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Nine U.P. Athletes Among 32 Tech Football Recruits
 This story was written by Michigan Tech Athletics. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear comments from Escanaba's Ben Johnson and North Central's Max Nason, as well as Michigan Tech Coach Dan Mettlach. 2024 Class By The Numbers
Matthew Colavecchi | WR | 6-0 | 180 | Iron Mountain, Mich. | Iron Mountain High School: Colavecchi totaled nine touchdowns with 188 yards rushing and 504 reception yards. He helped Iron Mountain to a Regional Championship in 2022 and Conference Champions and District Champions in 2023. He was an All-State All U.P. Dream Team honoree, 2023 Special Teams Player of the Year, First Team All-State and First Team All-Region. Personal: Matt is the son of Kim and Chris and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Engineering Management while at Tech. Ben Johnson | RB | 5-9 | 175 | Escanaba, Mich. | Escanaba High School: Johnson is a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree ('22, '23), First Team All U.P. ('23), two-time Team Offense MVP ('22, '23), team captain ('23) and recorded over 2,500 all purpose yards to go with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions for his high school career. Personal: Ben is the son of Scott and Krista and has one sibling. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in General Engineering. Noah Johnson | DL | 6-2 | 230 | Iron Mountain, Mich. | Kingsford High School: Johnson was named U.P. Defensive Player of the Year, All-State Defensive End, All-State Dream Team D-Line, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, two-time U.P. Dream Team Defensive End, two-time Conference First Team Defensive End and a two-time First Team All-Region Defensive End for Kingsford. In his senior campaign, he recorded 13 sacks and 25 tackles for loss, helping Kingsford to a District Championship. Personal: Noah is the son of Eric and Rachel and has three siblings. His major is undecided.  Max Nason | OL | 6-0 | 280 | Labranche, Mich. | Powers North Central High School: Nason was a three-time state champion ('20, '21, '22) for the Jets who had a 41 game win-streak from '20-'23. He was a four year varsity starter, a two-time All-State offensive line recipient and a two-time All U.P. Dream Team, a four-time offensive line All-Conference honoree and a two-time defensive line All-Conference honoree. Personal: Max is the son of Jeff and Beth and has one sibling. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Sports Medicine/Kinesiology.
High School: Popko totaled 90 tackles, five touchdowns and 300 receiving yards in his senior campaign. He was a Second Team All-State and First Team All-Conference honoree in 2023, helping Lake Linden-Hubbell to a Conference Championship. Personal: Gabe is the son of Domenic and Tiffany and has one sibling. He plans to earn a degree in Engineering while at Tech.
High School: Popp totaled 25 touchdowns in his senior campaign, rushing for over 1,450 yards and almost 1,900 yards of offense. Defensively, he had eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 106 total tackles. He helped lead the Knights to a Conference Championship in 2023 earning All-Conference Defensive Player of the Year, All-Region Defensive back and U.P. Defensive Player of the Year. Personal: Ian is the son of Scott and Tanya and has one sibling. He is undecided on a major.
High School: Roberts was a First Team All-Region (RB), All UP First Team (RB) and All-Conference in his senior campaign. He rushed for 1,268 yards for 17 touchdowns in 2023 helping the Lake Linden-Hubbell team to a Regional Semi-Finalist finish. Personal: Sam is the son of Amy and William and has one sibling. At Tech, He plans to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Wyatt Scott | OLB | 6-2 | 215 | Iron Mountain, Mich. | Kingsford High School: Scott helped lead the Kingsford team to District and Regional Championships. He totaled 53 tackles, 11 sacks and two forced fumbles as a senior and was an All-Conference Defense End recipient and All U.P. Defensemen in hockey. Personal: Wyatt is the son of Michelle and Brian and has two siblings. While at Tech, he plans to study Kinesiology.
High School: Spade was an All-State honoree and a two-time All-Conference and U.P Dream Team honoree. He was a part of the Norway team that was Conference Champions. Personal: Wyatt is the son of Scot and Missy and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Engineering Management from Tech.
High School: Braxton was a two-time All-Region and two-time All-Conference honoree and has competed at New Balance Nationals in track & field. Personal: Latay'vion is the son of Rochelle and Maurice and has three siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Business Management.
High School: Briones helped the Rockets to a 2022 Conference Championship and was an All-Conference Honorable Mention outside linebacker. In 2023, he was a First Team All-Conference outside linebacker and All-Region outside linebacker. He totaled 70 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, three interceptions, one sack and one pick-six. Personal: Connor is the son of Kari and Peter and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Business while at Tech.
High School: Byers recorded 88 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, three sacks and three touchdowns in his senior campaign. He helped Chippewa Valley to a District Championship and was All-League, All-County First Team and All-Metro East honoree. Personal: Jordan is the son of Jason and Jennifer Byers and has one brother, Josh Byers on the team. He plans to earn a degree in finance while at Tech.
