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SALT LAKE CITY — Weber State football and head coach Jay Hill announced the addition of 20 players joining the Wildcats program Wednesday as part of National Signing Day.
The signing class is made up of 18 high school players and two junior college transfers. The class includes nine players from Utah, five from California, two from both Arizona and Washington, and one each for both Colorado and Idaho.
Two of those players are three-star recruits who had previously committed to Pac-12 schools but then signed with the Wildcats, including Devon Cooley (UCLA) and Alijah Allen (Colorado).
The Wildcats had a different route for recruiting this year, as they did not announce any signings during the new early signing period back in December. Hill said he believes by doing this it allowed them to pick up recruits that got left in the dust by Pac-12 or Mountain West schools.
“We are really excited about this year’s class and feel like it’s one of the best we’ve had here," Hill told 1280 The Zone. "We signed some really top-notch players that we are really high on, and we got the players we wanted. I’m really pleased with this group and I’m excited to see what they can become here at Weber State.”
The Wildcats offense occupies 11 of the signed recruits. The new class features four wide receivers: Josh Amasio from Cyprus High School, Devon Cooley from Buena Park High School in Los Angeles, Colby Samuels from Skyridge High School, and AJ Allen also from Buena Park.
.@CoachJayHill talks about this year’s Weber State signing class in the @UtahEyeCenters Coach’s Corner. #WeAreWeberpic.twitter.com/Pcis7gFrNN
— Weber State Football (@weberstatefb) February 8, 2018
Two quarterbacks were added to the mix as well: Kylan Weisser from Notre Dame Prep in Arizona and Bronson Barron from American Fork. The Wildcats also picked up Jacob Whitmer from Chaffey College as a tight end.
The Wildcats added three offensive linemen, including Trevor Szilagyi from Valor Christian High School in Colorado, Chris Faaumu from Cerritos Community College, and George Barrera from Borah High School in Idaho. Kris Jackson, a running back for Mesa High School, rounds out the Wildcats offense.
One of the standouts from the group is quarterback Bronson Barron. Hill said he believes Barron can be an absolute star in this program and is very excited he joined the Wildcats Program.
”He’s got a strong arm, he’s athletic, he’s everything that epitomizes what we want our program to be.”
On the defensive side of ball, the Wildcats picked up three linebackers: Naseme Colvin from Skyline High School in California and two Timpview High School stars, Jacob Bosco and Beau Tu’ua.
The defensive line added two Utahns, Easton Payne from Bear River and Jaxson Goodings from Kanab, as well as Andrew Dean from Sky View High School and Jordan Strate from Davis High School as defensive ends.
The secondary added Marque Collins from Cosumnes Oak High School in Sacramento, California, and Fred Dangtuw from Lakes High School in Washington.
Weber State had a record-setting 2017 season. The Wildcats won a school-record 11 games, which led them to a Big Sky Conference title and onto the FCS Playoffs where they won two games. They finished off the season being ranked fifth in the nation, which is the highest ranking in school history.
The 2018 season will begin on Aug. 30 at Utah. The first home game for the Wildcats will be Sept. 15 against South Dakota.
Lexi Lewis is studying public relations at Utah Valley University. You can follow her on twitter @lex_lew1018.
