Jimmies football brings in 54 players in 2024 recruiting class

Feb. 7—JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown football team has announced its 2024 commits, and the class includes many local players.

"We're very excited about the incoming class and the hard work and dedication that our staff has to identify the right type of fit to come to the University of Jamestown," Jimmies head coach Brian Mistro said. "All of the young men that are committing to join the orange and black are dudes of high character, really good football players and guys that understand what they are getting themselves into and being a part of our culture and hopefully taking us to the next step in our transition into Division II. I think the talent pool in this class is really good and hopefully sets the stage for the future for Jimmie football."

Out of the 54 players in the class, 18 are from North Dakota including three from Jamestown — defensive lineman Bo Nelson and offensive lineman Connor Ede and Colin Conway. Those three are expected to be three of the 10 former Blue Jays on the Jimmies roster when the 2024 season starts.

"Making sure that we get the best players out of our backyard was something that I wanted to do," Mistro said. "For our staff to understand that, 'Hey, we can't let guys leave,' I think that's something that when you look at it from our perspective as a staff, we wanted to make sure that we identify the guys early in their career here. Coach Nelson does such a great job of developing those guys in the weight room and on the field that our core Jamestown guys are gonna be guys that are gonna be in our program for four years, guys that work their tails off. We know them and we know what we're getting into and we know what to expect when they get here."

Mistro said one emphasis with this class was to address the trenches as they brought in 10 offensive linemen and 13 defensive linemen. Last year, the Jimmies gave up 38 sacks and had 16 sacks.

"I think we did a really good job this year of attacking the line of scrimmage and bringing in guys that are gonna be able to provide depth and help us up front," Mistro said. "When you look at it from our perspective, we brought in a handful of offensive line and defensive linemen. ... The trench is where this thing starts so we wanted to bring in some beef there and guys that are really good football players to set the stage for what their future is gonna look like up front and I think that's where football games are won."

The Jimmies also brought in help in the offensive skill positions. The Jimmies brought in one quarterback, Giordan Hanks, six running backs and seven wide receivers. Last year, the Jimmies offensive averaged 294 yards per game with 228.6 passing yards per game and 65.4 rushing yards per game.

The incoming recruits will get to start playing at the NCAA Division II level in their sophomore year, which Mistro said was part of the recruiting pitch to the players.

"It's not necessarily the only selling point but it's on the horizon so it's something that we talk about and made sure that they understood what our process is and how we're getting there and what their future would look like if they continued their football and education here," Mistro said. "So, it's a lot of good that goes along with it with some travel things and some familiar faces that we've played in the past. So, it's a lot easier to sell something that we believe in and we believe this is the right choice for our university and our guys were on board with that."

The full class is below:

Chase Wells, DB, Hardin, Montana

Weston Vildbill, DB, Castle Rock, Colorado

Dylan Mitzel, DB, Hillsboro, North Dakota

Wyatt Samarzja, DB, Horace, North Dakota

Brayden Comstock, DB, Aberdeen, South Dakota

Joziah Palaita, DL, Mesa, Arizona

Bo Nelson, DL, Jamestown, North Dakota

Jobe Rystedt, DL, Minot, North Dakota

Carter Knutson, DL, Washburn, North Dakota

Matt Goodman, DL, Williston, North Dakota

Evan Schmit, DL, Bismarck, North Dakota

Hayden Kniss, DL, Summerset, South Dakota

Jamar Trotter, DL, Chandler, Arizona

Jack Young, DL, Star, Idaho

Andrew Staples, DL, Hibbing, Minnesota

Ethan Halverson, DL, Dickinson, North Dakota

Christian Keanini, DL, Mesa, Arizona

Nicholas Berry, DL, Chestermere, Alberta

Ethan Lieb, K/P, New Ulm, Minnesota

Jackson Handel, LB, Lodi, California

Dawson Gregg, LB, Moorhead, Minnesota

Spencer Ness, LB, Bemidji, Minnesota

Caden Neid, LB, Glencoe, Minnesota

Luke Van Den Berg, LB, Murrieta, California

Cole Sjogren, LB, Golden, Colorado

Dylan Brown, LB, Santa Rosa, California

WIll Schultz III, LB, Zimmerman, Minnesota

Josh Bosacker, LB, Saint Peter, Minnesota

Jasen Jansen, LB, Renville, Minnesota

Zachary Jeuch, OL, Fisher, Minnesota

Owen Messner, OL, Argusville, North Dakota

Elijah Morrissette, OL, Redfield, South Dakota

Matthew Strey, OL, Willmar, Minnesota

Nathan Schumacher, OL, Herreid, South Dakota

Arthur Hebert, OL, Beaumont, Texas

Damian Perea, OL, Brentwood, California

Jacob Hangsleben, OL, Monticello, Minnesota

Connor Ede, OL, Jamestown, North Dakota

Colin Conway, OL, Jamestown, North Dakota

Kobe Irmen, P, Minot, North Dakota

Giordan Hanks, QB, Mesa, Arizona

Trey Jacob, RB, Vancouver, Washington

Ryan Foster, RB, Nampa, Idaho

Brady Crabtree, RB, Frazee, Minnesota

Jared Frank, RB, Bismarck, North Dakota

Xavier Burrow, RB, West Fargo, North Dakota

Avery Ligon, RB, Aberdeen, South Dakota

Oscar Maynez III, WR, Englewood, Colorado

Peyton Kinman, WR, Graham, Texas

Duwayne Mitchell, WR, West Fargo, North Dakota

Alex Cook, WR, Mesa, Arizona

Gavin Olson, WR, West Fargo, North Dakota

Cris Peppard, WR, Lansford, North Dakota

Aiden Herz, WR, Fargo, North Dakota