2011 Football Recruiting Class Announced

San Diego State first-year head football coach Rocky Long announced the signing Wednesday of 23 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. All the recruits are high school seniors and will join the Aztec football team for the 2011 season.

Above and beyond

"We are very excited about all of our student-athletes remaining committed to San Diego State," Long said.

"We were able to keep those individuals who committed prior to the coaching change in addition to securing additional commitments in the final couple of weeks of the recruiting period. I thought the three coaches [Tony White, Brian Sipe and LeCharls McDaniel] who stayed did a great job. They went above and beyond the call of duty and did the work of nine coaches."

Among the 23 future Aztecs are 14 who are projected to play on the offensive side of the ball, while nine are slated to compete on defense. Long and his staff signed four players each at the linebacker, wide receiver and offensive line positions, while there are three running backs and three defensive linemen in the 2011 class. A pair of defensive backs and tight ends, as well as one quarterback also inked with SDSU.

Strong California contingent

Twenty-one of the 23 signees hail from the state of California, including five from San Diego County alone.

"Our belief as a staff is that the program should be run in the same way that it has the last two years," Long added. "We will continue to recruit student-athletes who will help our football program be successful and are a good fit for San Diego State University. That being said, we placed an emphasis (this year) in recruiting athletes and we were able to get that with this class."

Incoming Aztecs

The four wideouts in the class include:

• Larry Clark (Venice, Calif./Venice HS)
• Jemond Hazely (Corona, Calif./Santiago HS)
• Paul Pitts (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos HS)
• Anthony Sheffield (Los Angeles, Calif./West Adams Prep HS)

Two tight ends could be on the receiving ends of some passes during their Aztec careers, including:

• Robert Craighead (Lakeside, Calif./El Capitan HS)
• Adam Roberts (El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS)
• San Diego State added three running backs in:
• De'Saan Hardwick (San Diego, Calif./Madison HS)
• Chase Price (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Ranch HS)
• Brandon Wright (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS)

The Aztecs also signed one quarterback, 6-2 Chad Jeffries out of Glendora High School in Glendora, Calif.

Rounding out the offensive side of the ball are four linemen all of whom are at least 6-3, including:

• Darrell Greene (Oakley, Calif./Freedom HS)
• Reggie Jones (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Miguel HS)
• Paul Rodriguez (San Bernardino, Calif./San Gorgonio HS)
• Jordan Smith (Redlands, Calif./Redlands HS)

A position that has produced several current NFL standouts, San Diego State added four linebackers with:

• Sam Atoe (Windsor, Calif./Maria Carrillo HS)
• Ryan Jack (Corona, Calif./Centennial HS)
• Christian Parra (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan HS)
• Micah Seau (Spring Valley, Calif./The Bishop's School)

San Diego State signed three defensive ends in the 2011 class in:

• Kevin Chase (Concord, Calif./Concord HS)
• Sam Meredith (San Diego, Calif./Helix HS)
• Jon Sanchez (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta HS)

Rounding out the group are defensive back Tony Bell (Los Angeles, Calif.) of Locke High School and safety Darius Guillory (Temecula, Calif.) of Chaparral High School.