Junior college football is haven for overlooked, underdeveloped Sacramento players
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Junior college football offers overlooked players a path to four-year programs.
- American River, Sierra, and Sac City field rosters full of regional talent in 2025.
- Expanded state playoffs and spring practices enhance JC football development.
It’s called the JC route, or JuCo, or just plain junior college or community college.
The two-year level of college football is generally not the destination for scores of high school stars, or those who believe that they are high school stars. Players across the greater Sacramento region crave a Division I football feeler, an “offer,” and to be on someone’s radar.
But “offers” often mean nothing more than an invitation to watch a game, not to receive a full-ride scholarship.
Recruiting is a numbers-crunching, sobering dose of reality in this sport, which has never been for the meek or weak. Fewer than 2% of prep players across the country land full athletic scholarships, and with the NCAA transfer portal in constant motion, four-year programs can restock a roster in quick order.
The JC route has been a landing spot for the overlooked, the underdeveloped and for those making up for lost time on academics. Locally, the 100-man JC rosters are a who’s who of regional and Northern California talent. Incoming freshmen find out in a hurry just how steep the climb promises to be, their eyes opening and jaws dropping.
At American River College in Sacramento, Sierra College in Rocklin and Sacramento City College, seasons kick off on Saturday, each program embracing the chance to compete, to challenge for a conference championship and to help develop players into better players and better men in their quest to advance them to the four-year ranks.
Jon Osterhout is in his 15th season at ARC and in his 12th as head coach with five JC State playoff berths since 2019 and bus loads of Division I scholarship rides to FCS or FBS programs across the country.
“Football fun isn’t just playing but having success,” Osterhout said. “You find out real quick where you stand in a program like ours.”
He added, “Windows of opportunities are a little more congested, and it’s totally different than high school ball, the ability for a defender to close in quick are 10 times faster. You have to set aside ego and have some humility. Some guys are overlooked, with a chip on their shoulder, and they’re here for right reasons: a sincere passion and love for football.”
Who are the ranked JC teams?
San Mateo of the Bay Area is the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, compiled by Fred Baer. The Bulldogs are coming off their second state championship in three seasons, and they, too, have players with a ton to prove.
The team’s starting quarterback is former Bee All-Metro passer John Koett of Vista del Lago High in Folsom, who had all the skills, instincts, leadership qualities and grades any four-year program would desire in a prospect. But again, it’s a numbers game.
For Northern California, San Mateo is ranked first, Modesto JC second, American River third, Sierra ninth and Sac City 14th.
ARC opens Saturday at home on its natural grass field against No. 7 NorCal-ranked Sequoias of Tulare County in the Central Valley; Sierra travels to San Mateo, a team the Wolverines lost to by a point in 2024; and Sac City visits College of the Redwoods in Eureka, located in the northern part of the state. JC ball includes serious road trips with a limited budget.
Longtime Sierra coach Ben Noonan has another deep team that is led by returning preseason All-American quarterback Maddox Varella of Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills.
At Sac City, veteran coach Dannie Walker can relate to the JC route, having experienced it himself. Same with Noonan.
Sac City returns leading rusher Jack Carner from Pioneer High in Woodland, with Jackson Burleson of nearby Christian Brothers adding some extra pop in the backfield. The quarterbacks include Vince Arcuri of Monterey Trail of Elk Grove and Jason Wilson of El Dorado High in Placerville.
Sierra plays in cozy Homer “Buzz” Ostrom Stadium, with 5 p.m. home kickoffs to soak in some nighttime vibes, and the venue is surrounded by campus growth, including a new gym and a flood of new dormitory rooms for student athletes.
Sac City plays in venerable Hughes Stadium, which is 97 years old and remains a gem facility, and it has housed everything from pro football to baseball, boxing, soccer and rock concerts.
There is no build-up of anticipation at Yuba College. That JC football program shut down following last season, undone by a turnover of players and coaches, though the intent is to bring it back next season.
‘A 5,000-piece puzzle’
It’s no easy task for JC coaches when they bring in players from all over the region and merge them all into one unit. Rivals suddenly become teammates. Nothing is assured or promised to players beyond an opportunity.
JC ball has been enhanced in recent years with the introduction of 15 padded spring practices. The state JC playoff format will expand this fall from four teams in the South and four from the North to six each from those regions.
“It’s a 5,000-piece puzzle that you’re working on, working on the borders first, then color coding and putting it all together,” Osterhout said of molding a playoff roster. “It’s a long process and it’s taxing. This is a difficult place to be, where it can be grimy, and you need a ton of grit, the hard coaching. When that light comes on, we want to keep it shining.”
The JC route includes getting bounce-back players from four-year programs. For ARC, this includes two-time Bee All-Metro lineman Akio Martinson of Del Oro in Placer County transferring over from San Jose State.
Jett Harris of Dixon returns at quarterback for ARC. He will work behind an offensive line that looks every bit like a four-year program with guys standing 6-foot-5 or taller and exceeding 300 pounds. A lineman in the Hornets’ Hall of Fame from his Sacramento State days, Osterhout remains old school. It always starts in the trenches.
“We are a line-of-scrimmage football team,” the coach said, the glee in his voice evident.
JC Athletic Bureau NorCal rankings
(With last year’s record)
1. San Mateo (12-1)
2. Modesto (9-3)
3. American River (7-4)
4. Butte (10-1)
5. Fresno (8-3)
6. Foothill (7-4)
7. Sequoias (6-5)
8. Diablo Valley (6-5)
9. Sierra College (6-5)
10. San Francisco (3-7)
11. De Anza (10-1)
12. Laney (4-7)
13. Reedley (4-6)
14. Sacramento City (4-6)
15. Monterey Peninsula (11-0)
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM.