Football | 2/7/2018 4:27:00 PM

MONMOUTH, Ore.—The Western Oregon University football team announced Wednesday that a total of 41 high school and transfer players have signed national letters of intents to play for the Wolves next season.
 
WOU head coach Arne Ferguson, who will enter his 14th season at the helm in 2018, praised both the quantity and the quality of the incoming class.
  
"With a large graduating class, we were certainly looking to add depth to the team next year, but we felt there were a lot of impact players that fit the mold of WOU football and have the ability to contribute right away," Ferguson said.

Of the 41 recruits, 18 hail from the state of Oregon, 12 from California and 11 from Washington. Three transfers will arrive to Polk County in the fall. All three will arrive after stellar starts to their careers in California junior colleges.  
 
"Western Oregon is a great location and fit for student-athletes up and down the I-5 corridor," Ferguson said. "We made a lot of headway into California this year, but we also felt like there were a lot of DI-caliber players in the immediate area, including several from Portland, that were overlooked."
 
With a total of 15 wide receivers and defensive backs in the class, Ferguson added that this year was loaded in those two positions with student-athletes possessing both size and speed.
 
"We also feel as though we got the two best running backs from the state in (Jaylin) Parnell and (Noah) Mellen," Ferguson. "You have to be able to run the ball and stop the run in the GNAC and this year's class will take us to the next step."
 
"This is an immediate standout class and not only in terms of athleticism. A lot of these kids come from winning programs and when you talk to their coaches they talk about strong work ethics and the desire to improve and we are happy to bring this group to Monmouth," Ferguson said.   
 

