We would like to congratulate Tristen Alesi on his commitment to the College of Idaho. Here’s Tristen’s recruiting story and interview after his commitment. Good luck as a Yote!
1. Share your recruiting story and status
The process was pretty easy going. The hardest thing about everything was the waiting game of talking to coaches and seeing if they would reply to you and how long it would take.
2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?
I am attending the College of Idaho and I chose them because I like the atmosphere here. The coaches have their head in the right place in changing the program into one of the best NAIA programs in the league.
3. How did SportsForce help in the process?
SportsForce helped me contact lots of colleges in a small amount of time and getting my name out there. Creating my highlight videos and sharing my stats was huge in my recruiting process.
4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process (ex. start early, get a highlight video)?
Start early in the recruiting process. The sooner coaches know your name and you develop a relationship, it puts you in a better place for being recruited and being reached out too.
5. How excited are you for your future in college?
I am very excited for my future in college!
6. How much moneydo you anticipateyour familysavingin college expenses because of you being recruited?
I am saving thousands of dollars that otherwise would’ve been spent on college and will not be in debt out of college.
7. Would you recommend SportsForce to any other student-athletes? Why?
Yes, but be aware that the process takes time and since college coaches have restrictions on expressing their direct personal interest in you, you may not have as much personal interaction with a coach right away, but if you trust the process, it will be worth it in the end.
Over the last five years, SportsForce has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
They have a great basketball program, and a beautiful campus. And they showed great interest in me. It was important that they offered my intended major, and when I found out that they did, that sealed the deal.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
It’s a great feeling to know that my hard work has paid off, and I have the opportunity to play college basketball. I am living out my dreams.
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
Stay persistent, if you want to be noticed, send your tapes to schools, and ask your high school coach to get in contact with those colleges. Don’t get discouraged, and don’t be scared to talk to these coaches.
4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?
My step dad. He taught me the mental aspects of the game that I needed. He taught me to stay strong-minded, and calm. He taught me to never let my attitude get the best of me, and I can do anything I put my mind to.
5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
I want to win and bring a title back to Union. I want to be a leader on and off the court, and Lord willing, play professional basketball someday.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
1. Why did you decide to sign with Kentucky Christian University?
I went to the campus and it was not that big but I loved it. It’s a small school, but I like it because of the class sizes, where you can have one-on-one with the teachers. The football program just started under a new young coach. It’s a young team but I like it because of the recruiting class the coach is bringing in.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
I am so excited; I can’t wait until the first day I step foot on campus as a college student-athlete. I know it is going to be harder than being a high school student-athlete, but I am up for the challenge.
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
Just keep working hard. Don’t ever take a day off, because if you do, just know that there is another kid working to be better than you. That’s one thing I wish I could go back and do.
4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?
Two good friends of mine, because when I first moved to the US from Ghana I had no idea what football was, but they helped me get better every day, and to this day they are still on me, trying to make me better.
5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
I would love to be able to hang a national championship banner in my school and also become an All-American.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
1. Why did you decide to sign with Vanier College?
I decided to sign with Vanier College based on the outstanding football program, and opportunity to excel in my studies. With such a high number of kids attending university after they’re finished at Vanier, I knew it was the right choice. With the excellent coaching and training program, I knew that if I chose Vanier, they would help me become the best player I could potentially be. I went down to Vanier on April 13th, 2012 for a practice, and all the players and coaches greeted me in such a friendly manner, it was hard to say no to Vanier College. The facilities were awesome, the coaching was awesome, and you can just tell that you were in a championship atmosphere at Vanier. I knew that this would be my new team, school, and a place I could call “home”.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
The excitement about becoming a student-athlete is just endless. Attending a school with the exact program you want is ideal, but the fact that the football program at Vanier College is also top notch was like music to my ears. I’m not only studying what I love (media arts), but also doing what I love, by playing football.
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
To all athletes that are looking to be recruited, DO NOT GIVE UP! I started playing football 3 years ago, and one of my coaches told me “you’ll never go anywhere with football. You should just quit while you’re ahead”. Well sure enough, I proved him wrong. Nothing comes easy though, you’re gonna get back whatever you put into a situation. Keep yourself in the weight room a lot, watch a lot of film, and always stay focused on and off the field. I would also suggest to make a highlight tape, as it will really help in the whole recruiting process and it will also help you get your name out there to lots of coaches.
4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?
