University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Football Announces Five Mid-Year Additions
12/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Minnesota football program got the 2007-08 recruiting season off to a strong start on Wednesday with the addition of five student-athletes.
Head Coach Tim Brewster announced Wednesday that December junior college graduates Tramaine Brock (Gautier, Miss.), David Pittman (Snellville, Ga.), Rex Sharpe (Fairfield, Ala.) and Traye Simmons (Marietta, Ga.) have each signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for the Gophers. Brewster also announced the addition of Notre Dame transfer Matt Carufel (Forest Lake, Minn.), who signed a grant-in-aid agreement.
All five student-athletes are expected to enroll at the University of Minnesota in January and participate in the Gophers’ 2008 spring drills, which begin in late March.
“These additions will immediately increase the level of competition in our football program and help us take that next step toward becoming a really good football team,” said Brewster. “It’s truly amazing what this staff has accomplished in recruiting. Across the state of Minnesota and across the country we’ve reached out and received an outstanding response to our message.”
The class addresses several areas of need for the Gophers, especially on defense, where Minnesota added a pair of highly-regarded defensive backs in Brock and Simmons and a rugged linebacker in Sharpe. Pittman, a standout quarterback on the junior college level, is listed by most recruiting services as an athlete and is versatile enough to play a variety of positions.
“Defense was, without question, an area that we wanted to focus on,” Brewster added. “We believe the student-athletes in this group have the ability to help make us a better defense today.”
The Gophers will have to wait a year to receive the full services of Carufel. One of the nation’s highest rated prep linemen in the Class of 2006, the former Cretin-Derham Hall star spent the better part last two seasons in the offensive line rotation at Notre Dame and will not be able to compete in games during the 2008 campaign under NCAA transfer guidelines.
A highly-decorated, hard-hitting safety who excels in both pass coverage and against the run, Brock is expected to push for immediate playing time in the Gophers’ secondary. He earned first the All-America honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in 2007 while helping lead Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to a perfect 12-0 record and a share of the NJCAA national championship.
Pittman, the No. 26 overall junior college player in the country according to Rivals.com, starred as a quarterback at Pasadena City College, where he was the leading passer in the California Community College system as both a junior and a senior. Pittman completed a staggering 556 passes for 6,346 yards and 61 touchdowns during his two-year junior college career.
A speedy, hard-hitting linebacker who displayed a nose for the football throughout his career at Arizona Western College, Sharpe figures to have plenty of opportunity to contribute at Minnesota. A NJCAA 2007 preseason first team All-American, he collected 105 total tackles during a monster sophomore campaign this past season.
One of the country’s top junior college defensive backs, Simmons is ranked as the No. 4 DB and No. 29 overall player by Rivals. Regarded as a shut-down corner, Simmons could also have in immediate impact on the Gophers’ secondary after collecting 52 total tackles in his two seasons on the junior college level.
Minnesota Mid-Year Signees (5)
Name Pos Ht Wt Hometown (Previous School)
Tramaine Brock DB 6-0 187 Long Beach, Miss. (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
Matt Carufel OL 6-5 295 Forest Lake, Minn. (Notre Dame)
David Pittman ATH 5-11 185 Snellville, Ga. (Pasadena City College)
Rex Sharpe LB 6-3 230 Fairfield, Ala. (Arizona Western College)
Traye Simmons DB 5-11 175 Marietta, Ga. (College of the Sequoias)Student-Athlete Biographies
Tramaine Brock
Defensive Back
6-0, 187
Long Beach, Miss.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College/ Long Beach Senior HS
Highly-decorated, hard-hitting safety who is expected to push for immediate playing time in the Gophers’ secondary... Excels both against the run and in man-to-man coverage... Has excellent speed and has been clocked at 4.37 in the 40... Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com... Selected Minnesota over offers from Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Southern Miss and Louisville.
