Gunderson High's James Jones brings football signings up to 25
San Jose, Calif.-----Three first-team junior college All-Americans, the largest number in many years to join a San Jose State University football team at one time, highlight the 2002 Spartan recruiting class. The announcement was made by Fitz Hill, h
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Defensive tackle Eddie Brown, Jr., (6-3, 295, JR) from Blinn College, wide receiver Kendrick Starling (6-1, 195, JR) from Navarro College, and offensive guard Justin Arrington (6-3, 305, JR) from Laney College are the first-team JC All-Americans who signed a National Letter-of-Intent for the 2002 season. San Jose State also signed a pair of first-team California Community College all-state selections and two high school prospects picked among the nation's best at their position.
"We're very pleased with the athletic ability of this recruiting class," says Hill, who had his first full year to recruit prospective student-athletes. "Most importantly, I think we have some good young men to bring some stability to the program. We're trying to build stability with each recruiting class. We helped ourselves in a lot of areas. We look at the size and the athletic ability of the guys we signed and we definitely will be a better football team."
Of the 25 prospects ready to join the 2002 team, 10 are presently enrolled at the school - the largest number of mid-semester transfers in a number of years. Ten of the 25 are defensive players in the line, linebacking or secondary positions. The other 15 are spread
throughout the offense. The offensive and defensive lines along with the tailback spot and defensive secondary received the most help.
Since San Jose State loses 13 starters from last year's 3-9 team and had a 26-member senior class at the end of the season leaving many immediate needs to fill. 17 of the 25 hopefuls have junior college experience including wide receiver Jamall Broussard (5-10, 190, JR), a starter in six games as at Texas Tech University as a freshman.
Looking to build a stronger family atmosphere in the program, San Jose State even signed three members from the same family. Tailback I'Lario Vital (5-11, 207, FR) the San Francisco Chronicle's 2001 East Bay "Player of the Year" from McClymonds High School in Oakland, his older brother Mario Vital (5-9, 187, JR), a first-team all-state defensive back at Laney College last year, and the Vital's first cousin, safety Chris Baloney (6-1, 185, FR) from Langham Creek High School in Houston, Texas, will be with the team this fall.
Needing to replace its entire defensive line, Brown, Jr., headlines a group which includes tackles Jason Gustus (6-1, 295, JR) from Hartnell College, Dorsey Mitchell (6-4, 327, JR) from Compton College, who also may be an offensive line candidate, and high school senior Larnell Ransom (6-3, 230, FR) from Verbum Dei High in Los Angeles.
Mario Vital and Baloney along with Ashanti Davison (5-10, 190, JR), who played four seasons of minor league baseball before pursuing a college education, safety Donald Richardson (6-4, 205, FR) from Beverly Hills High School and cornerback Quincy Washington (6-0, 165, JR) from East Los Angeles College are the defensive secondary hopefuls.
Philip Perry (6-3, 230, JR) from Cerritos College, a 2001 all-state pick, is the only linebacker listed.
"We wanted to upgrade the defense from top to bottom, add some bigger body guys and we did that with this class," according to Hill, whose team gave up an average of over 38 points and 500 yards a game in 2001. "We want to put the best people on the field. The defense will get priority in where we place people."
The Spartan head coach feels his team's overall speed has improved, too. "Speed gives you the chance to make big plays on offense and preventing the big plays on defense."
Besides I'lario Vital, junior college teammates Damarcus Ingram (5-10, 210, JR) and Oscar Rigg (5-11, 215, JR) from Shasta College, Rayvon Johnson (5-10, 185, JR) from West Hills College, and published poet Trestin George (5-8, 187, FR) from St. Mary's High School in Berkeley, Calif., are the tailback candidates. Ingram and Rigg combined to rush for more than 3,200 yards at Shasta College while George rushed for 3,809 yards alone in his last three varsity seasons.
Courtney Anderson (6-7, 270, JR), whose junior college career was as a defensive end, is the only projected tight end hopeful. Johnson is the biggest tight end ever to join the team.
With the loss of three 2001 offensive line starters, having Arrington, Matt Cantu (6-3, 290, FR) from Capistrano Valley High School, center Jeff Gordon (6-5, 295, JR) from Iowa Central College and Elliott Tupea (6-3, 292, JR) all enrolled at San Jose State and available to participate in spring football gives the Spartans a chance to rebuild quickly in this area.
Quarterbacks Scott Rislov (6-2, 216, JR) from Ellsworth College and Demonte Johnson (6-02, 200, FR) of McClymonds High School in Oakland round out the first 24 signees. Rislov played his freshman season at the University of North Dakota and completed 55.9 percent of his passes. Johnson led his team to a league championship and was tabbed among the top-20 players in his area by the Contra Costa Times.
Starling, Broussard and James Jones (6-1, 185, FR) from San Jose's Gunderson High School are the wide receiver hopefuls.
"I'm probably the type of coach who will sign at least one quarterback a year. Sometimes at that position, it can become unstable. I feel that position is much like a spark plug. You can have all the other pieces there, but if you can't ignite the spark, you can't start the engine and the car won't run," Hill says as he looks forward to his second season in charge. "So we're definitely making sure we have the proper depth there for the future as well as the present."
"One thing is people definitely wanted to be here. These young men bought into the vision of what we are doing and believe in the direction we are going."