #96 include:
Dale Pauley ...........................1951-54
Wayne Harcharick .................1955-57
Wayne Lunak.........................1958-61
Washington Bush ..................1972-74
Don Vock ...............................1976-77
Carl Riley...............................1981-82
Ed Spila .................................1983-84
Tom Wilp..................................... 1985
John Filiaga ................................ 1987
Bryan Cox................................... 1986
Chad VanBeek............................ 1994
Abbie Camacho.......................... 1998
Fredrick Walker .....................1999-00
Al Conley ...............................2001-04
John LaChapelle......................... 2015

So it looks like Bryan Cox was a #96 his freshman year, although that changed the next year.

[ST_Lawson]

#95

Senior Defensive Lineman Mick Nelson
From Vadnais Heights, MN, Nelson has seen action in all Leatherneck football games since he was a R-Freshman. He's played in 36 games, has 39 total tackles including 8 for loss and 1 sack. He's also had one fumble recovery each year that he's played (3).

Other Leathernecks who have worn #95 include:
Robert Rio .............................1954-56
Gary Shriber..........................1957-59
John Branch ............................... 1978
Brad Sobotka.........................1984-85
Wayne Stewart ......................1993-96
Don Shymkewich........................ 1997
Nick Madsen............................... 2009

[ST_Lawson]

#94 is Grant Kasal
Grant is a Junior from Westmont, IL. He played in all 11 games his sophomore year and has 4 tackles. Grant is also a Pre-Dental major who volunteers at the Loyola University Medical Center and Ronald Mcdonald's Children Center.

Also, pointless random fact...Grant and I share the same birthday.

Other players who have worn #94 are:
Bob Young .............................1951-54
Randall Rayborn....................1955-56
Dick Lange.............................1956-57
Tom Oliver .............................1958-59
John Branch ............................... 1978
Keith Steffens ............................. 1980
J.D. Johnson..........................1981-82
Leo Brown .............................1989-91
Tom Snyder ................................ 1992
Don Shymkewich........................ 1995
Thomas Cole .............................. 2001
Daniel Speight .......................2005-07

[ST_Lawson]

Sorry this is so late, it's been a bit of a rough (and crazy) day...

#93 is Senior Defensive Lineman Jordan Veloz

Jordan has played in 32 games in his Leatherneck career, racking up 26 tackles, 5.5 for loss including 1 sack. He also has one forced fumble. Jordan was also one of the two players that we've had who have donated bone marrow in the Be The Match program. Jordan's younger brother Nathan is a Sophomore DT on the NIU Huskie football team.

Previous Leathernecks in #93 include:
Joe Clark................................1956-57
Ted Beck.................................1957-58
Bob Anderson.............................. 1973
James Sirota..........................1974-75
Todd Selke........................ 1978, 80-82
John Wisnosky............................ 1983
David Lee.................................... 1989
Ryan Craddock.......................1990-93
Chad Daun.............................1999-03
Jimmy Redding............................ 2004
Larry Groy................................... 2006
Matt Yerkes.............................2007-08
Dwight Harris..........................2009-12

[ST_Lawson]

Yea, I'm doing two back-to-back...it's nearly midnight, so it counts, right?

#92 is Sophomore Defensive Lineman Matt Costenson-Segura from Kewanee, IL

Matt redshirted his freshman year and didn't see any playing time last year. I do have a random connection though...a big influence on Matt was his HS football coach at Kewanee, Tyler Nichols. Nichols is a Macomb native and a WIU alumnus, and his older brother was a year behind me in HS (I remember him sitting behind me in my HS geography class).

Other players to wear #92 include:
Lester Smith...........................1973-75
Mike Magness........................1977-80
Jeff Fleming................................. 1981
Butch Oliva.................................. 1984
Deion Melvin...........................1985-86
Matt Martin.............................1991-94
Byron Benion..........................1997-99
Chris Riley..............................2005-08
Jolli Odele.................................... 2010
Kris Harley..............................2014-15
Josh Faulkenberry....................... 2015

And there's at least one name there you should recognize if you've been paying attention to the coaching staff...our current assistant coach for ILBs...Deion Melvin.

[ST_Lawson]

91 Days...

#91 is R-Freshman Defensive End Kyle Williams
Kyle is from Lebanon, IN and was redshirted last year, so this will be his first year of eligibility.

Other players who suited up in the number 91 include:
Ernest Opp.............................1947-48
Kim Burton..............................1975-77
Ken Greer...............................1985-86
Rick Ruether...........................1988-89
Ryan Culver................................. 1994
Jason VanAcker......................1995-96
Tony Zitzka.............................1997-99
Mike Tetzel................................... 2003
Daniel Blum................................. 2006
Michael Famiglietti....................... 2011
Darryl Johnson............................ 2012
Lendell Buckner........................... 2013

[sealhall74]

When we get down to 81, do I get to post my picture here (I bought a 8 1 Jersey last year to match my graduation year). I dont have it framed yet, so I can still yank it out of my chest of drawers.

While I am on a role thanks to a couple of Jack and Cokes, do you call it a chest of drawers or a chester drawers (that was my Mom, God rest here soul)?

[ST_Lawson]

When we get down to 81, do I get to post my picture here (I bought a 8 1 Jersey last year to match my graduation year). I dont have it framed yet, so I can still yank it out of my chest of drawers.

While I am on a role thanks to a couple of Jack and Cokes, do you call it a chest of drawers or a chester drawers (that was my Mom, God rest here soul)?

Absolutely...if anyone has photos of themselves in numbered Leatherneck gear, when we hit the date, go for it. My son has a #38 jersey and if I can find a good photo of him wearing that, I'll post it when we get to there. It's fitting because it's a J.C. Baker jersey (http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football)...who was all of 5' 8" and 180-190 lbs...which is really about the best my boy can probably hope for given his genes (for those of you who haven't met me in person..."tall" or "average height" are not phrases that anyone would use to describe my stature).

I've always called it a chest of drawers (although it always comes out sounding like "chest of droors").