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Greenville's Eric Plate signed with Grand Valley State. He is expected to be used as a cornerback with the Lakers.

(MLive file photo)

ALLENDALE, MI - Grand Valley State announced the signings of 36 student-athletes on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to play football for the Lakers.

Below is a thumbnail on each, in alphabetical order, along with four mid-season enrollees. Along the side is a look at recruits by position.

MORE: GVSU coach Matt Mitchell discusses the recruiting class

Jake Bills, defensive end

Size: 6-3, 243

Hometown: Berkley

High school: Prepped at Berkley High School...Played for Chris Sikora...Earned three varsity letters in football...Notched 68 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 15 QB sacks...Tallied 25 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and eight QB sacks as a senior...Caught three passes for 38 yards as a senior...Recorded 23 tackles, five tackles for loss and four QB sacks as a junior...Tallied 20 total tackles, four tackles for loss and three QB sacks as a sophomore.

Nathan Brady, defensive line

Size: 6-3, 253

Hometown: Tecumseh

High school: Prepped at Tecumseh High...Played for Al Romano...Earned two varsity letters in football...Notched 78 tackles and nine QB sacks in his senior season...Awarded All-League and All-County his senior year...Tallied 26 tackles and one QB sack in his junior season...Awarded All-League his junior year.

Devon Cook, Defensive back

Size: 5-11, 180

Hometown: Farmington Hills

High school: Prepped at Farmington Hills Harrison...Played for John Herrington...Earned three varsity letters in football...Notched 52 tackles, two QB sacks, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his senior season...Awarded Detroit News All-State, MLive 2nd team Dream Team, All-League, All-County, All-Area, All- Metro and All-North his senior year...Tallied 59 tackles, one QB sack, one interception and six forced fumbles in his junior season...Awarded All-League and All-County his junior year...Recorded 49 tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery his sophomore year.

Aaron Cooper, defensive end

Size: 6-2, 215

Hometown: Detroit

High school: Prepped at Southfield High School...Played for Tim Conley...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Notched 75 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 12 QB sacks as a senior...Also had six fumble recoveries as a senior...Named to the All-League team his senior year.

Matt Crable, quarterback

Size: 6-4, 220

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Moeller High School...Played for John Rodenberg...Completed 207 of 383 passes, threw for 20 touchdowns and 2,673 yards his senior year...Also had 100 carries for 267 yards and two touchdowns...Earned All-GCL and All-Southwest Ohio honors as a senior...Completed 20 of 41 passes, threw for three touchdowns and 256 yards as a junior.

Jontrell Crockett, offensive line

Size: 6-3, 271

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Glenville High School...Played for Ted Ginn...Earned two varsity letters in football...Helped lead team to playoffs with an 8-3 record...Played both ways and notched 13 tackles, four tackles for loss and three QB sacks his senior year.

Nick Dodson, wide receiver

Size: 5-11, 166

Hometown: Aurora, Ill.

High school: Prepped at Metea Valley High School...Played for Ben Klienhans...Earned three varsity letters in football...Hauled in 43 receptions for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns in his senior campaign...Earned All- Conference honors and All-Area Honorable mention his senior year...Recorded 46 receptions for 667 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior...Earned All-Conference honors after his junior season.

Kalen Dunham, defensive back

Size: 6-1, 166

Hometown: Canton

High school: Prepped at Plymouth High School...Played for Mike Sawchuk...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Tallied 54 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions and six touchdowns his senior year...Named 1st team All-Conference, All-State West Honorable Mention and All-League west his senior year...Awarded 1st team All Conference after his junior season.

John Gauthier, offensive line

Size: 6-5, 265

Hometown: Sandwich, Ill.

High school: Prepped at Marmion Academy...Played for Dan Thorpe...Earned two varsity letters in football...Awarded All-Conference Honorable Mention after his senior season.

