November 2023
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Welcome to the 28th Edition of our monthly newsletter. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we are looking ahead to Christmas. But first, we want to show our appreciation and gratitude for all of you who support what we do. Whether you are a parent to one of our family members, a player who we just started working with, a school administrator, one of our followers on social media, or something completely different - thank you, from the bottom of our hearts! With your help, we can do what we do best.
We are not the only ones who have been doing what we do best, across America Gridiron Imports’ family members have been doing exactly that throughout the fall. Some may have fallen short on their quest for a championship, others managed to make it to the bitter end with varying results, and some of our oldest family members still in school may still have a game left as they are playing in bowl games or conference championships in the coming weeks.
We are happy to congratulate Konstantin Paschos (Choate Rosemary Hall), Archy Wang (Canterbury), and Mattis Karrasch (Chesire) on their championship wins.
Mathias Torp has finished up his internship with Gridiron Imports to write his bachelor's thesis but will remain with us moving forward, something we are very happy about. We are looking to finish the year strong in Nigeria and with early signing day coming up for our seniors in High School before moving forward in 2024 with exciting news on the horizon.
Fundraising
We appreciate all of you who have elected to participate in our Patreon program. Through your monthly donations ($5, $10, or $20), we can support the great young men we work with around the globe in a multitude of ways, ranging from recruiting support to direct financial assistance with matters beyond the basic cost of attendance.
Donations can also be made through our website.
If you wish to donate by check or bank transfer, please contact us directly.
Your support goes towards visa fees, plane tickets, health insurance, and other expenses for our Gridiron Imports Family. We also use your donations to subsidize our College Camp tour and keep it the most affordable and valuable opportunity available to International football players each summer. Your tax-deductible contributions also allow us to serve our players in the US now and work hard to create the next batch of trailblazers and future stars here in the US.
The Box Score
Sweden’s Ludvig Burrell recently opened up about his long battle with depression and anxiety, and let the world know what difficulties he faces daily, but that he is taking medication and improving. We stand firmly with Ludvig in his fight to destigmatize mental health issues among athletes and applaud his bravery in speaking up on this sensitive issue.
Another Offensive Lineman who has dealt with adversity is Erik Bockisch, who, after missing the 2022 season due to injury, finally made his way back onto the field for an 8th-ranked Villanova Wildcats team that is looking at the FCS playoffs with a chance to win it all. Lukas Majer’s Tennessee-Chattanooga team also made the playoffs but were unfortunately knocked out in the second round by Furman Paladins with Gerrik Vollmer, who has been making his presence known on the field at LG and in the classroom as he has been on the academic honor roll both years as a graduate student.
Majer has played plenty of other family members this year, as Olaus Alinen saw the most action he has seen this year against them with his Alabama team. The Crimson Tide just won the SEC championship game over the Georgia Bulldogs and made this year’s CFB playoffs where they will face Marlin Klein and the Michigan Wolverines, who just won the Big Ten Championship in which Marlin saw snaps at Tight End. That brings the total number of games he has appeared in this year to 10.
Elsewhere in Michigan, EMU’s Andreas Paaske decided to enter the transfer portal and seek opportunities elsewhere, which will open up a spot on the depth chart for Cedric Anton. After just three days in the portal and a trip south, Paaske committed to Arkansas Razorbacks.
At the lower levels of college football, Bates College freshman LB Josh Ezerioha had himself a breakout game against Hamilton with 6 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. In the game between Dickinson and Gettysburg, the two schools with the most family members on their rosters, Lambert Raczynski made his first appearance in the box score with a 6-yard grab. Czech Center Petr Svoboda, who has been looking to build off of his back-back 1st Team All-Conference nods in 21 and 22, has helped lead the Texas Wesleyan Rams to 45.2 ppg, 2nd in all of NAIA football.
Within the ranks of Community College football, Liam Lyck and his teammates at College of the Sequoias brought home hardware, when they won the Golden State Bowl. Elsewhere in the state of California, Linus Lindbergh got the chance to get a lot closer to home as he committed to a Temple team with a great history of Swedish linemen.
