Feb. 5, 2025
National champion Ferris State football team boasts standout recruiting class on National Signing Day
The reigning national champion Ferris State football team announced a standout class of high school recruits on Wednesday’s National Signing Day.
This year's stellar group of recruits follows a class a year ago called the best in NCAA Division II and again features a group of talented student-athletes with championship experience.
Three-time D2Football.com National Coach of the Year Tony Annese said Wednesday this year's list features 33 players including 20 from Michigan and 13 out-of-state signees. Eleven come from talent-rich Florida, which has been a pipeline for the Bulldogs.
"We've landed a group of standouts that have the talent and ability to become great players and outstanding student-athletes at Ferris State," Annese said. "We're thrilled to have these young men become Bulldogs and believe they have the personality and attitude to help continue our championship tradition."
Nearly all of the student-athletes joining the Bulldog program earned all-state honors last season with a large majority helping lead their respective teams to state playoff appearances and championship success. Most also received significant NCAA Division I interest or scholarship offers.
Ferris State, which also won the GLIAC Championship this past fall, signed 19 athletes expected to play on the defensive side of the ball along with 14 projected on offense.
The Bulldogs again landed many of the state's best players in Michigan, including West Michigan products in their own backyard from high schools including Rockford, Big Rapids, Forest Hills Northern, Forest Hills Eastern, Hopkins, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, and more.
In addition, Ferris State also picked up top-level talent from the southeast side of the state and in Detroit from programs like Cass Tech, Harper Woods, Detroit Central, Warren De La Salle, Detroit Catholic Central, Belleville, and more.
This is the 14th consecutive year in which the Bulldogs generated interest and landed signees from Florida, drawing in a school-record tying 11 Sunshine State representatives featuring athletes from various talent-rich areas near Orlando, Fort Myers, Tallahassee and Tampa Bay.
The 2025 class represents the second straight year in which Ferris State has signed 11 players from the Sunshine State.
The Bulldogs also picked up two signees from the Chicago area.
The group of offensive signees includes one slot receiver, two quarterbacks, two running backs and three outside receivers along with six offensive linemen.
Defensively, the Bulldogs signed seven potential defensive backs, seven defensive linemen and five linebackers in a balanced class. Many of the individuals in the class competed as two-way players and could eventually make an impact at other positions.
Over the past four seasons of action, the Bulldogs own a 50-5 overall record and Ferris State has reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs 10 consecutive years and counting.
Ferris State has also reached the NCAA Division II National Semifinals six times in the past eight seasons of action and ranks as the country's winningest program over the past 10 full seasons in D2 Football.
Ferris State is 77-7 over the last six seasons of on-field action. The Bulldogs claimed national titles in both 2021 and 2022 along with this past fall.
Ferris State also holds the GLIAC's best mark and the best overall record of all collegiate programs in Michigan at 137-21 (.860) overall since the arrival of Annese as head coach in 2012.
Details about the signing class are available on FerrisStateBulldogs.com.