| Matt Carufel |
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CAREER: Former prep All-American will compete for a starting spot at one of the two offensive guard positions ... adds tremendous depth to the interior of the offensive line along with classmates Eric Olsen and Dan Wenger and junior Michael Turkovich ... played 2:41 as a true freshman last year.
2006 (FRESHMAN): Logged just 2:41 of playing time last season in reserve role.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Graduated from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn. ... one of 18 linemen on Parade prep All-America team ... USA Today second-team pick on its prep All-America squad ... rated 56th on list of top 100 prep players nationally by USA Today ... rated 59th on list of top 100 players in the nation by Dallas Morning News ... rated 56th on list of top 100 players nationally by Chicago Sun-Times ... Gatorade Player of the Year in 2005 in Minnesota ... considered top player in Minnesota in 2005 and top lineman from the state since former Irish offensive tackle Ryan Harris ... rated 126th on list of top 150 players nationally by CollegeFootballNews.com ... selected for U.S. Army All-American Bowl prep all-star game ... ranked 15th on list of top 20 players in the Midwest on Detroit Free-Press Best in the Midwest team ... rated 20th on '05 preseason list of top offensive linemen nationally by The Sporting News ... first-team Minnesota all-state selection as senior in `05 by St. Paul Pioneer-Press ... helped Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., to 10-3 mark as senior in `05 and Minnesota Class 5A state title game where it lost 28-24 to Wayzata in Minnesota Prep Bowl ... had 106 pancake blocks as senior in '05 - and 74 more as junior in '04 while leading team to 9-4 mark ... three-year starter is from same high school as former Irish lineman Ryan Harris, tight end Marcus Freeman and '05 fullback Rashon Powers-Neal ... born Nov. 20, 1987 ... high school coach was Mike Scanlan ... enrolled in College of Arts and Letters.
