Thunderbird Football inks 19 on letter of intent day

(Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News)

CEDAR CITY -- Southern Utah University received commitments from 19 football players on the first day of the spring 2010 National Letter of Intent signing period, Thunderbird Coach Ed Lamb announced Wednesday.

Included on the list are 10 players from Utah, four from Nevada, three from California and one each from Alaska and Texas. Eighteen of the players are high school athletes withone junior college transfer in the mix.

Among the 19 signees are nine who were all-state selections and 16 who earned all-region or all-district honors.

Two of the sign­ees are from nearby St. George, Utah: quarterback Mike Sharp from Dixie High School and K.J. Boyer, a defensive lineman from Pine View High. Sharp was named Utah Region Nine's MVP and first-team all-state last year after racking up over 3,000 yards of total offense, while Boyer was a Utah 4A all-state selection as well as a three-time all-region pick. Also signing from Utah were offensive linemen Chase Davis from Morgan HS and Steve Clark from Northridge HS; TE/DEs Mark Evans from Woods Cross and Trevor McFalls, a first-team all-stater, from Juan Diego HS; defensive linemen Nick Nissen of Delta, another first-team all-stater, and Josh Kariya from Davis HS; linebacker Connor Stephens from Bonneville HS and quarterback Tannon Pederson from Lone Peak, who also earned all-state recognition.

From Nevada the Thunderbirds received commitments from QB/LB Austin Anderson from Arbor View High, all-state safety Tyrone Blake from Palo Verde HS, running back Andre Clay from Clark HS and Anthony Norris from Liberty HS. All four are from Las Vegas.

California signees include linebacker Chad Hansen, who earned all-conference honors last year at Mt. San Jacinto JC; Zach Russell an all-state offensive lineman from Trabuco Hills and Alex Topete from Southeast HS.

SUU also signed defensive end Kouri Jones, a district defensive MVP from Converse, Texas Judson High; and Charles King, an all-state DB/WR from Eielson High in Fairbanks, Alaska.

SUU also received commitments from five transfer athletes during the early signing period. Those include quarterback Brad Sorensen from BYU, offensive linemen Devin Tavana and Brandon Beddes from Snow College, linebacker Tyler Osborne from Snow, and wide receiver Justin Brown, who spent last season at Mesa Community College in Arizona.

"I'm really excited about our 19 new Thunderbirds," head coach Ed Lamb said of the class. "Each young man was selected for recruitment based on their overall potential for future success. We evaluated their academic worthiness, athletic ability and community involvement. Based on these criteria, I believe that SUU just signed the finest class of young men in college football."

Austin Anderson
QB/LB, 6-5, 205, Fr
Las Vegas, Nev./Arbor View HS
Earned first-team all-Northwest Division honors as a linebacker last season after tallying 31 tackles and two sacks. Also played quarterback in a double-wing system, passinf for 537 yards and four TDs.

Brandon Beddes
OL, 6-5, 300, Jr
American Fork, Utah/Snow College
A two-year starter at Snow where he helped the Baders to a 10-2 record and a Top of the Mountains Bowl win last season. Helped the Badgers to a perfect 11-0 regular season mark during his junior year. Snow College was ranked among the nationʼs top-10 JC teams both his seasons on the squad.

Tyrone Blake
S, 5-11, 195, Fr
Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS
Earned all-state, all-league and all-conference honors last season as an athlete/safety after tallying 80 tackles and five interceptions as well as carrying 124 times for 926 yards and 15 touchdowns.

K.J. Boyer
DL, 6-2, 235, Fr
St. George, Utah/Pine View HS
Earned 4A all-state honors and was a three-year all-region honoree. Tallied 82 tackles, including 18 tackles-for-loss and 10 sacks his senior season.

Justin Brown
WR, 6-3, 195, So
Ogden, Utah/Mesa CC
Last year as a true freshman he appeared in six games, catching 21 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He also excelled on special teams, returning one kickoff for a touchdown. Prepped at Layton Hills Christian where he was a first-team all-stater after scoring 27 touchdowns and leading the nation with 13 interceptions.

Steve Clark
OL, 6-6, 285, Fr
Ogden, Utah/Northridge HS
A two-year starter and three-year letterman, earned all-region and honorable mention all-area honors his senior season. Also lettered in track and played one season of basketball.

Andre Clay
RB, 5-9, 208, Fr
Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS
Earned all-Southwest League and his teamʼs MVP honors following his senior season when he carried 100 times for 867 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Chase Davis
OL, 6-4, 275, Fr
Morgan, Utah/Morgan HS
A two-time first-team all-region selection and team captain, averaged two pancake blocks per game and the running backs averaged 140 yards per game running behind him.

Mark Evans
TE/DE, 6-4, 230, Fr
Woods Cross, Utah/Woods Cross HS
An all-region performer who helped his team to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. Caught 21 passes for 315 yards, a 15-yards per catch average, and three TDs, also had 16 tackles, including three sacks.

