High School

California National Signing Day Live updates: Langi to Arizona; Amituanai to San Diego State; Jones to Boise State

Under radar recruits fill in the gaps, fulfill lifelong dreams of landing college football scholarships

Mitch Stephens

Kamryn Jones graphic of him going to Boise State
Kamryn Jones graphic of him going to Boise State / Courtesy graphic: Kamryn Jones

The day has finally arrived for many anxious California high school football players. The regular signing day period has finally arrived.

While most of the top 5- and 4-star prospects largely did their official signing day business during the early period — the first week of December — many of the 3-star kids waiting until Feb. 5 to pick their destinations.

With so much activity in the transfer portals, and all the already established college players landing at new homes, the high school players could clearly see where their best opportunities were.

Here are some of the highlights and points of interest for California high school seniors, via our reporting and social media posts.

Mission Viejo honors five

The Diablos (10-1) had another great season and a big reason is five more who signed on the dotted line on Wednesday. They were OL Joshua Bates (Northern Arizona), wide receiver Cash Semonza (Tulane), edge rusher Jaden Williams (Boise State), long snapperJack Baldi (Fresno State) and defensive back Brock Defries (UNLV).

Peter Langi picks Arizona

The bohemeth 6-foot-7, 345-pound tackle from Riordan picked the Wildcats over — get this — 38 other offers. The lad was in demand. Langi was a first-team All-Bay Area selection by the San Francisco Chronicle, helping pave the way for an offens that averaged better than 420 yards per game.

He had original signed at Washington, but decided that wasn't the right destination for him. He told SBLive a couple days after he decommitted that "I don't really want to speak on the UW situation. It just didn't feel right with me and that's about it."

It sounded then like he knew where he wanted to go. On Wednesday, the 101st top California prospect by 247Sports, tweeted bright and early that it was all "about the 'Zona." He'll join fellow Riordan offensive lineman Losipini Tupou has already signed as has other Bay Area standouts, Serra OL Louis Akpa, along with Monte Vista-Danville tight end Kellan Ford. 

Live updates, NSD for California players
(Check back throughout the day)

Locan Amituanai to "America's Coolest City"

At least that's what Forbes magazine called San Diego. And now the 6-4, 220-pound edge rusher from Elk Grove is calling it home as he picked San Diego State as his college destination.

He thanked head coach Sean Lewis and his staff for a great weekend and making he and his family "feel loved." The No. 121 recruit in California had 10 other offers including Washington State, Boise State and Idaho, among others.

Kamryn Jones to Boise State

The fleet 6-2, 180-pound wide receiver from Rancho Cucamonga needed just one official visit — to beautiful Boise Idaho — to make his choice. He's headed to Boise State after 50 catches for 899 yards and 10 touchdowns in just four games — preposterous last season — after transferring from St. John Bosco.

Dominic Kelley to Nevada

De La Salle had one of its most talented, but least flashy backfield in 2024. The team was so balanced and games were so lopsided, none of the running backs rushed more than 10 times all season. Whether that hurt recruitment is debatable, but it was nice to see third-year starter Dominic Kelley signed with Nevada. He rushed just 92 times his senior year for 834 yards and 16 touchdowns, with the highlight coming in the North Coast Section Open Division final when he rushed 18 times for 173 yards and a touchdown under rainy conditions in a 10-7 win over Pittsburg to vault the Spartans to the state-title game.

Julius Gillick officially a 'Dog

Perhaps my favorite moment in the season was an interview with Edison running back Julius Gillick, describing all the reasons for their team's state-championship win over Central-Fresno, 21-14. Gillick called teammate Jake Minter's game-winning 54-yard touchdown a "beautiful thing," and Minter himself a "dog." On Wednesday, Gillick officially became a Bulldog, signing at Fresno State. He was a first-team All-State selection with a staggering 302 carries for 2,488 yards and 37 touchdowns. Doesn't look like Minter has yet secured a scholarship but he played recently in a Orange County All-Star game.

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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