Senior Day
A long list of our family members are about to embark on the last leg of their academic journey before starting college. In this segment, we want to go through some of their most remarkable athletic achievements this season. From dominating wins and championships to big-time scholarship offers, and a look ahead.
Earlier in the summer, Chesire Academy OL Mattis Karrasch earned himself an offer from NAU and is looking to the spring to build upon his offer list after leading his team to a win in the Drew Gamere Bowl game.
Gergely Hudak has had opposing DCs asking “Who’s that who can cover Hudak?” all year long when facing his Kenston Forest Kavaliers team. Falling just shy of the millennial mark, Gergely managed to average 22.8 yards per catch on 41 catches and with 13 TDs on the year along with 11 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and an impressive 4.0 GPA. He currently holds an offer from Maine, but 247 has reported interest from in-state juggernaut Virginia Tech, which he visited, as well as Dartmouth, Brown, and VMI.
With a nearly identical stat line, Malte Feil has made himself one to watch in West Virginia, He has racked up 903 yards for 10 scores on 38 catches and a long list of great D2 programs, including Mercyhurst, Clarion, and Notre Dame College.
Not a lot of Moose in Nigeria - in fact, there’s only the one, big Anthony Ndika, who spearheaded a Loomis-Chaffee OL en route to earning All-Conference 1st team and All-New England honors. Moose was on our tour in the summer, where he impressed the Dartmouth staff - and vice versa - he will be looking to join a trio of other Family Members who just won the Ivy League Championship.
At North Cross, we have seen record-breaking performances by Eason Zhou, who obliterated the school record for sacks with 14 on the year on his way to a Coaches Award win and an offer from Southern Virginia.
His teammates, Moritz and Moritz also added offers. Schmoranzer currently stands at 16 offers and a 3-star ranking with a firm commitment to Pitt after taking visits at Miami, Va. Tech and West Virginia. Mittendorfer joins a Dickinson team loaded with Gridiron Imports talent.
Huseyin Simsir became a do-it-all guy with the ball for Rabun Gap, finishing the year with three passing touchdowns, one on the ground, and two receiving along with 15 punts with a 41.1 yards average. He currently holds offers from Wagner College and Long Island.
Recently, Wagner also offered his teammate OL Jules Ney, bringing his list to three, with Campbell and Georgia State. Shortly hereafter Ney committed to Georgia State.
On the line with him is Felix Doege from Germany who committed to Appalachian State earlier this year and had offers from multiple P5 programs.
Danish Rolls
After a successful internship, Mathias Torp from Denmark has decided to stay with us in a yet-to-be-determined capacity, but he will handle scouting as well as administrative duties. He will also still be hosting the Gridiron Passports podcast.
What's your football background?
Before I was born, my parents would routinely watch it at a bar near their home, but my first memory of football goes back to when I was seven years old or so, and my mom watching a Super Bowl rerun on TV, a few years later I was introduced to playing the game at a birthday party.
Fast forward to 2008 and a friend invited me to see the Super Bowl with him, and I soon after knew, that was the sport for me. I joined a local team in Copenhagen as a defensive tackle, and after moving around both on and off the field, I finally hung up my cleats in 2016 as a very mediocre player, but with a great understanding of the game.
Ten years after my first Super Bowl, I dedicated myself to coaching and joined the Triangle Razorbacks under 19 team as a “whatever-we-need” coach, which has included everything but Quarterbacks (but a 1-0 record as HC!), a couple of regional championships and two national championship losses.
I have also worked as many places as time has permitted to help grow the game which includes helping build Podyum Preps, scouting for the Frankfurt Galaxy, writing for Danish football media, and more.
What’s your best football memory?
I think it’s hard to pick just one, so I’ll go with the best from each major role I have had.
As a player, after my second to last full season at our award ceremony my HC honored me and a few other players with the description “If a team consisted of players just like them, it would make everything a lot easier”.
