Sterling Heights Stevenson teammates Kwiatkowski, Ramsey among 14 to head to CMU

Jordan Kwiatkowski made the most of his senior year and is now ready to make his presence felt at Central Michigan.

Kwiatkowski was one of 14 players to sign with the Chippewas on Wednesday, including six from the state of Michigan.

And, Kwiatkowski will be coming to CMU with his Sterling Heights Stevenson teammate, Jordan Ramsey.

Kwiatkowski, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker/running back, earned a spot on The News' Dream Team and is sitting No. 28 on the Blue Chip list.

Ramsey (No. 29) earned a spot as a first-team all-state running back by The News for the Division 1-2 team.

“They showed a lot of love to me, never really stopped recruiting me; it was always love, always, ‘Good luck on game day;’ always texts, calls, really never stopped,” Kwiatkowski said. “Then, when I took my official visit June 4 I saw the campus, saw how they ran things. I met the coaching staff and it just felt like home.

“It was a friendly environment. The coaches were all very close with each other. They just wanted what was best for their players. The academic department ran smoothly, and I just fell in love.”

Kwiatkowski, who has a 3.57 grade-point average, is leaning toward a sports management major.

Kwiatkowski used his speed and strength to go sideline-to-sideline to make 130 tackles, including 19 for lost yardage, to help Stevenson earn a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red Division title while advancing to the Division 1 state semifinals.

Kwiatkowski rushed for 1,325 yards and 16 touchdowns, including 109 yards and a TD in a thrilling 38-35 district final win over MAC Red rival Chippewa Valley.

So, where did Kwiatkowski improve the most during his senior year, and what are his strengths?

“I’d like to say quickness and speed, did some offseason work and it really showed this year,” Kwiatkowski said. “I communicate well and have good leadership skills, think I’m real twitchy fast and have a nose for the ball, so I’m everywhere on the field.

“I had a good season, a good way to end my career, don’t have any regrets, feel like I played to the best of my ability and my teammates and coaches set me up to succeed as well. I like playing defense more because I can kind of read and hit people harder than I would on offense. I feel like I fit defense more than offense.”

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Kwiatkowski is looking forward to playing with Ramsey, who rushed for 175 yards in the postseason win over Chippewa Valley, scoring on runs of 36 and 71 in the opening quarter.

Kwiatkowski doesn’t plan on enrolling early.

“I’m going to graduate in June,” Kwiatkowski said. “I asked Coach Mac (Jim McElwain) what he thinks and he personally said that his senior year of high school was one to remember so kind of just enjoy it, and I’m also playing basketball and baseball, so I’m going to enjoy that.”

Dearborn Divine Child tackle Brady Ploucha (No. 44), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s tight end DeCorion Temple (No. 56), Rockford three-star defensive end Kade Kostus and East Lansing three-star receiver Ambrose Wilson are also players from the state.

Three-star cornerback Olando Trader of Jackson flipped and signed with Iowa.

Three-star offensive lineman Martin Koivisto from Minnesota picked the Chippewas over Iowa State.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com