The lives of scores of teenagers across the country will be shaped today by early morning signatures.

It's national letter-of-intent day, and for the football players who secure scholarships, there will be a mixture of pride and elation – and relief.

For college coaches eagerly awaiting binding contracts, the foundation of their programs' future is set in motion.

Nationally, there are thousands of athletes who excel in high school football each fall but only hundreds of scholarships.

For the Sacramento region, approximately 40 football players will sign with four-year programs, making it the best recruiting year ever.

And not everyone is Shaq Thompson of Grant (Washington) or Arik Armstead of Pleasant Grove (Oregon). Those top national recruits had a choice of some of the top programs in the country.

Granite Bay lineman Gavin Andrews (Oregon State) and Oak Ridge wide receiver Dylan Collie (BYU) were so sold on their colleges from the start they declined other recruiting trips.

Andrews said his mother, Kara, questioned if football was good for the body – and the mind – with so many collisions.

"We took the football risk, and it was rewarding, and mom's getting a pretty good return on it with the scholarship; me, too," Andrews said. "I feel very fortunate. A scholarship is something really nice to cherish."

Football has been part of Collie's family for decades. His father, Scott, played receiver for BYU in the early 1980s. Collie's brothers, Zac and Austin, also played for BYU, and Austin now plays in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts.

Some recruits, such as Whitney quarterback Jake Rodrigues (Oregon), are so eager to start their college careers they enroll early, in time for spring ball.

Armstead and Cosumnes Oaks defensive back Marcus Rios (UCLA) will enroll in March.

Collie, on the other hand, is savoring his final months of high school.

"I'm in no hurry to go," said Collie, who is playing basketball for Oak Ridge. "As slow as I want these months to go, I still can't wait until Sept. 1 (when BYU opens against Washington State)."

It's not just Division I programs offering scholarships. Roseville quarterback Zac Cunha took a recruiting trip over the weekend to Minot State University, a Division II program in Minot, N.D.

The anxiety of picking a college was just as great and the potential rewards just as satisfying at the Division II level, Cunha said.

"Our games won't be on ESPN, unless we make the playoffs, but it's still college football," Cunha said. "I'm sure for all the recruits, to know where you're going is definitely peace of mind."

The letters athletes will sign early this morning become binding, but until then the recruiting frenzy continued even for those who have verbally committed.

Until this week, Cosumnes Oaks' Rios was still receiving calls from Washington, Miami and Notre Dame. He's headed to UCLA, wowed by an in-home visit by new coach Jim Mora.

Rios said his choice went beyond football. He factored in academics, his new city, his coaches, the works.

"And then you just feel so blessed and lucky to have this opportunity," Rios said.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECRUITS

Area players who have verbally committed:

Name	School	Pos.	College
Jordan Alleva	Folsom	OL/DL	San Diego
Gavin Andrews	Granite Bay	OL	Oregon State
Jalen Angel-White	Sacramento	SS	San Diego
Arik Armstead	Pleasant Grove	DL/OL	Oregon
Devin Benjamin	Sacramento	WR	Idaho State
Alex Bertrando	Del Oro	LB	Nevada
Dylan Collie	Oak Ridge	WR	BYU
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick	Whitney	TE	USC
Zac Cunha	Roseville	QB	Minot State
D.J. Dunn	Pleasant Grove	LB	Air Force
Charles Faraimo	Grant	OL	Nevada
J.T. Frank	Jesuit	TE/SS	Holy Cross
Nate Iese	Sheldon	TE	UCLA
Darion Jackson	Sheldon	LB	Southern Oregon
Dalen Jones	Woodland	WR/DB	Fresno State
Josh Letuligasenoa	Elk Grove	OL	Cal Poly
Desmond Lewis	Pleasant Grove	DB	Air Force
Yuvraaj Madra	Folsom	OL	Weber State
Carson McMurtrey	Folsom	WR	Cal Poly
Steven Moore	Elk Grove	OL	Cal
Corey Palin	Whitney	WR	Butler
Antonio Perez	Sheldon	DL	Idaho
Deon Ransom	Elk Grove	RB	Sacramento State
Marcus Rios	Cosumnes Oaks	DB	UCLA
Jake Rodrigues	Whitney	QB	Oregon
Norman Sadler	Del Campo	DB	Cal Poly
Kyi Thomas	Sheldon	WR	Sacramento State
Michael Thomas	Cosumnes Oaks	WR	UNLV
Shaq Thompson	Grant	S	Washington
Tanner Trosin	Folsom	QB	Cal Poly
Doug Vernon	Folsom	WR	Cornell
Marcus White	Pleasant Grove	K	UC Davis
Andrew Williams	Cosumnes Oaks	ATH	Idaho
Austin Young	Colfax	QB	Southern Utah

John WiernickiLiberty RanchLBAir Force Josiah Paye Nevada Union DB Stanford Alec Sarner Nevada Union C University of San Diego Connor Keith Nevada Union FB San Diego State J.T. Frank Jesuit DB Holy Cross

– Joe Davidson, Bill Paterson

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Email additional football scholarship signees to Joe Davidson (jdavidson@sacbee.com) or Bill Paterson (bpaterson@sacbee.com)

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