Linfield College head football coach Joseph Smith announced the second group of prospective student-athletes who intend to play football for the Wildcats Wednesday. All prospective students have paid their matriculation fee to the college and are expected to enroll for classes in August.

In Coach Smith’s words:
“These 17 young men combine with the previously announced 19 to form a talented class. Though small by Linfield standards, there is great athletic potential in this group, and more importantly these young men exemplify all the attributes we desire in Linfield football players: Team, Excellence, Attitude and Class. These young men are strong students, men of character and we expect they will become future leaders in their communities.

When looking at the entire group of incoming players, several things stand out to me.

One: I like the depth and talent of the incoming offensive linemen. That is a great group.

Two: Our incoming quarterback trio is as good as we have seen since coach Tyler Matthews reported in 2000. The QB competition will be intense.

Three: The incoming defensive backs are a talented and deep group. They will help fill the void that will be left when our strong group of senior DBs graduate.

Four: The incoming wide receivers can flat play. Several of the newcomers have the physical talent to compete for time right away.

The entire incoming class is going to fit very nicely with a strong core of returning players, and we are anxious to begin working with all of them this August.”

Ka’imi Banis, S-OLB, Kapolei High School - Kapolei, Hawaii
Ka’imi lettered in football and baseball at Kapolei High School. He was a team captain and leading tackler and earned the Maximum Effort award as voted by his teammates in 2010.

Trey Chiu (Fr., Fairbanks, Alaska), LB, West Valley High School - Fairbanks Alaska
In 2010, Trey earned second team all-conference honors at defensive end and was named the special teams player of the year. Trey also lettered in baseball and track at West Valley High School.

Seth Fults (Soph., Hood River, Ore.), LB, Hood River Valley High School - Hood River, Ore.
In 2010, Seth was named a first team all-conference player for positions at linebacker and offensive guard. He was voted best lineman of the year for his team and served as team captain for the Eagles.

Jacob Hanke (Soph., Salem, Ore.), OL, West Salem High School - Salem, Ore.
Jacob lettered in both football and wrestling at West Salem High School. He earned first team all-conference and first team all-region honors at tackle, standing at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds.

Lucas Jepson (Sr., Aloha, Ore.), WR, Jr. Transfer, Cabrillo Junior College - Aloha, Ore.
Lucas lettered four times at Aloha High School, twice in football and once in basketball and baseball.

Kekuapono Kalua, OL, Moanalua High School - Waianae, Hawaii
Kekuapono earned third team all-state honors on the offensive line in 2010 as well as second team all-OIA Red East Conference honors. He was also selected to play in the HUB East/West All Star Bowl in 2010 and 2011. On his team, Kekuapono received the team captain award in 2010 and 2011. Kekuapono participated in basketball, wrestling and judo at Moanalua High School.

Cody Mariner (Soph., Elk Grove, Calif.), OL/LB, Franklin High School - Elk Grove, Calif.
Cody was a four-year team captain at Franklin High School in central California. As a junior he earned honors as an all-Delta Conference player on the offensive line.

Mark Mexia, LB, South Medford High School - Medford, Ore.
Mark earned first team all-conference honors as a linebacker and honorable mention all-conference honors at running back in 2010. During his senior season at South Medford High School, he won the Coaches Award. Mark lettered in track and field as well.

Aaron Perez, QB, Sanger High School - Sanger, Calif.
Aaron earned three varsity letters in football and was team captain his junior and senior seasons. At quarterback, he is Sanger’s all-time leading rushing quarterback and will participate in the North-South All-State football game this summer. As a senior, he earned second team all-CMAC honors. Aaron earned varsity letters in baseball as was named to the all-CMAC second team with a .425 batting average.

Chad Powell, LB, McKay High School - Salem, Ore.
Chad lettered in football as well as track and field at McKay High School. He earned first team all-conference and all-region honors as a linebacker as well as defensive MVP. Chad also earned honors as a second team all-league lineman. In track, he placed third in state in discus and was the district champion in both the shot put and discus.

Jackson Ruckert, WR, West Albany High School - Albany, Ore.
Jackson was a two-time all-league and all-state wide receiver at West Albany High School where he holds records in number of catches, yards and touchdowns. He started as a sophomore in 2008 and helped lead his team to a state championship. Jackson participated in the Les Schwab Bowl in 2011. He lettered three times in baseball at West Albany and earned honors as a first team all-league and all-state outfielder.

Trevor Ryan, DB, Thurston High School - Springfield, Ore.
Trevor lettered twice in baseball, football and track at Thurston. He earned honors as first team all-league and first team all-state defensive back in 2009. He led Thurston to the state championship game in football as a senior. In track, he was runner-up in the 400-meter dash at the state championship meet. His baseball team took second place in state in 2008 and won the Class 5A state championship in 2009.

Joshua Whitney, OL, West Salem High School - Salem, Ore.
Joshua lettered in football and track & field at West Salem High School. Josh helped his team to a 2010 Central Valley Conference championship and earned second team all-CVC honors. In track, he placed first his junior year in the shot put and was fifth in the state. He finished fourth in at the district championships in shot put and ninth in state in discus his senior year. Josh was also a Salem Sports & Breakfast Club Honoree.

