Fourteen high school players, two community college transfers and one four-year school transfer have signed national letters of intent to Cal Poly, head coach Tim Walsh said in a press conference Wednesday.
It is the third recruiting class under the Walsh era and next season will be one of the first times a good number of Walsh’s recruits will see the playing field. Every year, Walsh said he has been happy with the talent brought in and this group is no different.
“I am extremely excited with the class that we have,” Walsh said. “I think we filled the needs that we identified. I think we were very fortunate with a lot of the young people who said yes.”
In his two seasons at the helm of the Mustangs, injuries have been a big problem and hindered Cal Poly’s production on the field. Injuries on the offensive line and defensive secondary proved to be a big issue. To fill in, Walsh called upon players who had little or no experience.
So this offseason, Walsh said he did his best to address those issues and find some playmakers who needed to be immediate contributors.
“Chris Fletcher and Matt Reza in the secondary and Karlton Dennis, all three of those guys can come in and compete in the secondary tomorrow,” Walsh said.
Wide receiver was another area of need for the Mustangs. In terms of receiving yards, Cal Poly loses five of its top eight receivers from last season. Those five receivers totaled 808 of the Mustangs’ 1,281 receiving yards a season ago.
Running back Mark Rodgers returns as the Mustangs’ leading receiver. He caught 20 receptions for 208 yards and had three touchdowns.
“We did need immediate wide receiver help as well as future wide receiver help and we think we answered that question well,” Walsh said.
Beyond that, Walsh said he has about three full-academic scholarships remaning and did not rule out luring in a late transfer in the following weeks.
“Do I think it’s going to happen? I do,” Walsh said. “But we will always be extremely selective on the type of guy that we say yes to that is a transfer.”
Here is a complete list of all 17 recruits:
Christopher Brown, QB
6-0, 200, Dominguez High School
Brown can run it. As a senior he ran for 774 yards and six touchdowns, earning first-team All-San Gabriel League honors. He also threw for 1,219 yards and 13 scores. He did not throw an interception and completed 75 percent of his passes.
Karlton Dennis, DB
5-9, 180, Servite HS
Dennis boasted nine interceptions in his junior and senior seasons at Servite High School. He racked up 87 tackles as a senior, earning Trinity League defensive MVP and first-team All-Orange County honors.
Christopher Fletcher, RB/DB
5-9, 175, Eastlake High School
Fletcher accumulated more than 1,000 yards of offense in his final season at Eastlake High School. He ran for 666 yards and caught 17 passes for 389 yards. He also scored eight touchdowns.
Dylan Gutierrez, OL/DL
6-4, 250, Ventura High School
Gutierrez had 14 sacks in his last two seasons at Ventura High School. He had 52 tackles his senior season and recovered two fumbles. He also played on offense his junior year and caught 15 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns.
Jordan Hines, QB/WR/DB
6-2, 190, Eastlake High School
Hines did nearly everything at Eastlake High School. At quarterback, he completed 30 passes for 578 yards and six touchdowns. At wide receiver, he caught 11 passes for 304 yards. At running back, he ran for 115 yards and a score. He also made 15 tackles.
Tu’uta Inoke, QB/LB
6-1, 205, Luther Burbank High School
Inoke racked up nearly 3,00 yards of total offense and 27 touchdowns in his senior season. He rushed for 1,653 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He also completed 46 passes for more than 1,000 yards.
Kristaan Ivory, RB/DB
5-8, 195, Catherdral High School
Ivory rushed for 2,095 yards and caught 95 passes in three seasons at Cathedral High School. On defense, he racked up 263 tackles.
Ronald Jackson Jr. WR/DB
5-10, 150, Francis Parker High School
Jackson started both ways at Francis Parker High School. He caught 23 passses, racking up 381 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. He returned 10 punts as well, averaging 12.4 yards per return.
Chris Judge, TE/LB
6-3, 210, Air Force Academy
Judge redshirted his 2009 season at Air Force and has three years of eligibility left. In seven games last season, he had one tackle for the Falcons. At Oaks Christian High School, he racked up 522 yards through the air and recorded 83 tackles.
Marcus Paige-Allen, OL/DL
6-0, 275, Sheldon High School
Paige-Allen is a nephew of former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Larry Allen. He was named a Delta River League co-defensive player of the year as a senior, after racking up 72 tackles with two sacks.
Matthew Reza, DB
6-2, 205, Saddleback College
Reza played two seasons at Saddleback College and will have two more eligible years as a Mustang. As a sophomore, he boasted a team-high 77 tackles and had three interceptions with six pass deflections.
Stephen Sippel, OL
6-3, 250, Folsom High School
Sippel earned first-team All-Delta River League and All-Metro honors as an offensive lineman.
Garrett Steele, RB/QB
6-1, 205, Kingsburg High School
Steele passed and rushed for more than 2,000 yards in one season. Last season, he rushed for 2,008 yards on 249 yards and threw for 2,177 yards and 26 touchdowns. As a safety on defense, he also had 54 tackles and two interceptions.
Willie Tucker, WR/DB
6-3, 200, Oak Ridge High School
Tucker looks to be the ideal replacement for Dominique Johnson. He brings size to a young receiving corps next season. He caught 55 passes for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Oak Ridge High School.
Andrew Walsh, WR/DB
6-0, 195, Trabuco Hills High School
Walsh played both ways as a wide receiver and a safety as a senior at Trabuco Hills High School. He had 39 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. On offense, he caught 32 passes for 463 yards.
Deonte Williams, RB
5-10, 190, Sierra College
Williams played one season at Northern Arizona and then transferred to Sierra College in 2009, leaving him with two eligible seasons at Cal Poly. In his senior season at Pleasant Grove High School, he rushed for 2,447 yards and 27 scores.
Kyle Zottneck, OL/DL
6-1, 260, Los Alamitos High School
Zottneck tallied 69 tackles and six sacks as a senior at Los Alamitos High School. He earned first-team All-Orange County and first-team All-CIF-Southern Section Pac 5 honors.