Name (click for video)	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown	High School	Previous School
Isaiah Abraham	DB	6-1	190	FR	Independence, Ore.	Central
1st Team All-Mid-Willamette DB; 2nd Team All-State DB; All-Region DB & WR, All-Region POTY
Romeo Akil	WR	6-0	175	FR	Portland, Ore.	Jefferson
1st Team All-League WR & DB, Honorable Mention All-State WR, Honorable Mention All-League QB
Burke Albaugh	OL	6-5	335	FR	Tigard, Ore.	Tigard
2-Star Scout recruit, 2-Time All-League OG, Honorable Mention All-State OL
Isiah Araujo	WR	6-4	195	JR	Los Angeles, Calif.	El Rancho	East LA College
1st Team All-League WR, 1st Team All-Area WR, All-State Game MVP, Team Captain
Kyle Bay	LB	6-1	215	FR	Tigard, Ore.	Tigard
1st Team Three Rivers League LB, Honorable Mention All-State LB
Anthony Bradley	WR	6-1	175	FR	Sacramento, Calif.	Sacramento
2nd Team All-Metro League WR, All-NorCal WR
Saivon Brown	WR	6-2	165	FR	Portland, Ore.	Grant
1st Team All-League WR & DB
Jordan Bush-Johnson	RB/PR	5-7	165	FR	Steilacoom, Wash.	Steilacoom
2nd Team All-SPSL WR
Matt Casner	DL	6-1	250	FR	Fairfield, Calif.	Vanden
All-City OL, 1st Team All-League 1st Team DL, All-Region DL, 2-time DL MVP
Nick Craig	DB	6-2	170	FR	Elk Grove, Calif.	Cosumnes Oaks
1st Team All-League WR & DB
Jordan Duvall	DL	6-3	250	FR	Graham, Wash.	Graham-Kapowsin
All-SPS DL
Rich England	LB	6-1	235	FR	Grants Pass, Ore.	Grants Pass
2-Star Scout recruit, NUC All-American, 2-time BPW All-State LB, 1st Team All-League LB, 2nd Team All-League RB, Team Captain & 4-year Varsity Letterman.
Grant Ewell	RB/DB	5-11	185	FR	Portland, Ore.	Grant
2-Time 1st Team All-League RB, 2-Time All-League LB, Honorable Mention All-State RB, 2-time Team MVP
Dawson Gruhler	LB	6-2	225	FR	Redding, Calif.	University Prep
2-time 1st Team All-League LB, League MVP
Cameron Hankins	OL	6-5	300	FR	Klamath Falls, Ore.	Mazama
2-time All-League OL
Damon Hickok	DB	6-1	185	FR	Portland, Ore.	Grant
2-time 1st Team All-League DB, 2nd Team All-League WR, Honorable Mention All-State DB
Gage Holman	LB	6-2	215	FR	Beaverton, Ore.	Aloha
2-time All-League LB, 3rd Team All-League FB
Nico Jackson	RB	6-1	215	JR	Costa Mesa, Calif.	El Toro	Orange Coast JC
2nd Team All-Division RB, All-League Offensive Player of the Year
Koben Jamison	DB	6-1	195	FR	Vancouver, Wash.	Columbia River
All-League Defensive MVP, All-League Most Outstanding Player
Shaw Jerome	WR/DB	6-1	170	FR	Pendleton, Ore.	Pendleton
2-time 1st Team All-League DB, 1st Team All-League WR, 2nd Team All-State WR
Josiah Johnson	DB	5-11	165	FR	Medford, Ore.	South Medford
1st Team All-League DB, Honorable Mention All-League WR, 1st Team All-State DB
Anthony Kennison	DL	6-0	315	JR	Costa Mesa, Calif.	Norco	Orange Coast JC
Machiah Lee	DB	6-0	175	FR	Spanaway, Wash.	Bethel
3-time All-League DB, 2nd Team All-State DB, Honorable Mention All-League RB, Team MVP
Victor Matteucci	OL	6-6	330	FR	Sacramento, Calif.	Inderkum
Tyrek McCullum	DB	6-1	170	FR	Vancouver, Wash.	Union
2nd Team All-League DB
Noah Mellen	RB	5-11	195	FR	Salem, Ore.	Sprague
1st Team All-League RB, All-USA Mid-Valley 1st Team RB
Jaalen Owens	WR	6-1	180	FR	Medford, Ore.	South Medford
1st Team All-League WR & DB, 2nd Team All-State WR & DB
Jaylin Parnell	RB	6-0	205	FR	Medford, Ore.	South Medford
2-time Conference Offensive & Defensive POTY, 2-time All-State RB & LB, All-State Defensive Player of the Year
James Perez	WR	6-3	180	FR	Patterson, Calif.	Patterson
1st Team All-League WR, Large School WR of the Year
Tavis Pinkney	DB	5-10	160	FR	Vancouver, Wash.	Skyview
2-time All-League WR
Logan Reese	WR	6-0	165	FR	Rohnert Park, Calif.	Rancho Cotate
League Defensive Back of the Year, 2-time All-League WR, 2-time Offensive POTY
Ian Russell	LB	6-2	225	FR	Rainier, Wash.	Rainier
3-time All-League RB & LB, 1st Team All-Area LB, Honorable Mention All-State LB, 4-time Varsity Letterman
Gerald Saina	DL	6-3	300	FR	Tualatin, Ore.	Tualatin
2nd Team All-League DL, Honorable Mention All-League OG
Fernando Salazar	OL	6-2	295	FR	Wilsonville, Ore.	Wilsonville
2-time All-League OG, 1st Team All-State OG, Conference Lineman of the Year
Mason Simeta	LB	6-3	235	FR	Lacey, Wash.	Timberline
League Defensive POTY, 1st Team All-Area LB & FB, 1st Team All-State LB
Aiden Slater	DL	6-3	240	FR	Tumwater, Wash.	Tumwater
1st Team All-League DL, League Defensive POTY, 1st Team All-Area DL, 1st Team All-State DL
David Sotelo	TE	6-4	255	FR	Snoqualmie, Wash.	Mount Si
Honorable Mention All-State TE, 3 year Varsity Letterman
Drew Story	LB	6-4	235	FR	Baker City, Ore.	Baker
1st Team All-League DL, 2nd Team All-League TE
Palmer Sumner	OL	6-6	335	FR	Kirkland, Wash.	Juanita
OL for U15 Team USA, Honors Student
Luis Vicino	DB	6-1	170	FR	Fairfield, Calif.	Vanden
2-Star Scout recruit, All-City DB, All-Region
Israel White	DL	6-2	270	FR	Fairfield, Calif.	Vanden
2-time 1st Team All-League OL, 1st Team All-City OL, 1st Team All-Region OL, OL of the Year, Team Captain