I would say I definitely have more than just one big influence on playing football. First off, my ex-girlfriend of 4 years, Alessia Morisani who recently passed away on October 2011 in a car accident is one of my biggest influences. After my first season of football, I just wasn’t happy with my play. I didn’t know the game as well as the others did around me, so I wanted to quit. Alessia always told me “I believe in you. You’re such a determined person, you can do whatever you put your head to. You’re gonna go where you want to go in football, I promise.” Therefore, I did a lot of training in the off-season and once I came back to play, my game was improved. Vanier College is where I wanted to go, and sure enough after the passing of Alessia, is when I got in contact with Vanier College. She was right, I got where I wanted to go because of how determined I was, and no matter what criticism I heard, I never gave up because I knew I could do it. She was always my biggest fan, influence, and motivator. Before every game I say a prayer to her, and I know she’s there in spirit. There’s no bigger influence than Alessia for me.
Another influence is my family and friends. Without my family and friends staying behind me and believing in me, it would definitely be harder to be as passionate as I am about the game. Everything I do, whether it’s going to visit schools in the U.S. or Quebec, or even things as simple as getting to football practice or football games, I can always count on my parents to have my back and help me with what I want to do. I definitely couldn’t do it without my parents.
5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
During my college sports career I would like to accomplish many things. I would like to become a better student, become stronger in the weight room, become better technically, and also become smarter on the field. I feel that attending Vanier College will help me accomplish all of that. After my 2 years at Vanier College, I would like to go to the NCAA and play some Division 1 football. With all the experience and knowledge I take from my coaching staff, combined with my determination and never quit attitude that I take from myself, this goal is very achievable.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
1. Why did you decide to sign with Cornell College?
I really like everything they offered me. They are very high on academics, which really interest me, and also the football team has a fresh new coach staff, so change is coming. They treated me like I was family on my visit and welcomed me with open arms.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
I’m very excited there aren’t words to even explain how excited I am for this opportunity. I dream about being in Iowa every night. I’m just training and counting my days down.
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
The advice I would give is to be at the top of everything. If someone runs extra sprints or does extra work you do double what they do and lead your team. Also, never get discouraged when things don’t go your way, because at one point in time I lost an offer because of coaching changes and I hung up my cleats. But nothing is ever given to you, you have to go out and take it.
4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?
My biggest influence has been my uncle Rick and mother. My uncle Derek “Ricky” Newman attended Illinois State, and then played Arena football for the Cleveland Thunderbolts. He was shot 3 times in his car and killed. I want to finish what he started and play pro football one day. If I have to start from the bottom, I will and work my way up the chain to the top. My mother has done so much for me and has attended every single one of my sporting events since I started playing flag football. She has always wanted the best for me and I just want to give back to her all the love she has showed me. She is like my heart that keeps pumping and keeps me going when I’m down.
5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
I would like to be one of those players that everyone talks about how hard he worked and how he led the team. I want people to say, “Yeah Dentist Hall, he was one of the greats I played with.” Also, I want to break a couple records and leave my name on the school.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
1. Why did you decide to sign with College of Mt. Saint Joseph? I liked the coaching staff, they were real welcoming and they had a lot of confidence is their program. Also, for the school of course; they have a great educational program overall. I liked the location and it seemed like a lot fun down here.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
I’m very excited. I can’t wait to see exactly how everything is going to play out. I can’t wait to get there and compete for a position. I can’t wait to get there; I’m ready for everything
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
My first word of advice is, never get sold on any college until they offer you a serious offer. Keep an open mind about everything and don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
4. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
My first goal is to graduate, get that foundation. My secondary goal, I do wanna play at the next level, I know it will be a whole lot of work, but football is my life.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
1. Why did you decide to sign with Huntingdon College?
I decided to sign with Huntingdon because it’s a place I fit in perfectly, and it’s not very far from home. It’s a great school.
2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?
I’m very excited to become a student-athlete at the college level. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. It’s a sweet feeling.
3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?
To other athletes looking to get recruited, I advise them to work hard, maintain good grades, and be disciplined on and off the field.
4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?
The biggest influence in my sports career has been my dad. He always pushes me to another level and encourages me to work hard. He also trains me.
5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?
During my college sports career I would like to accomplish a lot. I would like to help Huntingdon College win their first NCAA DIII title and many more. I’m just excited I get to live out my dreams and I would also like to join Cody Pearcy in the NFL.
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
This week was a tough week for coach Joe Paterno of Penn State University. The 84-year-old coach has been holding a tight grip on the job of head coach for quite some time. Only few times could it be said in his history as coach that “Today was not his day’. Amongst a child-abuse scandal involving a former coach, the university decided to fire its head coach, Paterno, as well as its school president Graham Spanier.