Calvin Graves, offensive line

Size: 6-3, 212

Hometown: Detroit

High school: Prepped at Southfield High School...Played for Timothy Conley...Earned three varsity letters in foot- ball...Helped lead team to the semifinals his senior year.

Jailyn Harden, defensive back

Size: 6-0, 180

Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.

High school: Prepped at Ben Davis High School...Played for Mike Kirschner...Earned three varsity letters in foot- ball...Tallied 43 tackles, six interceptions, one interception returned for a touchdown and 154 all purpose yards his senior year...Also named DB of the year for his team after his senior season.

Jon Jackson, linebacker

Size: 5-11, 199

Hometown: Cleveland Heights, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Cleveland Heights High...Played for Jeff Rotsky...Earned two varsity letters in football...Notched 163 total tackles and five QB sacks...Tallied 120 tackles, four QB sacks, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery his senior year...Broke his High School's record for most tackles in one season his senior year...Recorded 43 tackles and one QB sack his junior year...Helped lead school to its first playoff win his junior year.

DaMario Johnson, defensive back

Size: 6-0, 170

Hometown: Hammond, Ind.

High School: Prepped at Hammond Morton High School...Played for Roy Richards...Earned three varsity football letters...Tallied 65 total tackles and two interceptions as a senior...Earned All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honors as a senior...Notched 33 tackles and five interceptions as a junior en route to earning All-Conference and All-Area honors...Recorded 43 tackles as a sophomore.

Colin Knusta, defensive back

Size: 6-0, 179

Hometown: Chicago, Ill.

High school: Prepped at Mount Carmel High School...Played for Frank Lenti...Earned three varsity letters in foot- ball...Recorded 65 tackles, four interceptions and two forced fumbles in his senior campaign...Named team DB MVP after his senior season...Tallied 57 tackles and four interceptions during his junior season.

Kyle Korman, defensive end

Size: 6-3, 248

Hometown: Linden

High school: Prepped at Linden High School...Played for Denni Hopkins...Earned three varsity letters in foot- ball...Notched 158 total tackles and 11 QB sacks...Tallied 64 tackles, five QB sacks, one interception and one fum- ble recovery in his senior campaign...Awarded 1st team All-State and 1st team All-League his senior year...Recorded 47 tackles, six QB sacks and one fumble revovery his junior season...Named 2nd team All-League his junior year...Also accounted for 47 tackles and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown his sophomore year.

Cole Kotopka, quarterback

Size: 6-5, 235

Hometown: Plainfield, Ill.

High school: Prepped at Plainfield East High School...Played for Mike Romeli...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...completed 100 of 200 passes for 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career...Had 15 carries for 100 yards and six toiuchdowns in his senior season...Named to the All-Conference and All-Area teams his senior year...Rushed 85 times for 600 yards and eight touchdowns his junior season...Named to the All-Conference and All-Area teams his junior year.

Chaz Lumpkin, defensive back

Size: 5-10, 163

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Winton Woods High School...Played for Andre Parker...Earned three varsity letters in football...Notched 83 total tackles and five tackles for loss...Tallied 55 tackles, four tackles for loss and four inter- ceptions his senior season...Accounted for 21 tackles his junior year...Tallied 7 tackles, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery his sophomore year.

Christian Lumpkin, running back

Size: 5-10, 170

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Winton Woods High School...Played for Andre Parker...Earned three varsity letters in football...Played both ways his senior year...Rushed 45 times for 355 yards and six touchdowns and hauled in 10 receptions for 215 yards...also recorded 15 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions and one fumble recov- ery his senior year...Named to the All-District team after his senior season...Carried it 60 times for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns while also getting five receptions for 110 yards

and one touchdown his junior year.

Dan Madden, punter

Size: 6-3, 180

Hometown: Parma Heights, Ohio

High school: Prepped at Padua Franciscan High School...Played for Tony Shuman...Earned three varsity letters in football...Had a career average of 43 yards per punt...Averaged 44.6 yards per punt his senior season...Awarded All-Ohio honorable mention, All-Conference honorable mention and 1st Team All-District his senior year...Averaged 42.4 yards per punt his junior year...Averaged 41 yards per punt his sophomore year.