JUNIOR COLLEGE: Played for one of the nation’s top junior college programs at Mississippi Gulf Coast... Helped the Bulldogs to a perfect 12-0 record and a share of the 2007 NJCAA national championship... Collected 59 total tackles and seven interceptions in the first 11 games of the 2007 season (statistics for MGC’s 62-28 Heart of Texas Bowl victory over Kilgore College were not available at press time)... Earned first team All-America honors from the NJCAA... Also received third-team All-America accolades from JC Grid-Wire and was a first team all-conference and NJCAA Region XXIII selection... Key member of a defense that allowed just 167 points in 12 games (13.9 ppg) during the 2007 season... Recorded 13 tackles and forced two fumbles in six games as a freshman in 2006... Part of a sophomore class at MGC that went a combined 19-2 during the 2006 and 2007 seasons... Coached by Steve Campbell.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Long Beach Senior High School in Long Beach, Miss... Recorded 57 tackles and four interceptions as a junior... Also rushed for 690 yards on 112 carries with five touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 155 yards as a junior... Received offers from Mississippi, Southern Miss and Tulane as a prep.
PERSONAL: Tramaine Brock was born August 20, 1988 in Gulfport, Miss.
Matt Carufel
Offensive Lineman
6-5, 295
Forest Lake, Minn.
Notre Dame/Cretin-Derham Hall
Transfer from Notre Dame who was one of the nation’s most highly sought-after offensive linemen in the class of 2006... Was one of 18 linemen on the Parade prep All-America team coming out of St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall... An extremely versatile offensive lineman who drilled at both guard positions while at Notre Dame... Received four stars from Rivals.com, which rated him as the No. 6 offensive tackle prospect in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Minnesota in the class of 2006... Considered offers from Notre Dame, Florida, Iowa, Miami (Fla.) and Minnesota as a prep... Selected Minnesota over Iowa after deciding to transfer... Will sit out the 2008 season under NCAA transfer guidelines.
NOTRE DAME: 2007 (Sophomore) Listed on the Notre Dame depth chart for the first six games of the 2007 season... Made starts vs. Michigan State, at Purdue and at UCLA at right guard before deciding to leave the Irish football program... 2006 (Freshman) Earned 2:41 of playing time as a reserve offensive lineman... Coached by Charlie Weis.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at local power Cretin-Derham Hall... One of 18 linemen on Parade prep All-America team ... USA Today second-team pick on its prep All-America squad ... Rated the 56th-best prep players nationally by USA Today ... Rated 59th on list of top 100 players in the nation by Dallas Morning News... Rated 56th on list of top 100 players nationally by Chicago Sun-Times ... Gatorade Player of the Year in 2005 in Minnesota ... Selected to play in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl... ranked 15th on list of top 20 players in the Midwest on Detroit Free-Press Best in the Midwest team ... First-team Minnesota all-state selection as senior in by St. Paul Pioneer-Press ... helped Cretin-Derham Hall to a 10-3 mark as senior and a berth in the Minnesota Class 5A state title game... Collected 106 pancake blocks as senior and 74 as junior... Helped lead Cretin-Durham to a 9-4 mark as a junior... Coached by Mike Scanlan.
PERSONAL: Matt Carufel was born Nov. 20, 1987.
David Pittman
Athlete
5-11, 185
Snellville, Ga.
Pasadena City College/Brookwood HS
Considered to be one of the top junior college athletes in the nation... Starred as a quarterback on the junior college level, but could project at a number of positions as a FBS (formerly Division I-A) student-athlete... Received four starts from both Rivals.com, which ranks him as the No. 26 overall junior college player in the country... Also rated as a four-star prospect by Scout.com... Selected Minnesota over offers from Arizona State, UCLA, Washington State and Mississippi.
JUNIOR COLLEGE: Started two seasons at quarterback at Pasadena City College... Led the California Community College system in passing as both a junior and a senior... Set virtually all of Pasadena’s passing and total offense records while at the controls of the Lancers’ offense... Finishes his junior college career with a staggering 556 completions for 6,346 yards and 61 touchdowns... Earned second team All-America honors from JC Grid-Wire in 2007 after completing 303 of 453 passes (67 percent) for 3,643 yards and 35 touchdowns... His 303 completions were a national junior college record for a season... Also earned all-state honors from the California Community College coaches and was named the Mission Conference co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2007... Led the state of California Community College system in both passing yards (364.3) and total offense (421.5) per game... Was also Pasadena’s leading rusher with 572 yards and six rushing touchdowns... Had at least 30 completions in 7 of 10 games... Totaled over 300 passing yards in 8 of 10 contests, including three games with over 400 yards passing... Also tossed at least three touchdowns in 7 of 10 games, with one 5 TD game, one 6 TD game and one 7 TD game... Had his most productive single-game outing against Santa Ana College in the 2007 season finale, completing 34 of 50 passes for 474 yards and seven touchdowns... Burst on the California junior college scene as a freshman in 2006... Completed 253 of 380 passes (66.6 percent) for 2,703 yards and 26 touchdowns... Earned honorable mention All-America honors from JC Grid-Wire and second team All-Mission Conference accolades... Led Pasadena to a 6-4 record in 2007 and a 3-7 record in 2006... Coached by Kenny Lawler.