Kenja Wiseman, CB, Kapolei High School - Honolulu, Hawaii
Kenja earned two letters in football and also lettered in basketball and track & field. As the defensive team captain, he earned first team all-state honors at cornerback at Kapolei High School.

Zach Young (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.), RB, Jr. Transfer, Lake Oswego High School - Lake Oswego, Ore.
Zach played for Santa Rosa Junior College as well as College of the Siskiyous and earned first team all-Mid Empire Conference honors as a receiver. He totaled 70 catches for 825 yards and ranked fourth in receptions last season in junior college football. During his high school career at Lake Oswego and Lakeridge high schools, Zach rushed over 4,000 yard for 60 touchdowns. He was a three-time first team all-Three Rivers league running back and was named player of the year his senior year. As a senior, he scored 35 touchdowns, running over 2,200 yards and earned first team all-state recognition.

In alphabetical order, the entire Class of 2015 is comprised of:
Levi Altringer, QB, 6’5, 200, Rocky Mountain High School - Boise, Idaho
Ka’imi Banis, DBS, 5’10, 200, Kapolei High School - Kapolei, Hawaii
Ben Bolton, QB, 6’4, 190, Truckee High School - Truckee, Calif.
Trey Chiu (Fr., Fairbanks, Alaska), DB, 5’10, 175, West Valley High School - Alaska
Adam Dondoyano, DB, 5’9, 160, Issaquah High School - Issaquah, Wash.
Trey Farber (Soph., Wasilla, Alaska), DL, 6’0, 245, Colony High School - Palmer, Alaska
Owen Fritz (Soph., Lynnwood, Wash.), OL, 6’3, 255, Mountlake Terrace High School - Mountlake Terrace, Wash.
Jonoah Flores, DE, 6’0, 230, Kamehameha, Honolulu, Hawaii
Seth Fults (Soph., Hood River, Ore.), LB, 6’2, 225, Hood River High School - Hood River, Ore.
Daniel Grimes, DL, 6’3, 255, Tualatin High School - Tualatin, Ore.
Jacob Hanke (Soph., Salem, Ore.), OT, 6’3, 240, West Salem High School - Salem, Ore.
Kyle Harris (Soph., Portland, Ore.), WR, 6’0, 170, Westview High School - Portland, Ore.
Keaton Hedman, DB, 5’11, 175, West Linn High School - West Linn, Ore.
Taylor Hein, WR, 5’11, 185 Canby High School - Canby Ore.
Lucas Jepson (Sr., Aloha, Ore.), WR, 5’10, 180, Cabrillo Junior College, Aloha, Ore.
Kekuapono Kalua, OL, 5’11, 265, Moanalua High School - Waianae, Hawaii
Connor Magnuson, TE, 6’4, 230, West Albany High School - Albany, Ore.
Cody Mariner (Soph., Elk Grove, Calif.), DB, 5’10, 210, Franklin High School - Elk Grove, Calif.
Davonte Mclin, DB, 5’10, 180, Vista High School - Vista, Calif.
Spencer Metzsch (Soph., Aloha, Ore.), TE/OT, 6’5, 230 Century High School - Hillsboro, Ore.
Mark Mexia, LB, 5’7, 195, South Medford High School - Medford, Ore.
Troy Nakasuju, DBS, 5’9, 180, Roosevelt High School - Honolulu, Hawaii
Mike Nardoni (Soph., Palos Verdes, Calif.), LB, 5’11, 205, Palos Verdes Estates High School - Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Brock Nelson, OT, 6’3, 245, Jesuit High School - Beaverton, Ore.
Colin Nelson (Soph., Redmond, Wash.), WR, 6’6, 200, Eastlake High School - Sammamish, Wash.
Aaron Perez, DB, 6’0, 188, Hallmark Charter School - Sanger, Calif.
Evan Peterson (Soph., Bellevue, Wash.), WR, 6’2, 185, Issaquah High School - Issaquah, Wash.
Chad Powell, LB, 6’0, 210, McKay High School - Salem, Ore.
Alex Pierce, OL, 6’5, 265, Crook County High School - Prineville, Ore.
Jackson Ruckert, WR, 5’8, 170, West Albany High School - Albany, Ore.
Trevor Ryan, DB, 5’10, 160, Thurston High School - Springfield, Ore.
Zach Tubbs, OT, 6’5, 250, Sandy High School - Sandy, Ore.
Joshua Whitney, OT, 6’3, 240, West Salem High School - Salem, Ore.
Kenja Wiseman, DB, 5’11, 165, Kapolei High School - Kapolei, Hawaii
Matt Yarbrough (Soph., Tualatin, Ore.), QB, 6’0, 190, Tualatin High School - Tualatin, Ore.
Zack Young, WR, 5’10, 180, Lake Oswego High School - Lake Oswego, Ore.