Feb. 1, 2006

2006 Football Signing Day

SDSU head coach Chuck Long

On his first recruiting class:
"We have signed 18 student-athletes. We had 19 scholarships to extend this year and we signed 18. It felt right because we were able to save one. I am a firm believer in the possibility that someone may come to the surface at the end of spring, certainly from high school or a current walk-on on our football team to earn a scholarship. I'm a big believer in that. It certainly makes your walk-on program that much better when you're able to do that. It's something to shoot for. It just ended up in a great way for us here with Aztec football.

"We feel like we signed quality. We didn't have the quantity because of the (small) graduation class. The graduating class wasn't a big number, which makes it good for us in the future because we have a young team coming back. We wanted to go after quality. To our assistant coaches' credit, they researched their background extensively and got to know their families in a short amount of time. We made great decisions in a short amount of time to come up with some quality student-athletes with fabulous families.

"Out of the class, we signed 12 young men from the state of California. Obviously, the state of California is a high priority for us because there are so many student-athletes in the state and so many high schools. It is important for us to build relationships with the high school football coaches and we were able to do that in a short amount of time. We will continue to do that starting next week.

"Out of the 12 Californians, six were local. In my first press conference here, I said I would make it a high priority to sign local young men from San Diego. We are going to swarm this county from here on out. Our goal is to build a fence to make sure they don't go out of the county. But we were able to sign six local prospects and we felt that was a great accomplishment for us.

"Out of the remaining prospects, we signed one from Hawaii. We think Hawaii is a state that we want to recruit very heavily. It is very natural for us to recruit there because we are the closest city to Hawaii. They have skilled players. It's an island that you can get excellent linemen from, we do have some connections there and we are going to continue to do so.

"We signed one from Las Vegas, one of those places that's nearby. It's a neighboring place that we think has good talent from year to year. We're going to continue to go to Las Vegas and the state of Nevada.

"We also signed a player from Dallas, Texas. He was under the radar for a lot of schools. He's only a two-year player and we are extremely excited to have him. He is one of those diamonds in the rough that you always try to get in your recruiting class that makes your team better through hard work. He just stuck out on film to us and we said, 'Hey we need to have him, he's a great fit.' We do want to open up Dallas since we play TCU and we are going to be visible in that state.

"We also signed three prospects from Colorado. Again, Denver is a good area for us. We think it is fertile ground for us to go in the future."

On Davon Brown:
"Davon Brown out of Torrance South High is a running back who is 5-9, 170. He was named first-team all-league and first-team all-area on offense and second-team all-league on defense. He is a player who can play on both sides of the ball."

On Jimmie Carmack:
"Jimmie, who is 6-4, 270, was the defensive player of the year in the Pioneer league. He came onto us late. We researched him quickly and we know his parents are USC graduates, so he comes from good stock. We're excited to have Jimmie and we think he is going to be an excellent prospect for us."

On Ryan Chohany:
"We're excited to have Ryan. He is one of those local prospects who you get in that ends up being one of your leaders on the team in the future. We're excited to have him as a part of our program and I'm looking forward to watching him grow."

On Martrell Fantroy:
"He was one of the first guys that (the previous staff had) committed here at San Diego State. He is a two-way player in high school, who started at cornerback, wide receiver and tight end for Bishop Gorman High. He is a young man with great character."

On Whitley Fehoko:
"He was a high priority for us being an offensive lineman. We went over (to Hawaii), our staff did a great job of getting in front of him, and he started to like us more and more as time went. We're really excited to have Whitley as a part of our program."

On Dan Hathaway:
"We have a winner in Dan. We wanted winners - that's a big part of this recruiting class - and we wanted winners as a whole. We feel with Dan that we're getting that, plus immediate (help) at offensive line, being a junior college player."

On Eric Ikonne:
"He is a diamond in the rough. He's only played two years and he's one of those guys who you will hear about in the future. We're excited to have Eric. He came in with a big smile and got along with the players very well. You can just tell being around him that he is going to be special before he's done here. All of his football is ahead of him and he's going to grow with our coaching staff the way they coach and teach. He is going to grow in a tremendous way. We're glad to have him."

On Ernie Lawson:
"Ernie played both the defensive and offensive line for St. Patrick-St. Vincent. He's going to start off on defense for us up front. He has a great family, is an excellent football player and classy young man. We're excited to have Ernie."

On Jacob Manuel:
"Jacob, out of Camarillo, was ranked as the 46th best tight end by Scouts, Inc. He was also an all-league and all-county pick as a senior as a defender. He is a nice, well-rounded athlete. Jacob is going to start on the defensive line. I'm glad to have him."

On Peter Manuma:
"He probably will play center for us. We need some help at center. He has excellent intelligence. He played center for the Mission Conference American Division champion Vikings. We're excited to have Peter. He is a fine, quality young man."

On Raymond Patterson:
"He is a wide receiver and defensive back. He could be a two-way player, you never know. We'll do that if he wants. He is local prospect who we are excited to have. He missed most of this year with an ankle injury, but we saw from his sophomore year how productive he was to his junior year. We're not going to let anything like that (his injury) slow us down on recruiting him. We think he is going to bounce back and have a great career here for us."