High School: Delgado totaled 30 touchdowns averaging nine yards a carry in 13 games through his junior and senior season. He was First Team All-Region and Offensive Player of the Year in the region and First Team Southern Arizona. Personal: Samuel is the son of Laura and Angel. He plans to earn a degree in business while at Tech.
High School: Graf is a three-time First Team All-Conference offensive line honoree, a two-time All-Conference defensive line and an All-Region First Team offensive line honoree. Personal: Son of Elizabeth and Jeff and has two siblings Gabbie and Preston who was a member the last five years. He plans to earn a degree in General Business while at Tech.
High School: Haeck finished his senior campaign with 87 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss and three sacks. For his career, he amassed 185 total tackles/ He was a Team MVP, Team Captain, two-time All-Conference honoree and helped the Huskies to a MAC Blue Championship in 2022. Personal: Austin is the son of Krystal and Adam and has two siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Business.
High School: Hansen was a four year varsity starter for Central playing offensive line. Personal: MJ is the son of Michelle and Matt and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Engineering Management at Tech.
High School: Heppner was named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Conference Academic in his senior campaign. He rushed for 238 yards and four touchdowns with 214 yards receiving for two touchdowns. He helped the Highlanders to Conference and District Championships in 2022. Personal: Drew is the son of Josh and Nicole and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Business Management while at Tech.
High School: Howard totaled 40 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions and one forced fumble in his senior campaign. He was an All-Conference Second Team honoree and an All-State Academic honoree helping the Grand Blanc team to a record of 6-5 in 2023. Personal: Riyad is the son of Aisha and Riyad and has one sibling. At Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Business.
High School: Isaacson is a two-time All-Conference honoree and was named All-Region in 2023. Personal: Brady is the son of Tim and Rachel and has five siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Kinesiology while at Tech.
High School: Kucharski is a two-time District 2 All-State, two-time All-Region and three-time All-Conference honoree. He was also a three-time All-Conference honoree in Soccer for the Huskies. He finished his high school career with 93 touchbacks, 19 field goals with a long of 49 yards, 112 PATs and 112 PATs in his senior campaign. Personal: Avery is the son of Joe and Cheryl and has one sibling. He plans to earn a degree in Management Information Systems while at Tech.
High School: Lemus went 35/36 on PAT and 4-for-5 in field goals while being named Classic Eight Conference Honorable Mention his junior and senior year. Personal: Chris is the son of Monica. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Business.
High School: Lippert was a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree, and First Team All-Region in his senior season, He helped the Warriors to four conference championships in his high school career. He totaled over 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns with a 99 yard kick return touchdown. Personal: Son of Gregory and Devin and has two siblings. His major is undecided.
High School: Martin was a First Team All-Region honoree in his senior campaign with 46 total tackles, three tackles for loss and 10 pass breakups. He helped the Highland team to a conference championship and back-to-back state championships in '22 and '23. Personal: Terrence is the son of Evita and Terrence and has four siblings. He plans to earn a degree in business while at Tech.
High School: Marzec played three years of varsity football and four years of varsity baseball at Notre Dame Academy. He helped the Triton's to a Conference Championship in 2023 where he also earned All-Conference. Personal: Micah is the son of Ken and Nicole and has two siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in business.
High School: Morris earned All-Region Honorable Mention DB and helped the Eagles to a 4A Conference Championship in 2022. He amassed 200 total tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles. Personal: Boston is the son of Daniel and Michelle and has six siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Business while at Tech.
High School: Napieralski helped the Cougars to three State Champions ('20, '22, '23), four Regional Championships, District Championships and Conference Championships. He earned GR Press Dream Team accolades and was named All-State, All-Region and All-Conference in his senior campaign. Personal: Brendan is the son of Joe and Gwen and has four siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering.
High School: Schwartz totaled 116 tackles and 1,600 rushing yards in his senior season. He helped the Lancers to a District Championship in 2023 and is a two-time All-Conference honoree along with First Team All-Region and First Team All-State in 2023. Personal: Bo is the son of John and Molly and has three siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering. High School: Schwartz totaled 112 total tackles in his senior campaign, helping the Bullock Creek team to a district championship. He earned First Team All-Region in 2023 and was a First Team All-Conference honoree in '22 and '23. Personal: Zane is the son of John and Molly and has three siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tech. High School: Stamps helped the Bears to a State Championship in '22-'23 and earned Second Team All-Conference honors. He totaled 90 tackles from '22-'24 with 45 solo tackles. Personal: Jamison is the son of James and Kim and has three siblings. While at Tech, he plans to earn a degree in Business. High School: Williams was a Detroit Free Press All-North Team member his senior year. Personal: Cam is the son of Jim and Julianne and has one sibling. He plans to earn a degree in Computer Science while at Tech. High School: Zachary was named to the All-League, All-District and All-Region teams in his senior campaign with eight touchdowns, five interceptions and 60 tackles. He helped Oscar A. Carlson to three League Championships ('21, '22, '23) and a District Championship in 2023. Personal: Jackson is the son of William and Tracey and has two siblings. He plans to earn a degree in Electrical Engineering while at Tech.  |
