The Iowa State University football team announced the signing of 24 players Wednesday afternoon during a press conference in the Jacobson Building auditorium. The class, which is characterized by Head Coach Dan McCarney as “the best class in the short-time I have been here,” features an even split of players on both sides of the ball.

“This is the end of a year of long hard work,” McCarney said. “We are very proud of the 24 players we are bringing in.”

The players signed include five highly rated players in running back Malik Aluqdah, a 5-11, 220-pound freshman from Staten Island, N.Y.; Willie Perryman, a 6-4, 250-pound junior college tight end from Los Angeles Valley Community College by way of Burbank, Calif., linebacker Reggie Hayward, a 6-4, 220-pound freshman from Dolton, Ill., Carl Gomez, a 6-2, 195-pound kicker from Miami, Fla. and running back James Fuller, 6-3, 245 pounds, from Bloomington, Ill..

Aluqdah was awarded the 1996 junior Heisman Trophy and was a two-time winner of the Fabri Award as the outstanding football player on Staten Island. Aluqdah gained 1,069 yards rushing on 164 carries as a senior.

“He is an outstanding player,” McCarney said.

Perryman was selected to the first-team offense of the 1996 J.C. Grid Wire All-America team and was named to the SuperPrep and BlueChip All-America teams. Perryman was named the most valuable player of the team for two straight years.

Hayward started for three straight years on his high school team and was considered the fifth-best prospect in the Midwest by Tom Lemming’s Prep Football Report.

Hayward, according to Robert Allen of the Big 12 Recruiting News, said, “The signing of Reggie Hayward is the equivalent of getting Troy Davis.”

Gomez will step right into the lineup and take the place of Marc Harris as the regular punter, while competing with Jamie Kohl for the starting place-kicking job. Gomez had a 76-yard punt during the North/South All-Star Game, while having a career-best 50-yard field goal in high school.

“Kickers and punters are the hardest to evaluate on film. We wanted to get up close and watch them,” McCarney said.

“We offered two scholarships to punters and we couldn’t be happier about signing him.”

“He wants to do both [punting and place kicking], which will give us better competition at kicker since I have been here,” McCarney said. “He is a real talent.”

Fuller was named the team’s most valuable player after running for 1,682 yards on 210 carries, including 33 touchdowns his senior year.

“He is a talent,” McCarney said. “When we started recruiting him, it was us and Northern Illinois. We got a steal.”

Iowa State focused on signing 12 linemen with the 24 scholarships they offered, seven of which were on the offensive side of the ball and five on defense.

The Cyclones also gained two junior college recruits in Perryman and defensive lineman Terrence Gullette.

Gullette, 6-4, 275 pounds from the North Dakota School of Science, captained a 9-1 team to the RC Cola Bowl in the UNI Dome and was named the all-Region XI defensive lineman.

McCarney signed nine in-state players, including Andy Stensrud, a 6-7, 245-pound tight end from Lake Mills. Stensrud caught 89 passes for 1,471 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. The Lake Mills native will also walk-on to Coach Tim Floyd’s basketball team.

Andrew Kelly, a 6-3, 280-pound offensive lineman from Knoxville, who currently has a 28-0 mark in wrestling and is the second-ranked high school heavyweight wrestler in Class 2A.

George Cunningham, a 6-7, 250-pound offensive lineman from Algona also committed to Iowa State. Cunningham, who was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, was recognized as a first-team all-District II offensive lineman.

Kevin DeRonde, a 6-5, 225-pound linebacker from Pella tallied 110 tackles while claiming elite-team honors from The Des Moines Register in 1996.

Cory Hannen, a 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman from Hiawatha, claimed the Cedar Rapids Gazette’s all-metro and all-district honors for two straight years.

Ryan Meyer, a 6-2, 260-pound defensive lineman from Northwood compiled 96 tackles while recovering four fumbles and tallying three sacks and gained first-team all-state honors.

Andy Moser, a 5-11, 205-pound defensive back from Colesburg rushed from 2,004 yards as a senior, while tallying 51 tackles with two interceptions, six sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries.

Jerry Moses, Jr., a 5-9, 165-pound freshman running back from Waterloo, will follow in his father’s footsteps and play football for the Cyclones.

Moses, who was rated as the fifth-best prospect in Iowa by Big 12 Recruiting News, broke his father’s career-rushing record at Waterloo East High School as he rushed for 1,313 yards while averaging seven yards per carry and 14 touchdowns as a high school senior.

Moses’s father, Jerry Moses, Sr., lettered at Iowa State from 1972-73.

“He is an all-around excellent athlete who can excel, win and be a difference maker,” McCarney said. “His coach would admit that he played behind a poor offensive line, but we really like him.”

Luke Peterson, a 6-2, 215-pound linebacker from Newton committed to Iowa State after rushing for 850 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns as a fullback. He was named to the first-team all-state by The Des Moines Register and was honored as the The Des Moines Register’s 1996 Central Iowa Metro League Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

In regards to his coup from Iowa, McCarney said he is not satisfied yet.

“It is tough to get all of the kids in the state,” McCarney said.

He said he knows what he is getting with most of the players because they had attended football camps at Iowa State.

“We had 1,100 kids here for camp this year compared to 90 the first year,” McCarney said.

Other players who signed with the Cyclones on offense are Scott Davis, a 6-5, 275-pound offensive lineman from Parkland, Fla., Brian Donohue, a 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman from Alsip, Ill., Vince Kelly, a 6-6, 265-pound offensive lineman from St. Paul, Minn., and Adam Sansale, a 6-4, 280-pound offensive lineman from South St. Paul, Minn.

The remaining defensive players signed include Jared Bucksa, a 6-4, 240-pound defensive lineman from New Brighton, Minn., Mike Jackson, a 6-2, 245-pound defensive lineman from Overland Park, Kan., Jay Super, a 6-3, 250-pound defensive lineman from Olathe, Kan., Breon Ansley, a 5-8, 165-pound defensive back from Rowland Heights, Calif., and Adam Runk, a 6-3, 175-pound defensive back/ wide receiver from Stillwater, Minn.

Runk already has ties to Iowa State because his brother Aaron is currently a member of the Cyclone baseball team.

“All 24 players signed without a hitch or defection,” McCarney said. “We are trying to build this with four-year players and this class shows that.”

The Cyclones will head into the fall with their full alottment of 85 scholarship players, a first for the McCarney regime.