As the holiday season arrives, Joseph Stephens is thankful for the actions that go beyond any football box score.
Stephens is grateful for the words of support from Army’s recruiting staff as he started his comeback from a serious injury. The Fleming Island (Fla.) cornerback missed his senior season this fall with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Army stuck with Stephens through the injury and his rehabilitation.
“Army and the coaching staff has always treated me like family and made me feel at home with West Point and a part of The Brotherhood,” Stephens said. “These past couple of months have bteen a huge obstacle to get through (due to a torn ACL). In the process of coming back from this injury, the coaches from Army including coach (Daryl) Dixon, coach (Jeff) Monken, and coach (Cortney) Braswell always kept my head up, encouraged me, and supported me through this tough time.”
West Point will indeed be Stephens’ future home. Stephens committed to Army and Dixon on Nov. 23, his 18th birthday.
“My feelings after committing were excitement and an amped-up feeling of wanting to work harder than ever to make sure that I can help the program as much as possible and be the best cadet I can possibly be,” Stephens said.
Army offered Stephens in March. He started following the program, watching the Army-Navy game as a freshman.
“Seeing the atmosphere of Army and what it’s like on a Saturday at Michie Stadium made me really fall in love,” Stephens said. “I feel that Army is the right school for me because of The Brotherhood at Army and having the best of both worlds in earning a world-class education on top of playing big-time D1 (Division I) college football. I also felt it was the best decision because of the great relationship I have with the coaches and how they made me feel like family, and a part of the West Point Brotherhood.”
2022 Army football commits (65)
DE Amir Ali, 6-2, 235, Holy Cross HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army
OL Henry Appleton, 6-3, 275, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas 5A state title as junior.
RB Donovan Baker, 5-10, 190, Woodberry Forest (Va.) HS: Other offers – Navy.
K Charlie Barnett, 6-2, 185, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas: First offer – Army
CB Josh Baskerville, 6-1, 170, Don Bosco Prep, West Point, N.Y.: Baskerville’s father, John is 1990 West Point graduate and the Deputy Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at the academy.
DE Jack Bousum, 6-5, 225, St. Mary’s HS, Annapolis, Md.: First offer – Navy
OL Ned Brady, 6-4, 245, New Canaan (Conn.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, Buffalo
K Anderson Britton, 5-10, 155, Heritage HS, Ringgold, Ga.
OL CJ Brooks, 6-1, 277, Warner Robins (Ga.) HS: First offer – Army.
S Caden Brungard, 6-1, 190, Western Wayne HS, Lake Ariel, Pa.: Other offers – Air Force
RB David Clerk, 5-9, 160, Centennial HS, Burleson, Texas
S Connor Clinton, 6-1, 190, Casteel HS, Queen Creek, Ariz.: Other offers – Navy, Arizona, Arizona State
DL Mason Davis, 6-2, 260, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force, Hawaii, North Texas. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas state 5A championship
WR Michael Davis, 6-1, 205, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: First offer – Army. Caught touchdown pass in Denton Ryan’s Texas 5A championship win.
OL Sam Dec, 6-4, 250, Nease HS, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.: Other offers – Navy, Air Force, Marshall, Appalachian State, Florida International, Georgia Southern, UConn, Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Colorado State, Troy, UMass.
CB RJ DeMadet, 5-9, 160, Memorial HS, Frisco, Texas: Other offers – Navy, Air Force
DE-TE David Dunston, 6-3, 230, William Penn HS, New Castle, Del.
RB Omari Embree, 5-8, 170, Warren Woods Tower HS, Detroit, Mich.: Other offers – Central Michigan. Ranked 58th best player in Michigan by 247 Sports
OL Paolo Gennarelli, 6-3, 280, St. Charles North (Ill.) HS: Other offers – Wyoming
QB Sylas Gomez, 6-2, 185, Central Catholic HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army.
S-LB Esteban Guillory, 6-1, 195, Cornerstone Christian HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army. Other offers – Navy.
DE Caden Harman, 6-3, 240, Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif.
DL Kody Harris, 6-2, 295, Middletown (Del.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Air Force. Visited Army, Navy and Air Force.
QB Cale Hellums, 5-11, 185, Tomball (Texas) HS: First offer – Army. Rushed for 1,796 yards junior year.
