Vikings go, Vikings return

One Coeur d’Alene Viking is going away to school — though not too far.

Another went away to school last year — but is coming back closer to home.

Kale Edwards followed up on his verbal commitment, signing Wednesday to play football at Montana. A quarterback and safety at Coeur d’Alene, Edwards was recruited by the Griz as a linebacker.

Meanwhile, former Coeur d’Alene offensive lineman Noah Gunn, who signed with Air Force a year ago, signed with the Idaho Vandals on Wednesday.

Gunn spent a year at Air Force Preparatory Academy.

“Noah is a great talent who is going to come in and compete for a starting spot,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “With what we have coming back, he gives us a chance to have the type of offensive line we had during the bowl year.”

Here’s a look at how area schools did Wednesday, on the first day of the three-day early signing period:

Idaho: Petrino announced the signing of 13 players, seven who will enroll in January, including four junior college transfers.

“We signed a lot of guys who will come in and compete for starting positions right away,” Petrino said. “We had some specific needs on defense that we had to address with older guys and I think we did that. We got two great players from the state of Idaho and we were able to get a lot of really talented young play makers to sign early.”

Petrino expects junior college transfers Satchel Escalante, Austin Holt, Jalan Jenkins and Vei Tomasi to make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball.

The other in-state signee is running back Nick Romano of Rocky Mountain High in Meridian. Romano was the 2018 Idaho 5A Player of the Year.

“Nick is a great running back,” Petrino said. “He rushed for over 2,000 yards and won the state title while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He’s exactly who we want at Idaho.”

Idaho also signed lineman Coleman Johnson, brother of current Vandal lineman Noah Johnson.

The Vandals also signed quarterback Nate Cisco (6-4, 180) from Franklin, Tenn.

“We had Nate come to our camp and really liked him,” Petrino said. “He had a great junior season before some injury issues as a senior, but we’re excited he’s part of this class.”

“The bulk of our class is all about playmakers. Camren Thomas can play both sides of the ball with good size and a lot of talent. Sean McCormick, Marquese Albert and Kiahn Martinez are really good football players. They will absolutely find a way to make an impact for us because they’re all really good with the ball in their hands.”

Washington State: The Cougars got a quarterback and a pair of running backs among the 19 players the Cougars signed Wednesday.

Gunner Cruz of Gilbert, Ariz., is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. The running backs are Jamir Thomas of Massillon, Ohio, and Jouvensly Bazil of Naples, Fla.

Washington State, which is seeking a school-record 11th victory against Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28, also signed receivers Billy Pospisil III of Arvada, Colo., and Donovan Ollie of Wylie, Texas.

Coach Mike Leach added three players in the defensive secondary, three offensive linemen, three linebackers and two defensive linemen.

Eastern Washington: The Eagles signed nine players, including quarterback Trey Turner from Pittsburg (Calif.) High. Playing in the highest level of high school football in California, Turner helped lead Pittsburg to a 16-6 record in two seasons. His father, Aaron Turner, was a two-time All-America receiver at the University of Pacific and led the NCAA Football Bowl Division (then I-A) in receiving in 1991.

Boise State: The Broncos signed 15, including a pair of quarterbacks who plan to enroll early — Hank Bachmeier and Kaiden Bennett.

One in-state signee was Keegan Duncan, record-breaking running back at 2A Declo.

According to national recruiting sites, the Broncos signed five four-star prospects, and the remaining 10 are three-star signees.

Washington: Chris Petersen loaded up on defense, with 12 of Washington’s 20 signees during the early signing period coming on that side of the ball.

Washington’s top recruit Wednesday was defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele, the top-rated player in Hawaii. But the Huskies’ success on the islands didn’t stop there. They also got defensive lineman Sama Pa’ama, linebacker Miki Ah You, offensive lineman Julius Buelow and kicker Tim Horn.

The Huskies ended up with more signings from Hawaii (five) than Washington (three).

Other top signings included defensive tackle Jacob Bandes, cornerback Trent McDuffie and linebacker Laiatu Latu, all from California.

After signing two quarterbacks a year ago, Washington had just one QB in this class with Dylan Morris, one of the three in-state signings.

Petersen said the Huskies may end up signing one or two more players and he expects a handful to be enrolled in time for spring practice.

Montana: Coach Bobby Hauck signed 21 players, 11 from Montana. From Idaho, in addition to Edwards, Hauck signed tight end Joey Elwell of Mountain View and defensive lineman Noah Kaschmitter of Grangeville.

Montana State: Coach Jeff Choate signed 17 players. Eight of the 17 play either offensive or defensive line or tight end, and Choate said that’s no accident.

“I think you can see our commitment to both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Montana State’s fourth-year football coach said. “We signed a number of guys on both the offensive and defensive lines that we think will either develop as great Bobcats or come in and compete right away.”