Thousands of students caused a mini-riot at Penn State when news broke that their football leader “JoePa” was fired. These students expressed care for their coach as he cared for the team for over 60 years coaching. They recognize all that he has done by winning two National Championships and setting records for most wins (409) and bowl wins (24) as head coach.
If there is anything to remember Paterno by it must be the impact he had, not only on the football program, but how he impacted Penn State University and how he impacted his student-athletes because after all, they are also students. As of results in 2011, Penn State’s football graduation success rate (GSR) was 84%. This is good for 2nd best in the Big Ten Conference, trailing only Northwestern. This demonstrates his care for his student-athletes not only as students, but men preparing for the future as his program has produced 47 academic All-Americans.
“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the true mark of a professional” –Joe Paterno
Whether its preparing his men to be professionals in the business world or professional football players, it seems as though Paterno had them ready for anything. His program is nicknamed “Linebacker U” for its production of NFL Linebackers. One alum from “Linebacker U”, Jacksonville’s Paul Posluszny, had this to say about his former coach, “Besides the football, he’s preparing us to be good men in life.”
Paterno’s motto for his program was “Success With Honor”. He will be remembered for his success on the field and be honored by all those he has made an impact on at Penn State and beyond.
The only thing constant in life is change. Or maybe just the fact that things may never change for the San Diego State football team.
Stop if you’ve heard this one before: the Aztecs play their hearts out in a game in which they have a chance to make a huge leap forward in their program’s history. They run up and down the field, make magical, highlight-reel plays, set records, scare the daylights out of a top team, and…well, you’ve heard this one before.
So you know how it ends. They lose.
On a rainy Saturday night at Qualcomm Stadium, SDSU (once again) did everything but beat the Utah Utes, a team that just a couple of weeks ago was the undefeated fifth-ranked team in the country.
A win, and the Aztecs themselves may have been ranked come Monday morning for the first time in 15 years. Instead they fell, 38-34, the result leaving the Red and Black faithful wondering what they usually are forced to wonder after games like these…What if? How come? When are we ever? Why us?
So SDSU is 7-4 with one regular season game remaining in a season in which so may strides have been made, but also a season that — put simply — could have been so much more astonishingly remarkable and amazing.
They lost to Utah despite sweeping down the field on their opening possession of the game and scoring for a 7-0 lead just 1:59 into the contest. They lost despite scoring on three more possessions in the first half, breezing downfield with ease on drives that covered 98, 79 and 84 yards. They led, 20-3, and then again by 17 points, 27-10.
They lost despite quarterback Ryan Lindley passing for a career-high 528 yards, the fourth-most ever in Aztec history. Their two spectacular wide receivers, Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, combined for 20 catches, 338 yards and three touchdowns, yet it wasn’t enough.
Brown’s third TD of the game was one of the best plays you’d ever see a receiver make. Lindley, scrambling out of the pocket at his own 10-yard-line, threw the ball up for grabs towards Brown at the SDSU 40. Two Utah defenders were there to intercept, but Brown leaped above both of them, tipped the ball over their heads to himself and raced toward the end zone, out-running three pursuers to the goal line to complete a 90-yard touchdown that gave the Aztecs a 34-24 lead in the third quarter.
Yet, they still lost.
“In the end, we didn’t do enough for the full 60 minutes,” said Coach Brady Hoke, who has done so much to awaken this previously moribund football program yet is still searching for a way to get his team over the hump.
They won’t get there until a whole bunch of the following stuff stops happening. Utah scored on a 57-yard TD pass, beating a broken coverage, and it scored on a hail-mary 47-yard TD pass on the final play of the first half when five Aztec defenders couldn’t keep the ball from finding its way into the hands of Utes tight end Kendrick Moeai.
DeMarco Sampson reaches out to try and reel in a one-handed catch (619 Sports photo/Danny Heilprin)
In the fourth quarter, SDSU punter Brian Stahovich dropped a perfectly good snap from center, picked it up and then had his kick blocked, with Utah recovering at the 3-yard-line. Four plays later, running back Eddie Wide swept into the end zone to give the Utes their first lead of the game, 38-34, with 10:25 remaining.
Winging downfield twice on Lindley’s arm, the Aztecs still had chances to win, but both drives ended in Utah interceptions. The three SDSU turnovers in the game — plus the blocked punt — were ultimately the difference. As well as the Aztecs played, they still made key mistakes. Utah, which improved to 9-2 with the win, did not turnover the ball once.
