Feb. 7, 2007
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Chuck Long announced Wednesday that 20 high school seniors have signed National Letters of Intent to play football next season for the Aztecs.
Of the 20 players, the Aztecs signed seven offensive linemen and six players in the secondary, not including junior college safety Travis Crawford (Chula Vista, Calif./Southwestern JC), who transferred in time for the start of the spring semester. In all, sixteen members of the 2007 signing class call California home, with Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Virginia also represented on the roster.
"We are excited that we have been able to put together an excellent class, and we are pleased with the quality of student-athletes who will be attending San Diego State University," Long said. "We identified the individuals we had interest in early, and we had a great return on our recruiting investment. We were able to sign most of the players who we identified and targeted. Our coaching staff did a great job of closing out. I know the city of San Diego and Aztec fans are really going to like these guys."
San Diego State addressed immediate needs by signing multiple players on the offensive line and in the secondary.
"The biggest two needs we had were offensive line and defensive secondary," Long said. "We had to solidify those positions and we were able to do that. We filled our needs there and that was big. We had a critical need at offensive line and we were able to add to the depth this year. Next year that position will be very competitive. We also signed seven good secondary players who will provide us help at that position."
On the offensive line, SDSU signed seven prep athletes, Juan Bolanos (San Diego, Calif./Mount Miguel High), Tommie Draheim (Lakeside, Calif./El Capitan High), Kellen Farr (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain High), Leo Grassilli (Woodbridge, Va./Hylton High), Kurtis Gunther (Camarillo, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo High), Mike Matamua (Kapolei, Hawaii/Kapolei High) and Emilio Rivera (Sylmar, Calif./Sylmar High).
In the secondary, the Aztecs added seven players, including the lone junior college player in the class, Crawford. In addition, the Aztecs added depth to the secondary with the high school signings of Vincent Camarda (San Diego, Calif. /Cathedral Catholic High), Brandon Davis (Hayward, Calif. /Castlemont High), Dey Juan Hemmings (San Bernardino, Calif. /Rialto High), Logan Ketchum (Oak Park, Calif. /Oak Park High) (also listed at outside linebacker), Aubrey Smith (Mission Hills, Calif. /Chaminade Prep) and DeAndre West (Oakland, Calif. /Wilson Prep High).
The Aztec coaching staff also strategically signed players at other positions, including a quarterback, a wide receiver, a linebacker, a tight end, a defensive lineman and two defensive ends.
At quarterback, the Aztecs inked Ryan Lindley (Alpine, Calif. /El Capitan High). Listed among the top signal-callers nationally by several publications, Lindley threw for more than 3,500 yards and was named the county's top player. The wide receiver in the class is Vincent Brown Jr. (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. /Rancho Cucamonga High), who caught 42 passes for more than 530 yards last season.
Miles Burris (Roseville, Calif. /Granite Bay High) is rated as the nation's 30th best inside linebacker by one publication and Alston Umuolo (Phoenix, Ariz./Centennial High) is a tight end who moved to Arizona prior to his senior season. Umuolo helped lead his senior squad to a perfect 14-0 record and a 5A state championship. The Aztecs signed one defensive lineman, Neil Spencer (Las Vegas, Nev. /Cimmarron-Memorial High), a top-10 recruit in the state of Nevada.
San Diego State signed a pair of defensive ends, Eron Moses (Yorba Linda, Calif. /Esperanza High) and Michael Snead (Oakland, Calif. /Skyline High). Moses played just two years of football, but was listed among the top 10 defensive ends in the state of California, and Snead is a big, speedy end, who was also rated among the 10 best players in the state at his position.
Long indicated that the entire staff took an active role in the recruiting process.
"We have excellent recruiters on our staff," Long said. "The great thing about this staff is that they all recruit. There are a lot of staffs out there where you will have only three or four coaches recruit. These guys are all good recruiters and enjoy doing it. That really showed this year. I am very pleased with the progress we have made with building relationships in the high school and junior college communities."
2007 San Diego State Football Signing Class
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown | Previous School |
| Juan Bolanos | Offensive Lineman | 6-7 | 310 | Fr. | San Diego, Calif. | Mount Miguel HS |
| Vincent Brown, Jr. | Wide Receiver | 6-0 | 172 | Fr. | Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. | Rancho Cucamonga HS |
| Miles Burris | Linebacker | 6-2 | 242 | Fr. | Roseville, Calif. | Granite Bay HS |
| Vincent Camarda | Defensive Back | 6-2 | 190 | Fr. | San Diego, Calif. | Cathedral Catholic HS |
| Travis Crawford | Safety | 6-0 | 185 | Jr. | Chula Vista, Calif. | Southwestern JC/Chula Vista HS |
| Brandon Davis | Defensive Back | 6-2 | 180 | Fr. | Hayward, Calif. | Castlemont HS |
| Tommie Draheim | Offensive Lineman | 6-4 | 265 | Fr. | Lakeside, Calif. | El Capitan HS |
| Kellen Farr | Offensive Lineman | 6-7 | 290 | Fr. | Mesa, Ariz. | Red Mountain HS |
| Leo Grassilli IV | Offensive Lineman | 6-3 | 263 | Fr. | Woodbridge, Va. | Hylton HS |
| Kurtis Gunther | Offensive Lineman | 6-8 | 270 | Fr. | Camarillo, Calif. | Adolfo Camarillo HS |
| Dey Juan Hemmings | Defensive Back | 5-11 | 180 | Fr. | San Bernardino, Calif. | Rialto HS |
| Logan Ketchum | Safety/Outside Linebacker | 6-3 | 195 | Fr. | Oak Park, Calif. | Oak Park HS |
| Ryan Lindley | Quarterback | 6-3 | 205 | Fr. | Alpine, Calif. | El Capitan HS |
| Michael Matamua | Offensive Lineman | 6-4 | 280 | Fr. | Kapolei, Hawaii | Kapolei HS |
| Eron Moses | Defensive End | 6-4 | 245 | Fr. | Yorba Linda, Calif. | Esperanza HS |
| Emilio Rivera | Offensive Lineman | 6-4 | 305 | Fr. | Sylmar, Calif. | Sylmar HS |
| Aubrey Smith | Defensive Back | 6-2 | 180 | Fr. | Mission Hills, Calif. | Chaminade Prep |
| Michael Snead | Defensive End | 6-4 | 240 | Fr. | Oakland, Calif. | Skyline HS |
| Neil Spencer | Defensive Lineman | 6-2 | 260 | Fr. | Las Vegas, Nev. | Cimmarron-Memorial HS |
| Alston Umuolo | Tight End | 6-3 | 220 | Fr. | Phoenix, Ariz. | Centennial HS |
| DeAndre West | Defensive Back | 6-1 | 195 | Fr. | Oakland, Calif. | Wilson Prep |