As a coach, seeing my RB start the European Junior Championships with a 30+ yard run and a hurdle over the S stands out. The guy was better than I could coach him to be, but the pride was immense nonetheless.
Working with recruiting the one that stands out, was the first time a player got offered a scholarship solely because of my work. In the end, Covid put a stop to it, unfortunately.
Start/bench/cut: Alvin Kamara, Jonathan Taylor, and Bijan Robinson
I’m going to start Alvin Kamara, his versatility out of the backfield is valuable to the way I like to run an offense. If I am building a franchise, I am taking Bijan 10/10.
However, for just a season, Bijan goes on the bench, he has proven he can do a bit of everything, unlike Jonathan Taylor, who can’t stay healthy - the best ability is availability.
Best advice for young players?
Find something outside of football that you love - coaching, producing music, academia, writing a book, whatever. It’s a common pitfall amongst all professions that once you’re finished, you lose a big part of yourself and are at risk of depression - in sports, it just happens a lot faster. Especially in football with so few people being able to live off of it compared to other sports.
I’m also a firm believer that giving your mind time off from one thing improves your ability to do that thing. Just like a workout breaks down your muscles to rebuild them, performing or occupying your mind with football breaks down your ability to be the best player you can be, and by giving it something else to work on you allow it to regrow.
Donor Honor Roll
The following families, individuals, and schools have made contributions to the Foundation since we transitioned to non-profit status:
Chris and Alisa Adamson and Family
Bjoern and Denise Werner and Family
Erik and Alex Dahl and Family
Michael Johnson and Family
Will Powell
Chris Rhodes and Family
Paul Mylott Darren and Debbi Castro and Family
Rickard and Jessica Nilsson and Family
Dr. Alexander Vollert and Christina Stadelmann & Family
Debbie Moore and Family
Robert and Julie Webster and Family
Bob and Jamie Adamson
Racheli Cohen and Family
Wolfgang and Claudia Spörk and Family
Kinga and Jakub Szymanski and Family
Justin and Kristin Thormodsgard and Family
Irene Antkowiak
Max Braeueri
Steven Mansour
Nico Dinkelborg
Frank and Svenja Steffens
Jannik Ebben
Damon and Rachel Ferrara and Family
Dan Adamson
Alexander Neundlinger
Daniel Otto
David Letzel
Jann Sprecher
Thomas Phillip Jäger
Matthiad Hohenauer
Michael Duss
Simon Wilsdorf
Christopher Münzel
Fabian Deringer
Andreas Lüscher
Konstantin Will
Hans-Georg Scholler
Sven Bruns
Joshua Kolz
Till Menne
Kate Wambach
Steffen Buenting
Dennis Richter
Rafael Hauser
Moritz Raum
Mika Kalkbrenner
Christian Jortzik
Peter Daletzki
Raf and Stephanie Steins
Lauren Butler
Jens and Kristiane Vandborg
Matthias and Katja Krebs
The Kuehl Family
Peter Claußnitzer and Family
David Perfield and Family
Mathias Richter
Ronny Moriana
Lukas Durchholz
Till Werner
Michael Just
Geert Hahn
Bruno Sojat and Family
Chad Tew
Kai-Erik and Pati Lyck and Family
Robin Dettmar
Jan Burell and Family
David Giglio
The Mittendorfer Family
Jeff Hollway and Family
The Batchen Family
Seth Oseransky
Dylan Stewart
Marcus Wagner
Alejandra Gonza and Family
Ronny Moriana and Family
Thomas Müller and Family
Daniel Antoni
Thane Watkins
Jason Osborne and Family
Forret West
Noel Jäger
Wilke Osterkamp
Derek White and Family
Preston and Mellissa Whitworth
Dirk Kirasch and Family
Brooks School
Casady School
The Governor's Academy
The Linsly School
Wilbraham & Monson Academy
The Paschos Family
Lloyd Lee
The Altincinar Family
The Baird Family