St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso announced 20 early signees for the FCS program Wednesday. Caruso said the Tommies expect to add seven or eight more players in the February signing period.
The Tommies have lost key linebackers to graduation and transfer, and they signed four in Wednesday's group: Charles Bern, East Ridge; Taran Blasy, Park of Cottage Grove; Roman Johnson, Minnetonka; and Walker Owens, Wheaton [Ill.] North.
Andrew McElroy, a top wide receiver, transferred to Northern Illinois last week. Caruso offered praise for signee Quentin Cobb-Butler, a small-ish, explosive receiver and returner from Woodbury High School.
The Tommies added two quarterbacks: Ryan Jackson from Lyons Township High in Illinois and Phillip Jones from Mesquite High in Chandler, Ariz.
Three other quarterbacks are on the roster: Tak Tateoka, a freshman starter by Game 3 before being injured; Amari Powell, the starter to begin and end the season; and Michael Rostberg, a large and strong-armed prospect from Fargo (N.D) Shanley who was redshirted as a freshman in 2023.
Five quarterbacks, coach? "That has been our philosophy as a program,'' Caruso said. "If you're willing to work, we're willing to develop you.''
Caruso mentioned Alex Fenske, a quarterback who took over full time in his fifth season. Those were the Division III days. Fenske led the 2016 Tommies to an unbeaten regular season, into the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs and was named the MIAC's player of the year.
In its first three seasons in the Division I Pioneer League, St. Thomas has gone 25-7 overall and 21-3 in conference games. The 21 victories are the most by a Pioneer League team in that span.