Chad Hansen
LB, 6-3, 220, So
Murrieta, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto JC
Earned all-conference honors as a sophomore at San Jacinto after tallying 99 tackles - the fifth-best total in Southern California - with three sacks and three forced fumbles last year. Earned first-team all-CIF honors and was a two-time all-league, all-valley and all-county performer as well as the defensive MVP of each his senoir season when he was an all-Inland Empire and a PrepStar all-region performer.

Kouri Jones
DE, 6-4, 220, Fr
Converse, Texas/Judson HS
Named his districtʼs defensive Most Valuable Player last year after totalling 85 tackles with 10 sacks and an interception. Also forced four fumbles and recovered three. Was also a track letterman.

Josh Kariya
DE, 6-3, 235, Fr
Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS
Three-year starter at RE and OG at Davis HS. Named Region 1 Defensive MVP, 5A Defensive MVP and first-team all-state by the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune as a senior. Graduated first in his class with a 4.0 GPA. Tallied 69 tackles with 6.5 sacks and two interceptions last season.

Charles King
Ath, 6-2, 185, Fr
Fairbanks, Alaska/Eielson HS
Earned all-state honors as a junior and as a senior at defensive back and wide receiver, also earned his conference ʼs offensive player of the year award after accounting for one-third of his teamʼs total points. Also lettere in basketball and was a state champion in the high jump, the long jump and the triple jump.

Trevor McFalls
DE/TE, 6-5, 225, Fr
Salt Lake City, Utah/Juan Diego HS
Earned all-state and all-region honors last year when he helped his team to a 13-1 record and region and state championships. Tallied 68 tackles with four sacks on the defensive side of the ball, averaged 16 yards per catch and had three scores on the offensive side.

Nick Nissen
DL, 6-2, 275, Fr
Delta, Utah/Delta HS
A consensus first-team all-state selection last year when he finished with 70 tackles, including 12 sacks, and served as a team captain. A three-year starter for the Rabbits.

Anthony Norris
TE/WR, 6-4, 215, Fr
Las Vegas, Nev./Liberty HS
Caught 18 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Is the first player from LHS to receive a football scholarship.

Tyler Osborne
LB, 6-2, 245, Jr
Peasant View, Utah/Snow College.
Tallied 70 tackles - including 34 solo stops, five TFLs and two sacks - his freshman season, then came back with 70 more tackles (53 solo), six TFLs and a sack as well as a pair of forced fumbles his sophomore year when he earned first-team all-WSFL and honorable mention all-America honors. Prepped at Weber High School.

Tannon Pederson
QB, 6-3, 180, Fr
Highland, Utah/Lone Peak HS
A three-year letterman in both football and basketball, earned second-team all-state honors and Region Fourʼs Outstanding QB awards after passing for 30 touchdowns and over 2,700 yards. Completed 67 percent of his passes. Was also nominated for McDonaldʼs All-American honors in basketball and was a U.S. Army All-America nominee.

Zach Russell OL, 6-5, 275, Fr
Trabucco Hills, Calif./Trabucco Hills HS
Earned second-team all-state as well as first-team all-CIF, all-county and all-league honors last year when he also received his schoolʼs Academic Scholar Award.

Mike Sharp QB, 6-2, 190, Fr
St. George, Utah/Dixie HS
Was a consensus first-team Utah 4A all-state honoree as well as his regionʼs MVP last season when he finished with over 3,000 yards of total offense. Carried 128 times for 962 yards and 14 touchdowns an passed for 1,997 yards and 18 more scores. Also lettered in baseball for the Flyers.

Connor Stephens LB, 6-2, 180, Fr
Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS
Two-year starter and letter winner in football and three-year letter winner in basketball. Earned first-team all-state honors (Deseret News) and Region 5 Defensive MVP honors as a senior. Finished the 2009 season with 89 tackles, including a state-best 17 sacks, and had an interception. On the offensive side of the ball he caught nine passes for 110 yards.

Brad Sorensen
QB, 6-5, 225, So
Grand Terrace, Calif./BYU
Spent one season at San Bernardino Valley College prior to transferring to BYU, where he sat out as a redshirt. At SBVC Sorensen earned first-team all-conference honors after passing for over 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns as a true freshman. He was also a two-time first-team all-league and all-county selection at Colton (Calif.) High School, where he passed for 2,200 yards and 25 TDs as a senior when he completed 75 percent of his passes.

Devin Tavana
OL, 6-3, 330, Jr
Kalaheo, Hawaiʼi/Snow College
Earned first-team NCJAA All-American honors as well as first-team all-Western States Football League recognition last season. Along the way Tavana helped the Badgers to a 10-2 record and a Top of the Mountains Bowl win last season. Tavana also earned first-team all-WSFL recognition his junior season when he helped the Badgers to a perfect 11-0 regular season mark.

Alex Topete
OL, 6-5, 305, Fr
South Gate, Calif./South East HS
An all-league selection last season when he played on both sides of the ball, tallying 25 solo tackles and four sacks as well as forcing six fumbles. Was considered the best 10th grade defensive lineman but will concentrate on offensive line at SUU. Had perfect attendance three consecutive years.

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