HIGH SCHOOL: Grew up in southern California before moving to Georgia for high school due to father’s job transfer... Blossomed as a senior, leading Brookwood High School to the 2005 Georgia Class 5A state championship game and a 14-1 record.
PERSONAL: David Pittman was born March 26, 1988... Father, Danny Pittman, also played football at Pasadena City College.
Rex Sharpe
Linebacker
6-3, 230
Fairfield, Ala.
Arizona Western College/Fairfield HS
A speedy, hard-hitting linebacker who has a nose for the football... Considered to be a three-star prospect by Rivals.com... Originally signed with Auburn out of high school... Selected Minnesota over offers from Colorado and UAB.
JUNIOR COLLEGE: Redshirted at Butler County (Kan.) County Community College in 2005... Transferred to Arizona Western College, where he had a standout redshirt freshman campaign in 2006... Named to the NJCAA 2007 Preseason All-American first team... Went on to collect 105 total tackles (27 UT, 78 AT), including 6.5 tackles for losses and two sacks during a monster sophomore campaign... Also had four pass break-ups and returned an interception 31 yards... Served as one of the Matadors’ team captains... Coached by James Pryor.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Fairfield High School in Birmingham, Ala... Was highly decorated following a stellar senior campaign in 2004... Collected 102 tackles and three interceptions from his linebacker position, while hauling in 25 receptions for 351 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver... Helped lead Fairfield to an 11-2 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Alabama state playoffs... Earned all-state honors from the Montgomery Advertiser... Also a member of the Mobile Register’s Elite 18 and Super Southeast 120... Named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Super 12 as well as the Birmingham News Super Senior squad... Considered by Rivals.com to rank among the nation’s top 25 outside linebackers in the class of 2005... Also ranked among Rivals.com’s Alabama Top 25 and Scout.com’s Alabama Top 30... Totaled 154 tackles, three sacks, and one interception as a junior... Finished with 480 receiving yards and six touchdowns on offense in 2003... Coached by Jim Vakakes.
PERSONAL: Rex Sharpe was born Dec. 18, 1986... Parents are Rex and Venita Sharpe.
Traye Simmons
Defensive Back
5-11, 175
Marietta, Ga.
College of the Sequoias/Marietta HS
Rated as one of the nation’s top junior college defensive backs... A four-star prospect by Rivals.com, which rates him as the No. 29 overall player and No. 4 junior college DB in the country... Also received four stars from Scout.com... Selected Minnesota over offers from California, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi and Purdue.
JUNIOR COLLEGE: Played two seasons for head coach Curtis Allen at College of the Sequoias... Totaled 29 tackles, including four for losses, in nine games as a senior in 2007... Also credited with six pass break-ups... Had six punt returns for 96 yards (16.0 average), including a 48-yarder vs. West Hills... Earned first team All-Valley Conference honors as a defensive back... Appeared in eight games as a freshman, recording 23 tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, and three pass break-ups.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Marietta High School... Helped lead the Blue Devils to an 11-1 record and a Region 5-A championship as a senior... Recorded five interceptions on the season... Named first-team all-Cobb County by the Marietta Daily Journal... Also an honorable mention Class 5-A all-state selection by the Georgia Sports Writers Association... Named the Cobb County Touchdown Club Defensive Back of the Year... Recorded 38 tackles and a school record nine interceptions as a junior... Coached by James Richards.
PERSONAL: Traye Simmons was born Jan. 18, 1987.
