Coach Brady Hoke announced the 2005 recruiting class yesterday, a total of 20 players with 13 on offense and seven on defense.
The Cardinals beefed up their defensive line with four defensive linemen, two of whom are from Indiana -- Jordan Applegate of Fort Wayne Snider and Drew Duffin of Avon, the only two Indiana natives in the 2005 class.
"We're competing against Indiana for kids," Hoke said. "We're competing with Purdue as much as we can. We've got to find people who we think are going to help this program grow.
"We weren't going to take a guy just because he was from the state of Indiana if we didn't think he was going to improve this program."
The Cardinals did, however, add six players from Georgia, the most of any of the eight states represented in the class.
"When we first took this job, that was a place we needed to get into," Hoke said. "I think this was the right time to do that. There's a lot of quality down there. What makes Georgia appealing besides the quality of football and the quality of kids is you've got access that's pretty easy."
Hoke said he believed the coaching staff succeeded in looking for more team speed. He also said that because of their natural athletic ability, some recruits might move to different positions.
Along with the four defensive linemen, Ball State signed five running backs, three defensive backs, two offensive linemen, two tight ends, four wide receivers and one quarterback.
"I think we helped ourselves on both fronts, both the offensive line and the defensive line," Hoke said.
Dante Love, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound quarterback from Cincinnati Withrow, will move to wide receiver at Ball State.
"He does some things that are unbelievable -- athletic, God-given ability. He's fun to watch," Hoke said. "To pinpoint one guy, I can't do that. They're all special kids."
Whether freshmen play, Hoke said, is up to each individual.
"That's up to them and their preparation," he said. "Any of those guys have a shot (at playing). "
Ball State lost two oral commitments earlier in the week when Phillip Brown, a linebacker, chose Northern Illinois and Sam Porter, a defensive end, opted for Illinois. Brown and Porter played together at Morgan Park in Chicago.
B.J. Hill, who's listed as both a running back and wide receiver, has started Ball State's winter program, Hoke said. Hill came from Fork Hill in Lanham, Md., a prep school, and he left at midterm.
Hoke said the sooner this class started workouts together, the better it was for the team.
"They get to know their teammates, and that's important," he said.
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