James McBride, defensive line



Size: 5-11, 276

Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind

High school: Prepped at Pike High School...Played for Derek Moyers...Earned three varsity letters in football...Notched 54 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four QB sacks his senior season...Tallied 20 total tack- les, three tackles for loss, two QB sacks and one fumble recovery his junior season.

Omari Mitchell, wide receiver

Size: 5-10, 166

Hometown: Detroit

High school: Prepped at Farmington High School...Played for John Becthel...Earned three varsity letters in foot- ball...Played both ways his senior year...Recorded 10 tackles and three interceptions along with hauling in 15 receptions for 500 yards and three touchdowns his senior season...Named to the All-OAA team his senior year...Rushed it 13 times for 107 yards and one touchdown along with 13 receptions for 205 yards and three touchdowns his junior year...Recorded six tackles his sophomore season.

Lamon Moore, defensive line

Size: 6-2, 200

Hometown: Detroit

High school: Prepepd at Central Collegiate Academy...Played for Jimmy Macon...Earned two varsity letters in football...Started both ways his senior and junior year...Finished his career with 24 receptions for 786 yards and seven touchdowns on offense and 73 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 18 QB sacks on defense...Hauled in 18 recep- tions for 686 yards and seven touchdowns along with recording 57 tackles, 12 QB sacks, seven forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, one recovery brought back for a touchdown and one interception returned for a touchdown his senior year...Awarded 1st team All-Metro and All-State honorable mention his senior year.

Isaiah Nkansah, linebacker

Size: 6-1, 205

Hometown: Mason, Ohio

High school: Prepped at William Mason High School...Played for Brian Castner...Earned two varsity letters in football...Notched 35 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 3 QB sacks his senior season...Named 1st team All- Conference and Ohio Southwest honorable mention his senior year.

Austin Paritee, wide receiver

Size: 6-0, 163

Hometown: Birmingham

High school: Prepped at Seaholm High School...Played for James Dewald...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Hauled in 64 receptions for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior season...Named team MVP and Most Valuable Offensive Player his senior year...Recorded 30 receptions for 525 yards and five touchdowns his junior season...Named team Rookie of the Year his junior year.

Michael Pettis, linebacker

Size: 6-1, 210

Hometown: Battle Creek

High school: Prepped at Battle Creek Central High School...Played for Lorin Granger...Earned three varsity letters in football...Tallied 98 total tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 13 QB sacks and two interceptions his senior season...Named to the All-State, All-Division and All-City teams his senior year...Recorded 95 tackles, seven QB sacks and 1 interception his junior season...Earned 2nd team All-Division his junior year.

Eric Plate, defensive back



Size: 6-0, 167

Hometown: Greenville

High school: Prepped at Greenville High School...Played for David Moore...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Started both ways his senior and junior year...Tallied 64 tackles, five tackles for loss, one QB sack, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries on defense while rushing it 146 times for 1,277 yards and 12 touchdowns and hauling in seven receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns on offense in his senior season... AP 2nd team All-State, All-Area, All-Conference and was a "Mr. Football" nomi-nee his senior year...Also broke four school records including 1,277 rushing yards in one season, 1,618 all-purpose yards in one season, 265 rushing yards in one game and 373 all-purpose yards in one game his senior year...Notched 58 tackles, five tackles for loss, one QB sack, two interceptions and one fumble recovery on defense while rushing it 35 times for 410 yards and two touchdowns along with three receptions for 29 yards and one touchdown on offense in his junior season...Awarded All-Area and All-Conference his junior year.

