ON THE GOLDEN STATE RECRUITING TRAIL: TWO SEC POWERHOUSES NOW AFTER SALESIAN (LOS ANGELES) STUD

Deommodore Lenoir added two SEC offers on Sunday, Jan. 10 as Mississippi State and LSU both offered the Class of 2017 athlete. The two schools have now made some slight changes to Lenoir's recruiting list (photo credit: Doug Brown, Mid Valley Sports). 

There has been a slight shake up for the three college football programs that made Deommodore Lenoir’s short list, as two Southeastern Conference powerhouses have now intrigued the Class of 2017 sensation.

Mississippi State and his "dream school" LSU are the latest programs to offer the Salesian (Los Angeles) athlete, as both the Bulldogs and Tigers extended their pledge to him on Sunday, Jan. 10.

The 6-foot, 186-pound Lenoir – who triples as a running, receiving and returning threat plus listed Oklahoma, UCLA and Washington as his top three teams of choice – told Cali Gold Mine that he’s now looking at both SEC schools closely.

“My top three does change a little,” Lenoir said. “But I'm still considering those schools (OU, UCLA and UW) as well as the others.”

Lenoir added that both MSU and LSU are recruiting him to play on both offense and defense. Lenoir now has 17 reported Football Bowl Subdivision offers including Michigan, Tennessee and Miami.

He scored 12 combined touchdowns for the 5-5 Mustangs last season.

LEPPKE CONTINUES DINUBA’S QUARTERBACK LINEAGE

Isaac Leppke committed to the University of Wyoming on Sunday, Jan. 10. He becomes the third Emperor quarterback to head to the college football ranks (photo contributed). 

Isaac Leppke was in the eighth grade when David Rico went from Emperor dual-threat quarterback to Cal Lutheran commit. Then he backed up future Oregon State Beaver Marcus McMaryion during Leppke’s sophomore year.

Now, the 6-foot-4 Leppke becomes the third Emperor signal-caller to accept a college football scholarship opportunity, as he accepted Wyoming’s walk-on offer on Jan. 10.

The Cowboys were Leppke’s lone FBS offer. Leppke said the Wyoming coaches made him feel comfortable with making his college decision.

“I knew Wyoming was the right fit when they told me I have every shot to move up the depth chart if I prove myself in practice. They also stress a family environment and everyone is treated equally, which is huge for me,” Leppke said.

He’s already building a rapport with one future teammate and former Central Valley star: Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen, who shined under the Friday night lights at Firebaugh High then became a scoring machine at Reedley College.

“With Josh Allen being from the Central Valley, I feel I can easily learn from him. We have already been building our relationship and Josh is a really cool guy. I can't wait to see how he does this next year. Hopefully he leads us to a bowl game,” Leppke said.

Leppke is taking a visit to Laramie during the weekend of Jan. 29, which will be his first time visiting the campus.

Leppke didn’t hesitate to call Dinuba a quarterback factory.

“The last three quarterbacks went on to the next level and Coach (Kevin) Scharton takes a big part in that,” Leppke said. “He makes sure we are better people than football players and that is the reason why I think Marcus, David, and I are successful."

Leppke has already pointed out the future of Emperors football.

“We have another good quarterback with Gustavo Villareal coming in next year and a young gunner after that in Josh Magana,” Leppke said. “Dinuba doesn't stop producing quarterbacks.”

VERSATILE RUIZ HEADING TO THE 805

Joey Ruiz of San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) turned down three FBS offers to join the Cal Poly Mustangs, as the running back/wide receiver/linebacker accepted the Big Sky program’s pledge on Jan. 10.

Ruiz took to social media to announce his college choice.

“Beyond blessed to announce that I am committed to playing football for Cal Poly SLO (San Luis Obispo),” Ruiz said via Twitter. “I thank God, my teammates, my family and my coaches for helping me get to this point. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Ruiz led the 9-4 Panthers with 1,341 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. He added 21 catches for 279 yards and two touchdowns at wide receiver. Defensively, he tied for the team lead in sacks with seven and intercepted two passes.

Ruiz was also offered by Air Force, Nevada and Texas-El Paso.