On Andrew Preston:
"Andrew Preston was named second team all-state and first team all-conference as both a linebacker and running back. He is a great two-way player who will play linebacker for us."

On Kelsey Sokoloski:
"He is a winner and winners mean a lot, especially at that position (quarterback). He earned seven varsity letters. He is a young man who knows how to budget his time, is an excellent student and we're going to get the most out of him while he's here. He got along well with the players while he was here."

On Brian Stanbra:
"He is a winner. He has been on two winning programs (USDHS and Grossmont College) and we are excited to have Brian. He brings immediate help for us and gives us some depth on the defensive line."

On Brandon Sullivan: "He is highly touted in this area out of Poway. We're excited to have him being local and with him having the kind of success he's had. We have no doubt that he will have success here."

On Rico Thomas:
"Rico Thomas out of McClymonds High was a two-way prep star and as a running back rushed for 1,200 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior. He is an exciting young man. You'll get to know him, he's got a great personality."

On B.J. Williams:
"B.J. we fell in love with on film and it got even better when we met him. He's got a great smile and is infectious to be around. We're excited for him to be a part of our program. He is an excellent ballplayer and we think his best football is ahead of him."

On Marcus Yarbrough:
"We have made recruiting the local area a priority and in Marcus Yarbrough we get a quality San Diego man who has the ability to continue the recent history of strong linebacker play at San Diego State. He is nationally ranked at his position and drew strong interest from several Pac-10 schools. He is a second generation Aztec player who has a bright future at the university."

On the getting a late start recruiting:
"You always feel like you're behind initially when there is a transition, but when you look back on the weekend I got hired, it was right before the dead period. It allowed me to get some staff in place and identify future prospects. The dead period allowed us to catch up, so to speak. We had a great plan coming out of the dead period for recruiting - an excellent plan. I just believe we executed it very well. It was smooth and organized."

On how the new coaching staff approached the recruiting process:
"We weren't starting from scratch. I had some lists coming out here, knowing the area and knowing who (the players) were, and from there, we got our staff in place. (Our assistant coaches) then had their areas and their people that they knew about and that helped us. You can't do it alone, we all had our lists. If there was a player that somebody liked, we would watch the tape. If we liked what we'd seen, we'd make that decision as a staff to go after him. There were some fast decisions that we had to make in a short amount of time."

On his recruiting philosophy:
"You still want to go after those top players and that's important for us to do that. But then you'd like to get those diamonds in the rough. I remember at Oklahoma, because we had success so early, (Sooner head coach) Bob Stoops would always like to go after all those top players, but there were times he would say that we needed to go after those guys who roll up their sleeves and that's where the mix is. You try to get that blend with your staff. That's where I have to come in as a head coach and say that this player really fits us. With our staff, they did a really good job of that. I didn't have to enter into that (process) too much, if at all. They said that this guy is a really good fit for us, he fits our program, and he fits the profile here at San Diego State. I think (our staff) did a really good job of getting to know San Diego State in the short amount of time that they've been here and I should've mentioned that before. It's important that you research your university and what it's all about and who would fit. There were cases, without naming names, where we said that this person would not be a good fit here. A couple of them were really good football players and we said that they might fit elsewhere, so let them go there. They're just not going to fit with us."

On getting last-minute phone calls from players who were bypassed in the initial recruiting process:
"We fielded every call. There are parents and coaches that call to tell us about their son or player from their school and we're going to listen to every single one. You never know, and we've had surprises before - we all have. If a coach says he's never been surprised with somebody, he's not telling the truth. Over the course of one's coaching career, there are guys who slip through the cracks. All of sudden you get a call from a player who's interested in your school and then you put the tape in and say, "Boy, he really is good." That happens everywhere. You try not to let it happen, but it happens. We're certainly going to be a staff that listens to every phone call.

On the extra time his coaching staff put in upon their arrival at San Diego State:
"Our staff was in that film room night and day. They lived up in their offices watching tape, and again to their credit, got it done in a short amount of time. I believe our staff will be ahead of the game going in and out of spring recruiting, so we can stay in touch with these prospects for a year. I think you're going to see some magical things from our staff when they have a year (to recruit), and I'm anxious for everyone to see that."

On his belief in recruiting high school versus junior college players:
"I believe in a four or five-year development (process). We like the junior college players as well, but it will be more of a fill-a-need basis to begin with. I can't give you a number per year, but I like having them for the entire time, because that's what we thrive on. There are some good junior college players and we have signed three to our program that we feel very strongly about and feel they can help us right away."

On whether anyone in his first SDSU recruiting class will contribute immediately:
"It's too soon to tell. That's the fun part about camp. Sometimes you'll see a player who you think will redshirt, then he surprises you and vice versa. I think it's too early to tell at this point. We are not opposed to playing freshmen. In my six years at Oklahoma, we played a lot of true freshmen and redshirt freshmen, so I'm not opposed to doing it, but right now the slate is clean. There are a lot of guys who have a chance to earn spots, including the freshmen and junior college players coming in. If they can help us right away, we'll do that. I don't like to set anything in stone until we get through training camp first and then see where were at."