Caleb Richard, running back

Size: 5-10, 193

Hometown: Sanford

High school: Prepped at H.H. Dow High School...Played for Jason Watkins...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Rushed for 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns and had had 1,200 receiving yards for 10 touchdowns his senior season...Awarded 1st team All-State, Midland Area Dream Team Captain, 1st team All-SVL and SVL MVP his senior year...Rushed for 900 yards and had 1,100 reception yards his junior year...Named 1st team All-SVL, All- State honorable mention and Midland Area Dream Team after his junior season.

Dylan Sellers, offensive line

Size: 6-6, 250

Hometown: Milford

High school: Prepped at Milford High School...Played for Tim Gough...Earned two varsity letters in football...Started every game in his varsity career...Team rushed for 1,684 yards and threw for 1,120 yards his senior season...KLAA All-Academic Honoree his junior and senior year.

De'Aundre Simpkins, defensive back

Size: 6-2, 175

Hometown: Grand Blanc

High school: Prepped at Grand Blanc High School...Played for Joe Delany...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Notched 35 total tackles, four tackles for loss and had one interception returned for a touchdown his senior year...Recorded three tackles his junior year.

Trew Smith, wide receiver

Size: 5-11, 184

Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.

High school: Prepped at Ben Davis High School...Played for Mike Kirschner...Made the move to receiver his senior year after playing quarterback his first three years...Had 52 receptions for 571 yards and five touchdowns along with eight carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns his senior year...Helped lead team to victory in the 2014 State Championship game.

Mark Sokol , defensive line

Size: 6-1, 250

Hometown: Rochester

High school: Prepped at Rochester Adams High School...Played for Tony Patritto...Earned two varsity letters in football...Notched 63 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, eight QB sacks, two forced fumbles and one blocked field goal in his senior season...Led his team in sacks and had the most sacks in one game his senior year...Tallied 46 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six QB sacks, two forced fumbles and three blocked field goals in his junior season...Had the most sacks in one game his junior year.

Derek Sparkman, offensive line

Size: 6-4, 280

Hometown: East Peoria, Ill.

High school: Prepped at East Peoria Community High School...Played for Josh Johnson...Four year letterman in varsity football...Awarded All-State honorable mention, 1st team All-Area and 1st team All-Conference his senior year...Also named captain for his senior season.

Quentin Taliaferro, wide receiver

Size: 6-0, 185

Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.

High school: Prepped at Pike High School...Played for Derek Moyers...Earned two varsity letters in football...Hauled in 34 receptions for 350 yards and three touchdowns his senior season...Named MIC-Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year and All-Conference his senior year...Caught the ball 23 times for 230 yards and two touchdowns his junior year.

Aaron Turner, defensive line

Size: 6-1, 251

Hometown: Detroit

High school: Prepped at Southfield High School...Played for Tim Conley...Earned two varsity letters in football...Notched 65 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three QB sacks his senior season...Awarded All-League his senior year...Tallied 28 total tackles, four tackles for loss and one QB sack his junior year.

Guerin Wagner, offensive line

Size: 6-6, 260

Hometown: Zionsville, Ind.

High school: Prepped at Zionsville High School...Played for Pat Echeveria...Earned two varsity letters in foot- ball...Named to the AP All-State, IFCA All-State and All-Conference teams his senior year.

Nathan Wikol, offensive line

Size: 6-5, 260

Hometown: Beverly Hills

High school: Prepped at Birmingham Grove High School...Played for Brendan Flaherty...Earned two varsity letters in football...Named to the All-League OAA, All-Metro North honorable mention and All-County honorable mention teams his senior year...Also awarded King Falcon by being the strongest player on his team his senior year.

Bryce Young, running back

Size: 5-7, 188

Hometown: Ann Arbor

High school: Prepped at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School...Played for Jari Brown...Four year letterman for varsity football...Carried the ball 136 times for 1,198 yards and 19 total touchdowns his senior season...Averaged 133.1 yards per game his senior year...Named the Ann Arbor News Player of the Year, 1st team Dream Team, 1st teamAll-Sec Red and All-State honorable mention his senior year...Rushed for 1,300 yards as a junior at Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tenn.

Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.