Miami RedHawks Head Football Coach Chuck Martin was wearing a wide grin Wednesday as he addressed the media at Yager Stadium.
It was national signing day, and . . .
With the departure of a big senior class, the RedHawks had plenty of scholarships to offer. “We had 24 commits in the summer, and we didn’t lose any,” Martin said. “We (also) added some nice player late -- some really talented kids.
Among the late commits was Cincinnati Colerain High School’s Ivan Pace Jr. (6-0, 220). Not only did he gain over 1,400 yards in the Cardinals’ option offense, he was stellar as a linebacker on defense.
He was “Division I Defensive Player of the Year in the state of Ohio, and this is an incredibly great football state,” Martin said.
Actually, MU signed four players from Colerain, which made it to the Division I championship game before finally falling. Among the other Cardinals is another linebacker -- Luke Bolden (6-2, 220).
“Those two had so many highlight real hits,” Martin said of Pace and Bolden.
According to Martin, having over two dozen scholarships allowed the RedHawks to address areas on both side of the ball. “We had a lot of holes to fill,” he said. “I could see 10-15 kids in this class traveling, playing and having a role.”
Martin was particularly pleased with the RedHawks defensive haul.
“I think we did a better job recruiting defensively (this year) than we have since I’ve been here,” he said,
As he has since taking over, Martin continued to stock the trenches. Five offensive linemen and four defensive line players are headed to Oxford. Six defensive backs and four linebackers round out the defensive side.
Three wide receivers will join the RedHawks offense, bolstering a unit that was thinned out last year. Martin, in fact, wouldn’t rule out using one of his two remaining scholarships on an experienced collegiate receiver.
One quarterback and one running back are on the way in Brett Gabbert and Ontario Russell The latter is a 5-11, 200-pound back from Kansas City, Missouri. Gabbert (6-0, 200) is a younger brother of former Missouri and pro quarterback Blaine Gabbert.