ESU football adds 31 players on Signing Day
Class includes for four transfers, and three from Madsion
By Jeremy Shapiro
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Emporia State inked 27 high school football seniors and four transfers on National Signing Day today. The class includes six local players, 11 Kansans and three quarterbacks.
“It’s a big class this year,” said ESU football coach Garin Higgins. “I think we filled our needs and at the same time signed the best athletes we could at those positions.”
Fans of Emporia High School and Madison High School will get a chance to continue to watch several players over the next four or five years. As expected, running back Derek Gifford and Nick Vega of EHS signed with the Hornets. Gifford said he will play either running back or outside linebacker. He rushed for 1,675 yards in his senior season and scored 22 touchdowns. Vega was a defensive lineman for the Spartans.
Madison High seniors Kole Schankie, Collin Kile and Bubba Smith also signed with the Hornets.
Schankie, the Gazette All-Area Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011, ran for 5,152 yards on 485 attempts during his career. He scored 122 touchdowns and only turned the ball over once. He also caught 29 passes for 525 yards.
“They were looking at me as an outside linebacker, but I told them I want to try wide receiver,” Schankie said in a December interview. “They said they are willing to give it a shot.”
Kile went 31-1 as starting quarterback for Madison. He completed 163 of 252 passes for 2,634 yards. He’s thrown 42 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 847 yards and 20 touchdowns.
At linebacker, Smith had 137 tackles and a sack during his senior year for the Bulldogs. He has twice been an all-state selection.
Council Grove coach Jim Collins said running back Derron Reddick signed with Emporia State. Reddick ran for 1,695 during his senior season and had more than 500 kick return yards. He ran three kicks back for touchdowns.
Along with Kile, the two other quarterbacks in the class are Corben Jones and Brent Wilson. Jones had more than 7,000 passing yards from Yukon High School in Oklahoma. Wilson threw for 6,167 yards and 61 touchdowns at Ponca City, Okla.
For the complete story and a full listing of players signed, pick up the Thursday Emporia Gazette print edition.