DL Marc Hernandez, 6-4, 315, Bell HS, Hurst, Texas: Other offers – Air Force
CB DJ Hill-Smith, 6-2, 177, Little Rock (Ark.) Central HS: Other offers – Arkansas State
DE-TE Nate Holt, 6-6, 240, Unionville (Pa.) HS
S Garren Huey, 5-10, 175, Memorial HS, Frisco, Texas: 2021 stats – 78 tackles, 3 INTs
QB Ja’Mar Jessie, 6-1, 195, Navasota (Texas) HS: First FBS offer – Army
OL Kendrick Kirby, 6-3, 270, Calhoun (Ga.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Memphis, Arkansas State, Marshall.
DT Bridger Knee, 6-2, 250, Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn.: Other offers – Ball State, Utah State
DE Joey Knight, 6-3, 230, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Conn.: Played 2021 spring season at Wellesley (Mass.) before transferring to Choate Rosemary Hall
OL Tyler Lee, 6-2, 285, Tomball (Texas) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Tulsa, Marshall, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State
WR-S Collin Matteson, 6-foot, 175, Oklahoma Christian School, Edmond, Okla.
OL Luke McCurdy, 6-3, 267, Park City (Utah) HS: Other offers – Navy, Air Force, Nevada
WR Elo Modozie, 6-3, 195, Bartram Trail HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
OL Nick Moore, 6-4, 275, Northwest HS, Cincinnati, Ohio: Other offers – Navy, Marshall
DB Ryan Nolan, 5-10, 170, Gainesville (Fla.) HS: Other offers – Navy
OL Lane Parks, 6-5, 275, Yukon (Okla.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, New Mexico, Texas State. Ranked No. 29 in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 for 2022 season.
FB BJ Phillips, 5-11, 215, Guyer HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Navy, Air Force.
LS Jack Pirinelli, 6-1, 240, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.: First offer – Army
DE-LB Donovan Poe, 6-2, 230, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly HS
LB Steven Powers, 6-foot, 200, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas: First offer – Army. Second offer – Navy.
QB Larry Robinson, 6-foot, 175, Saline (Mich.) HS: Ranked the 81st best quarterback in 2022 class and top QB in Michigan by 247 Sports. Other offers – Navy, Central Michigan.
FB Hunter Roddy, 6-foot, 220, Chaparral HS, Murrieta, Calif.: Other offers – Navy
LB Holden Sapp, 6-2, 215, Benedictine Military School, Savannah, Ga.: Other offers – Middle Tennessee State. 2020 Region III Class AAAA defensive player of year with 102 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.
OL Ryan Scott, 6-3, 250, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.: First offer – Army
DT Brady Small, 6-3, 285, St. Augustine Prep, Richland, N.J.: Other offers – Navy, Kent State
RB Corey Singleton, 5-11, 205, Catholic HS, Baton Rogue, La.: First offer – Army. Other offers – Navy, Air Force
CB Joseph Stephens, Fleming Island (Fla.) HS: First offer – Army
DE-LB Dillon Stowers, 6-4, 235, Liberty Christian Academy, Lynchburg, Va.: Other offers – Navy
LB Andon Thomas, 6-1, 200, Liberty Hill (Texas) HS: First offer – Army. Other offers – Air Force.
TE Toby Thompson, 6-4, 240, Cherokee HS, Canton, Ga.: Other offers – Air Force
K David Vaughn, 5-11, 160, Coffee HS, Douglas, Ga.
DE Maurice Veney, 6-4, 235, Roman Catholic HS, Philadelphia, Pa.
WR Neo Vossschulte, 6-4, 190, Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, Pa.
WR Tyler Vroman, 6-3, 180, Lowell (Mich.) HS: First offer – Army
P James Wagneseller, 6-3, 191, Poway (Calif.) HS
RB Dakoda Wagner, 6-1, 210, Flagler Palm Coast (Fla.) HS
RB Isaiah West, 6-1, 204, Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.: Other offers – Navy
RB Trent White, 5-11, 220, Monterey HS, Lubbock, Texas: First offer – Army. Other offers – Navy.
CB Curtis Whiting, 5-11, 181, Hackensack (N.J.) HS
TE Cooper Wilkinson, 6-3, 235, New Smyrna Beach (Fla.) HS: Committed during visit on June 6.
LB Christian Yousefzadeh, 6-4, 225, Creekside HS, St. John’s, Fla.: Other offers – Georgia Tech
OL Jonah Zimmerman, 6-3, 290, Oceanside (Calif.) HS
Commits by state: Texas (18), Georgia (8), Florida (7), California (5), Pennsylvania (4), Michigan (3), New Jersey (3), Connecticut (2), Delaware (2), Maryland (2), Oklahoma (2), Virginia (2), Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1), Utah (1)
Commits offered by Navy: 20
Commits offered by Air Force: 15
