Broncbusters ranked No. 2 in JC Gridiron's Dirty 30

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-It's been a crazy offseason to say the least, with workouts being canceled, athletic programs being shuttered and the entire landscape of sports changing in front of our eyes. And still, somehow, someway, Garden City Head Coach, Tom Minnick is up to his usual recruiting tricks, landing three D-I transfers in the matter of 14 days. 

And the rest of the nation has taken notice.

On Friday, the Broncbusters were ranked No. 2 in JUCO Gridiron's Dirty 30, a system that rates every Junior College, including the California schools. Earlier this month, Garden City was ranked ninth in Street and Smith's annual College Football Yearbook. 

"All of this doesn't mean anything until you start playing games," Minnick said. "It's nice to be recognized, and we know we have good players, but rankings mean very little in the grand scheme of things."

Garden City was one of only two schools in the Jayhawk Conference ranked in the top 10, with Butler coming in at No. 10. Defending national champion Mississippi Gulf Coast was the top dog with Riverside City, Jones and last year's runner-up Lackawanna, rounding out the top five. Iowa Central, was sixth and Iowa Western ninth.

"We are just looking forward to playing games," Minnick explained. 

If people have been a sleep or maybe on vacation the last decade, you would have missed the fact that year in and year out, Minnick has put together some of the best recruiting classes in Junior College football, with this year being no exception. Within a span of 14 days, one of the winningest coaches in the history of the sport, landed former Miami Hurricanes' quarterback Jarren Williams, Florida State running back Anthony Grant and former Kentucky linebacker Xavier Peters, a four-star defensive prodigy who immediately bolsters Jerry Dominguez's front seven. 

"Every team in this league is talented," Minnick added. "That's the Jayhawk in general."

In his first season in Garden City after more than a decade at Arizona Western, Minnick guided the Broncbusters to within an eyelash of playing in the National Championship Game. They finished 8-3 and tied for second in a loaded Jayhawk Conference. This year, they once again face a challenging schedule with six games vs. teams ranked in the Dirty 30. They open the season Saturday, Aug. 29 at Highland. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.