One tough loss like this would be hard enough. But all of the Aztecs’ losses this season have been like this. They lost, 27-24, at Missouri when they allowed a 68-yard, game-winning TD pass in the final minute — the play only occurring because officials missed a blatant block-in-the-back that wiped out two Aztec defenders and cleared the way for the Tigers’ T.J. Moe to race down the sidelines.
They lost, 24-21, at BYU in part because a clear Cougars’ fumble was not called on the field nor overturned by a replay-booth full of BYU officials (supporters). They lost, 40-35, at third-ranked TCU despite jumping to a 14-0 lead and then, later, rallying for three late TD’s in the fourth-quarter.
Now this one. Four losses this season by a total of 15 points. And, just for good measure, there was a bit of controversy to deal with here as well. On the final, fateful Lindley interception — with Brown open in the end zone to perhaps win it, Utah’s Derrick Shelby delivered a forearm shiv to the face of Lindley as he let the pass go.
The illegal blow, called in football games every Saturday and Sunday of every season, sent Lindley’s throw wobbling off target, allowing Utah’s Brian Blecken to pick if off. Of course, no call was made.
For SDSU, considering where it has been, there is nothing wrong with 7-4, and perhaps an 8-4 finish if the Aztecs can beat UNLV — which they should — next weekend. One more chance for glory would await after that, in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23 against Navy.
Frustratingly, though, this season could have been so much more. But, at least for now, they’re still the Aztecs.
The NFL Draft takes place from April 22-24 in its first year of the new three-day format. There aren’t many NFL Draft prospects with roots to the Valley, but what the group lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. MVP Magazine provides a look at the NFL Draft prospects who played high school football in Arizona.
Danny Batten, DE/LB, South Dakota State, Mesa (Mesquite H.S.) Ten teams visited Batten’s Pro Day. An accomplished, versatile player but at Division I-AA. Projected 7th round.
Kyle Calloway, OL, Iowa, Vail, AZ Huge at 6-7, 323 pounds. A steady, versatile offensive linemen who should have a solid NFL career. Projected 6th round.
Everson Griffen, DE, USC, Avondale (Agua Fria) First-round talent, but inconsistency and question about work ethic may cause him to drop. Could be a star NFL pass rusher. Projected 1st round.
Max Hall, QB, BYU, Mesa (Mountain View) NFL teams rarely draft a QB that is only six-feet tall with questionable arm strength. Hall hopes Drew Brees’ success will reflect on his potential. Projection 4th round.
Keaton Kristick, LB, Oregon State, Fountain Hills (St. Mary’s) A smart, active player but lack of ideal size and strength will hurt draft value. Projected 7th round.
Shelley Smith, OL, Colorado State, Phoenix (Westview) Good strength and footwork with the ability to be a pulling guard. Some scouts questions his physical play at the point of attack. Projected 6th round.
Ekom Udofia, DL, Stanford, Scottsdale (Chaparral) A strong, passionate player with good natural instincts who can take up multiple blockers. Better than his numbers indicate. Projected 6th round.
Arizona State University Prospects
ASU has produced its share of stud NFL Draft prospects but this year isn’t one of them. No ASU player figures to be drafted before the fifth round although there are a few players who could go on to have solid NFL careers. Only time will tell if any of them becomes a standout like former Sun Devils Terrell Suggs, Zack Miller or Jake Plummer.
Player POS Projection Comment Thomas Altieri C Undrafted Knee injuries plagued this talented center. Dexter Davis OLB Rd. 6 3.5 sacks as a senior will hurt draft value. Shaun DeWitty RB Undrafted Fast but not an NFL back. Travis Goethel ILB Rd. 7 An underrated player whose stock is rising. Shawn Lauvao OG Rd. 4 An anchor on a poor offensive line. Ryan McFoy SS Undrafted Solid ASU career, but won’t be drafted Chris McGaha WR Rd. 6 Sure hands, athleticism too good to ignore. Dimitri Nance RB Undrafted Solid career but never met expectations. Mike Nixon OLB Undrafted Age works against a talented overachiever. Danny Sullivan QB Undrafted Never got on track in his one year as starter. Jovon Williams FB Undrafted Versatile but not an impact player. Kyle Williams WR Rd. 7 Speed and athleticism may get him drafted. Jarrell Woods RB Undrafted Only had 18 carries in three years at ASU.
