SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State football head coach Sean Lewis announced that 26 student-athletes have signed either National Letters of Intent or Grant-in-Aids on the first day of early signing period on Wednesday. It is the first recruiting class at SDSU for Lewis, who became the 19th head coach in program history on Nov. 29.
San Diego State's early signing class features 15 on offense and 11 on defense. The 26-player class also has 14 from the state of California, two each from Texas and Washington, and one apiece from the states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio and Oklahoma. Additionally, one signee is from American Samoa. Of the 26 signees, 15 are joining the Aztecs out of high school, while 11 are college transfers, including three from Power 5 institutions and two from Group of 5 programs along with four from the FCS level and two junior college products.
Additional signees are expected in the coming days.
Of the 15 signees on offense, there are four each at wide receiver - Nate Bennett (Simi Valley, Calif./Grace Brethren High/Portland State), Will Cianfrini (Galveston, Texas/Carlsbad High (CA)), Ja'Shaun Poke (Hampton, Ga./Dutchtown High/West Virginia) and Ben Scolari (Reno, Nev./Bishop Manogue HS) - and offensive line - Brayden Bryant (Ardmore, Okla./Ardmore High/North Dakota), Saipale Fuimaono (Auto, American Samoa/Fagaitua High/Allan Hancock College), Kai Holec (Seattle/O'Dea High) and Nate Williams (Utica, Ohio/Newark Catholic High/Akron). Three are tight ends in Arthur Ban (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen High), Gabe Garretson (Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley High/Butte College) and Ryan Wolfer (Peoria, Ariz./Liberty High) - There are also a pair of quarterbacks in the class in AJ Duffy (Inland Empire, Calif./Rancho Verde High/Florida State) and Danny O'Neil (Indianapolis/Cathedral High), and two running backs - Anthony McMillian Jr. (Chula Vista, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic High) and Cincere Rhaney (Los Angeles/Serra High).
On the defensive side of the ball, seven of the 11 signees will be in the back five of the 4-2-5 SDSU defense, including Tayten Beyer (Corona, Calif./Centennial High), Isaiah Buxton (San Diego/Mater Dei Catholic High), Jason Mitchell II (Los Angeles/St. John Bosco High), Zach Morris (Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus High/New Mexico), William Nimmo Jr. (Corona, Calif./Mater Dei High/UCLA), Bryce Phillips (Long Beach, Calif./La Habra High/Tennessee) and Prince Williams (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian High). Three defensive linemen are joining San Diego State in Kodi Cornelius (Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande High), Ryan Gaea (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's High) and Marlem Louis (Venice, Fla./Venice High/Richmond), while Danny Niu (East Palo Alto, Calif./Serra High) is the lone incoming linebacker.
The NCAA approved the early signing period in 2017, which runs this year from Dec. 20-22. The mid-year 2-4 (junior college) transfer signing period also commenced today and lasts through Jan. 15, 2024, while the regular signing period is slated for Feb. 7-April 1, 2024.
Aztec Football Announces 2024 Early Signing Class
