Thursday, February 2, 2012

A total of 28 high school seniors, all from the state of Washington, have signed National Letters of Intent to join the football program at Central Washington University.

Defending GNAC champion Humboldt State signed 15 on National Letter-of-Intent Day. (Note: Follow Humboldt State link for video highlights on recruits).

Meanwhile, Western Oregon inked 29 high school standouts, including 17 Oregonians, and Dixie State signed 16.

Central Washington's signing class represents a geographically-diverse group from the Evergreen State, with players coming from up and down the I-5 corridor as well as eastern Washington.

The school with greatest representation in the signing class is Lake Stevens High School, which had four Vikings -- three on the offensive side of the ball -- while Kentlake High School (Kent, Wash.), Lakes High School (Lakewood, Wash.), and Union High School (Camas, Wash.) had two signees each. "

From a positional standpoint, Central Washington's greatest pursuit was for quarterbacks and wide receivers in the class of 2012.

Nearly half of the Wildcats' 28 signees were recruited to play either the quarterback or wide receiver position, as CWU signed five quarterbacks and nine wide receivers to National Letters of Intent.

Humboldt State head football coach Rob Smith signed 15 talented athletes to National Letters of Intent. Eight more players are already on campus, having transferred in from junior colleges at the start of the semester.

“We're bringing a group of well-rounded young men to campus who are high in character and talent, and have the right attitude,” Smith said. “I expect them to play an important role in our program's future.”

The junior college players who transferred to Humboldt State for the winter semester will likely impact the program immediately. They'll get a jump on the athletes who will join the Jacks in the fall, participating in spring practice sessions.

Amongst Western Oregon's signees were a multitude of offensive and defensive linemen, along with a number of defensive backs and wide receivers.

"This is a balanced class with the size and speed to move us forward as we play a complete NCAA Division II schedule for the first time," said Ferguson.

"Last year we learned that we have to have a big physical line on both sides of the ball if we are going to compete against the likes of Grand Valley State, Montana and Abilene Christian."