Seven
EGUSD athletes sign football
scholarships
In a span of three seconds, the lives of
seven young football players changed
forever.
Each of the Elk Grove-area high school
seniors, as well as their family,
friends, coaches and teammates gathered
inside the Robert L. Trigg Education
Center in Elk Grove last Wednesday, in
participation with the Elk Grove Unified
School District’s third annual Letter of
Intent Signing Day ceremony.
USC Signs 18 Players For 2008 Season..
Pete Carroll and his coaching staff
hauls in another top 10 class.
LOS ANGELES-Eighteen
high school football players signed
letters of intent with 6-time defending
Pac-10 champion USC, Trojan head coach
Pete Carroll announced today.
Additionally, OL Matt
Meyer of Lincoln High in Stockton,
Calif. enrolled at USC in January as a
freshman and will participate in next
month's spring practice. DB Shane Horton
transferred to USC in January from UNLV,
where he started 6 games as a freshman
in 2007, but will sit out the 2008
season due to NCAA transfer rules.
"This is a great class
for us," said Carroll, whose Trojans
went 11-2 last season with a Rose Bowl
victory and have appeared in an NCAA-record
6 consecutive BCS bowls, posted 6
straight 11-win seasons and had 6
consecutive AP Top 4 finishes. "We put
together this class with an eye on
filling needs throughout our depth chart
and we did so by signing some very
talented football players."
Building the future: Signing Day 2008
Just like Christmas day,
USC got quite a few presents Wednesday.
The Trojans officially received letters
of intent from several high school
players on Signing Day 2008, marking the
start of promising USC careers for the
prospects from across the state and
country.
“We’re really excited about this class,”
Coach Pete Carroll said. “The
athleticism all around is remarkable and
we can’t wait to see how they contribute
right away in the fall.”
Trojans go big with recruits
Signing
class lacks the usual skill position
star power, but coach says USC got
exactly what it needed on the line and
elsewhere.
High school athletes ready to commit to
colleges
The waiting,
pondering – the recruiting – all of it
ends today when high school football
players declare their intentions and
sign on the dotted line.
National
letter-of-intent activities were to
start at 7 this morning, with as many as
33 local players and their families,
friends and coaches huddled around fax
machines to ensure the paperwork is
safely delivered.
It is the
first day of the year that
student-athletes can formally accept
college scholarships, binding deals
meant to provide education in exchange
for touchdowns, tackles, leadership or
depth on teams at colleges across the
nation. Signatures help college programs
form secure foundations for their
future, gleaning the region's diverse
talent.
Trojans at top
of California
state rankings
USC is going to
miss on the top
prize in the
state, but it
did pull in stud
linemen Matt
Kalil and Tyron
Smith and tight
end Blake Ayles
should be a
big-time weapon
for the Trojans.
Kalil comes in
at No. 2 in the
state, Smith at
No. 3 and Ayles
at No. 5. The
Trojans'
dominance
doesn't end
there as
defensive end
Wes Horton comes
in at No. 6 and
defensive tackle
Armond Armstead
comes in at No.
7.
2007 All-State Football: First Team
DL – ARMOND
ARMSTEAD
(PLEASANT GROVE,
ELK GROVE) 6-5,
285, SR.
Despite rarely
facing single
blockers, he
worked his way
to 77 tackles
and 7.5 sacks
and helped first
team at Pleasant
Grove with
seniors reach
the Sac-Joaquin
Section Division
I quarterfinals.
Armstead also
plays basketball
and throws the
discuss and shot
put in track and
field, which
helped him be in
fine form for
the Stanford
Nike Camp back
in May. Since
then, Armstead
has verballed to
attend USC,
turning down
Texas A&M,
Washington and
others. Armstead
was named to the
Sacramento Bee's
