Denim Millward
Sports Editor
Wednesday, Feb. 5 was to college football fans as Christmas morning is to a young child.
Much like Christmas, National Signing Day represents the arrival of many new “toys” fans can’t wait to see in action.
Head Coach Mike Kramer announced 17 new ISU Bengal football players in a press conference Wednesday.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with signing day and the recruiting process, Kramer offered a beautifully simple explanation.
“Recruiting always begins with, ‘What do you have, what do you need, where are they at and how can you get them?’”
With that in mind, Kramer and the rest of the football coaching staff reaped the rewards of their recruiting labor in the form of the 17 new faces who will be donning pads for the Bengals in the fall.
In terms of numbers, the current recruiting class may seem small, but that is a byproduct of the team’s impressive depth.
The Bengals will be returning 10 offensive and nine defensive starters, which will present Kramer and his new recruits with a wide range of options in terms of development and progression.
Many incoming freshmen will likely either be redshirted or will see little to no playing time this year, and will have the benefit of having an entire year to adjust to the ferocity and pace of collegiate football as well as college life.
This apparent lack of necessity to rely on true freshmen immediately is something that’s new to Kramer’s tenure at Idaho State.
“The important point of our entire high school recruiting class is that none of these guys have to be in [the rotation] before we begin practice,” Kramer said.
A triumvirate of homegrown talent is among the 17 new recruits, with each high school in Pocatello represented.
The most notable local recruit is Highland High School product Nate Page. Page, a 6-foot-5-inch, 214-pound tight end, will serve an LDS mission before enrolling at Idaho State.
Andy Burtenshaw from Pocatello High School will give the Bengals a nationally-ranked long snapper, and has a reasonable chance of contributing right away.
Burtenshaw, who is the number one ranked long snapper in Idaho and 21st in the nation by ProKicker, gives Idaho State the option of punting from a more traditional formation rather than the “roll punt” formation currently used.
Austin Ferguson, a 5-foot-11-inch, 205-pound 2013 First-team all-state linebacker and Century High School product, will also be joining the Bengals.
In addition to the Gate City natives, Kramer also received commitments from four other Gem State athletes.
Jake Hoggan, a mammoth offensive lineman and highly touted prospect hailing from Driggs was arguably spoken about most enthusiastically by Kramer.
The other Idaho signees are wide receiver Hagen Graves from Skyview High School in Nampa, linebacker Spencer Harshman from Borah High School in Boise and defensive lineman Cody Anderson from Shelley High School, who enrolled at Idaho State in January and is scholastically a junior.
One of the most potentially valuable recruits headed to Idaho State is quarterback Tanner Gueller.
At 6-foot-2-inches and 225 pounds, Gueller brings a good combination of size and athleticism to the quarterback position. At WF West High School in Chehalis, Wash., Gueller tallied 4,000 passing yards and 57 touchdowns along with 1,332 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
In addition to the statistics, Gueller has an impressive resume.
A two-time all-state quarterback, Gueller was named Conference MVP and Chronicle All-Area MVP, and was named to first-team all-league and to the Olympian All-Area team.
In addition to the incoming freshmen, Kramer enlisted two junior college transfers to shore up the defensive backfield.
Defensive backs Tavante Jackson, from Santa Barbara Junior College in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Kamino Ward from San Bernardino Valley Junior College in San Bernardino, Calif., will add some instant experience to one of the youngest and thinnest positions on the team, due in part to the departure of senior defensive end Cameron Gupton.
The remaining recruits not yet mentioned are linebacker Coleton Collins from Lakeside High School in Nine Mile, Wash.; offensive lineman Brian Fineanganofo from Paramount High School in Los Angeles, Calif.; defensive back Cory Hollowell from Orange Lutheran High School in Corona, Calif.; wide receiver Nick Jones from Valencia High School in Valenica, Calif.; defensive back Joe Martin from Spanaway High School in Spanaway, Wash.; defensive back Anthony Ricks from Valley Center High School in Valley Center, Calif.; and defensive lineman Larry Tharpe from Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas.
Kramer also announced placekicker Zak Johnson, a walk-on to the program last year, will be placed on scholarship and will handle placekicking and kickoff duties.
It was also reported that quarterback Riley Sessions has voluntarily left the team.
Though it will more than likely be at least a year before any of the incoming freshmen will see any significant playing time, the class collectively represents a slow-growing optimism that began with a markedly improved team last season and continued with 19 of 22 starters returning to the team in the fall of 2014.
As is the case with nearly every recruiting class, hope abounds that this will be the recruiting class that puts Idaho State University football back on the map and finally comes through with a winning season, which has eluded them since 2003.
