WHERE THEY'RE HEADED
Area football players who signed national letters of intent Wednesday:
OFFENSE
| Player | Pos. | School | College | Comment |
| Zac Cunha | QB | Roseville | Minot State | Scholar with cannon arm thrilled to be in Division II program with small-town pace |
| Jake Rodrigues | QB | Whitney | Oregon | Already enrolled at Oregon; ideal for spread offense with arm, legs, drive |
| Tanner Trosin | QB | Folsom | Cal Poly | State single-season passing, total offense leader ready to run triple option |
| Austin Young | QB | Colfax | Southern Utah | Big at 6-5 and linebacker-tough; Thunderbirds beat Sac State, UC Davis last season |
| Deon Ransom | RB | Elk Grove | Sacramento State | Can run with speed and power, block, catch – and a good personality to boot |
| John Wiernicki | RB | Liberty Ranch | Air Force | Sac-Joaquin Section's top rusher in 2011 burst onto the scene; just getting started |
| Connor Keith | FB | Nevada Union | San Diego State | Has overcome two blown knees and proudly keeps plugging away |
| Devin Benjamin | WR | Sacramento | Idaho State | A 6-3 leaper; relative newcomer to game just scratching surface of potential |
| Dylan Collie | WR | Oak Ridge | BYU | Next Provo-bound Collie; incredible worker; 1,293 total yards – doing everything |
| Carson McMurtrey | WR | Folsom | Cal Poly | A steal for Mustangs; overcame injuries to blow past defenders in stretch |
| Corey Palin | WR | Whitney | Butler | A scholar who can catch touchdowns; overcame injuries to secure ride |
| Michael Thomas | WR | Cosumnes Oaks | UNLV | Overcame injuries to become national recruit; ready to run with Rebels |
| Kyi Thomas | WR | Sheldon | Sacramento State | Has 44-inch vertical leap; played football just one year and loves it |
| Logan Smith | WR | Vista del Lago | San Diego | Section reception leader (152); makes amazing grabs with hands, body control |
| Doug Vernon | WR | Folsom | Cornell | Excellent hands; big, strong, a terrific target across the middle; great student |
| Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick | TE | Whitney | USC | Superb hands, blocker; made sure not to wear Raider gear when Lane Kiffin visited |
| Nate Iese | TE | Sheldon | UCLA | Explosive as a defensive end, too, and can fly as a receiver; burst onto scene |
| Josh Letuligasenoa | TE | Elk Grove | Cal Poly | Affable out of shoulder pads, dominant in them; joins brother Lefi in the trenches |
| Jordan Alleva | OL | Folsom | San Diego | Considered the Bulldogs' smash-mouth brute; a brawler with skills |
| Gavin Andrews | OL | Granite Bay | Oregon State | Loved OSU from start; powerful – and dominated all comers all season at 6-6, 340 |
| William Boule | OL | Oak Ridge | E. Washington | Quietly excelled for playoff team with good games against great competition |
| Tobin Granyk | OL | Roseville | San Diego | Strong, intelligent, physical blocker with a mean streak |
| Nick Kelly | OL | Casa Roble | Humboldt State | Line leader who overwhelmed opposition for 10-3 playoff team |
| YuvRaaj Madraf | OL | Folsom | Weber State | Excellent pass blocker with good feet; protected Tanner Trosin from harm |
| Steven Moore | OL | Elk Grove | Cal | Core leader for revived 12-1 team; has a pro body now at 6-7 |
| Alex Sarner | OL | Nevada Union | San Diego | Studious leader is a center who can play as a long snapper, too |
| Watson Tautuiaki | OL | Elk Grove | Western Oregon | Late commitment for powerful Herd center who keyed a prolific running game |
| Jon David-Smith | K | Oak Ridge | Southern Oregon | Excellent leg; he also punted for Trojans, and could see immediate action |
| Marcus White | K | Pleasant Grove | UC Davis | Led nation in touchbacks; father Russ played tight end for UCD in the 1980s |
DEFENSE
| Player | Pos. | School | College | Comment |
| Roman Andrus | DL | Oak Ridge | BYU | Had some dominating moments; joins teammate Collie in Provo |
| Arik Armstead | DL | Pleasant Grove | Oregon | Area's all-time No. 1 recruit drew overwhelming interest; long, powerful, eager |
| Charles Faraimo | DL | Grant | Nevada | Sold on Pack from the start; overcame foot injury to have strong season |
| Antonio Perez | DL | Sheldon | Idaho | Scholar had offers from six other schools; jokes he can't wait to play in the snow |
| Alex Bertrando | LB | Del Oro | Nevada | Bee Defensive Player of the Year has excellent pursuit; can hit and cover |
| Cameron Buell | LB | Casa Roble | Humboldt State | Tackling machine had 140 stops for Capital Valley Conference champs |
| D.J. Dunn | LB | Pleasant Grove | Air Force | Punishing tackler who loved flight simulator ride on recruiting trip |
| LeDontrae Gooden | LB | Cosumnes Oaks | Southern Oregon | Unsung talent is fast, ferocious; a real find for small college in Ashland |
| Tanner Huber | LB | Del Oro | BYU | Teamed with Bertrando to power Golden Eagles to CIF state bowl game |
| Darion Jackson | LB | Sheldon | Southern Oregon | Piled up 94 tackles for playoff team; good hitter is instinctive, quick |
| Jalen Angel-White | DB | Sacramento | San Diego | Explosive athlete had 985 receiving yards; excels on special teams |
| J.T. Frank | DB | Jesuit | Holy Cross | Scholar had six interceptions; keyed defense as Marauders returned to playoffs |
| Dalen Jones | DB | Woodland | Fresno State | Was dynamite as spread QB; great athlete can also play in secondary |
| Desmond Lewis | DB | Pleasant Grove | Air Force | Scholar has superb coverage skills; joins teammate Dunn for five more years |
| Marcus Rios | DB | Cosumnes Oaks | UCLA | Makes plays on special teams, too; pursued by Miami, Notre Dame, Washington |
| Josiah Paye | DB | Nevada Union | Stanford | Played QB as a junior, made plays on "D" as a senior; a preferred walk-on |
| Norm Sadler | DB | Del Campo | Cal Poly | Defensive stalwart for Cougars' playoff team; hitter also excellent in coverage |
| Shaq Thompson | DB | Grant | Washington | Incredible closing speed and big-play ability from one of nation's top safeties |
| Andrew Williams | DB | Cosumnes Oaks | Idaho | Rushed for school-record 230 yards in a game – as a QB; excellent athlete |
– Joe Davidson
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