ITHACA, N.Y. – David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football, and his staff are excited to announce the newest members of the Big Red family. The Class of 2019, featuring 29 members, joins a Cornell football program building momentum.

Hailing from 18 states and one Canadian province, the class of 2019 will attempt to help build toward the Big Red's first Ivy title on the gridiron since 1990. A class-high five recruits will attend Cornell from California. Florida and Texas will send three student-athletes to Cornell, Michigan, and Pennsylvania will send two apiece and 13 other states send one player each. In all, 12 of the players will join the offense and 13 will aid the defense, one is a specialist and three more could play on either side of the ball.

"Our goal is to always to recruit the best student-athletes in the country, understanding who will thrive on the field and in the classroom specific to the culture at Cornell," said Archer. "Our focus this year was to continue improving our team speed across the board and to look for prospects whose size and strength would bolster both the offensive and defensive lines. We're always on the lookout for high quality young men who will fit into our program, the University and the Ithaca community, and we feel good that we've brought in an impressive group who reflect that. I am excited to get them on campus in August and have them get with our staff to develop them into outstanding college football players over the next four years."

On the defensive side of the ball, the Big Red brings in four defensive back/safeties, six linebackers and three defensive linemen. The three defensive linemen average a sizable 6-5 and 260 pounds. Cornell went for plenty of skill players on the offense, bringing in three wide receivers, one running back, two quarterbacks and a tight end. The offensive line will also be bolstered with the addition of five players who average 6-6 and 282 pounds.

The 2015 Big Red returns 47 letter winners and 21 total starters (seven offense, 10 defense, four special teams) from last year's 1-9 squad. Four All-Ivy League selections return for the coming season, including 2014 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Nick Gesualdi and 2013 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and two-time first-team all-league punter Chris Fraser.

The Class of 2019 joins the Cornell program at an exciting time. Bryan Walters '10 joined Kevin Boothe '05 as just the second Cornellian to play in more than one Super Bowl. Walters signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars and will begin his fifth year in the NFL. Boothe, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, begins season 10 in the league on the offensive line. Offensive lineman JC Tretter '12 will play his third season with the Green Bay Packers, while the record-breaking passing tandem of receiver Luke Tasker '12 and quarterback Jeff Mathews '13 will suit up for Hamilton of the Canadian Football League.

Cornell and the Class of 2019 will hit the field for the first time when fall practice begins in mid-August. The Big Red opens the 2015 campaign at home against Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Schoellkopf Field. The returning members of the Big Red squad will compete in the annual Spring Game on Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The game is free and open to the public.

In the coming weeks, we'll look at the recruiting class by position group to get a better look at what this coming class brings to the table.
 

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown	Last School	Video
Mason Banbury	TE/DE	6-4	235	East Grand Rapids, Mich.	East Grand Rapids HS	Link
Dalton Banks	QB	6-3	220	San Antonio, Texas	Alamo Heights HS	Link
Malcom Chaka	LB	6-3	220	Mississauga, Ontario	Lake Forest Academy (Ill.)	Link
Garrett Cloer	QB	6-5	210	Hurdle Mills, N.C.	Orange HS	Link
David D'Amelio	OL	6-3	285	Naples, Fla.	Barron Collier HS	Link
Hank deGlee	DL	6-5	240	South New Berlin, N.Y.	Unadilla Valley Central	Link
Gustavo Dorsett	DB	6-2	195	El Paso, Texas	Franklin HS	Link
Maximilian Gardner	OL	6-9	285	Carlsbad, Calif.	Santa Fe Christian School	Link
Austin Holmes	DB	5-9	175	Silver Spring, Md.	The Maret School	Link
J. Edward Keating	DL	6-4	275	Birmingham, Mich.	Detroit Country Day School	Link
Christian Kelley	LB	6-2	240	Kulpmont, Pa.	Mount Carmel Area HS	Link
Ryan Kelley	LB	6-3	225	Ross, Calif.	Marin Catholic HS	Link
Spencer Kleinpeter	WR	5-10	160	Baton Rouge, La.	Episcopal HS	Link
Mason Manning III	OL	6-6	285	Olympia, Wash.	Capital HS	Link
Zach Mays	PK	6-0	155	Las Vegas, Nev.	Centennial HS	Link
Maxwell McCormick	LB	6-3	200	Holland, Ohio	St. John's Jesuit HS	Link
Curt McLeod	TE	6-5	220	Hingham, Mass.	Williston Northampton School	Link
Kelvin Mills	ATH	6-0	180	Sanford, Fla.	Seminole HS	Link
Victor Olapinsin	LB	6-3	210	Bloomfield, N.J.	Bloomfield HS	Link
Lars Pedersen	WR	5-11	190	Wilmington, Vt.	St. Joseph HS	Link
J.D. PicKell	RB	6-0	200	Santa Ana, Calif.	Lutheran HS	Link
Steven Rodriguez	WR	6-2	200	Miami Lakes, Fla.	Mater Academy Charter HS	Link
Reis Seggebruch	LB	6-0	230	Tomball, Texas	Tomball Memorial HS	Link
Henry Stillwell	OL	6-5	265	Richmond, Va.	St. Christopher's School	Link
Zach Strong	OL	6-9	290	Kennesaw, Ga.	Mount Paran Christian School	Link
Chris Walker	ATH	6-1	190	Lewisburg, Tenn.	Marshall HS	Link
Jake Watkins	DB	6-1	180	Yorba Linda, Calif.	Valencia HS	Link
Chase Wickenheiser	DL	6-5	260	Clarks Summit, Pa.	Abington Heights HS	Link
DJ Woullard	DB	6-1	190	Fullerton, Calif.	Fullerton Union HS	Link