Kamari Pleasant verbally commits to Arizona State

Safety Kamari Pleasant of Etiwanda High made it a Christmas Day to remember after he announced on Twitter that he verbally committed to play football for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

While many recruits across the country simply announce their commitment with a simple tweet, Pleasant added some flare to his announcement by tweeting out a video with his decision.

“I have a lot of choices on my plate and not many choose this route to take but I want to be great,” Pleasant said in his video before the Arizona State logo flashed across the screen.

The decision to announce his commitment was rather easy to make on the holiday.

“I wanted it to be special for my grandma,” he explained. “She kept asking me where I was going to go. I decided to do it when the family would be all around.”

With offers on the table from programs such as Oregon, UNLV and UTEP, it was ASU that had become involved in Pleasant’s process early on.

“I have a great relationship with the coaches there,” he added. “They are like family (at ASU). They have been talking with me since I was a freshman.”

Here is his announcement:

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Etiwanda defensive back Treyjohn Butler a hot commodity

Etiwanda senior defensive back Treyjohn Butler is one of the area’s top recruits this season. He has eight offers, six of those from Pac-12 schools, and just returned from a trip to Cal.

He says he benefited greatly from watching some highly touted teammates go through the process last year.

“It definitely helped to see how they handled it all last year. Everyone is different,” he said. “We had a lot of college scouts out there watching us because of the guys we had last year so I kind of got used to that part of it.”

Butler also has offers from Stanford, Washington, Arizona State, Washington State, Illinois and Northwestern.

He has also taken unofficials to Stanford, USC and UCLA.

He hasn’t quite decided which schools to which he will make official visits but expects two of those to be to Northwestern and Washington.

He plans to major in chemical engineering so academics will factor into his final decision.

“I am going to do what’s best for my future,” he said. “Yes it’s about football but it’s also about more than that and what will be best for me down the road.”

He is also looking forward to his senior year and the Eagles making a run after settling for a fourth-place finish in the Baseline League a year ago. New coach Kevin Davis has brought a new energy.

“It’s a whole different aura I guess you can call it,” he said. “We’re all excited and we’re already very close. It’s like a family.”

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Etiwanda’s Khaylan Thomas decides on Arizona State

Etiwanda High School linebacker Khaylan Thomas has made a verbal commitment to Arizona State. The 6-foot, 217-pound standout announced the decision via Twitter tonight.

He had 15 or so offers. He had made “unofficial” trips to Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and USC with the unofficial to Arizona State coming over the summer. He had a visit planned for Oregon State and hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll make that one.

“It was family oriented and I liked that. They all seemed like they were very together,” he said. “I decided that was where my heart was and where I wanted to go.”

Thomas, an All-Inland Valley selection last year as a junior, has 43 total tackles, five of those for a loss, with one interception and a fumble recovery so far this season for the Eagles.

Thomas plans to major in sports business.

 

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Etiwanda’s Michael Neal commits to Washington

Eitwanda High School football standout Michael Neal has made a verbal commitment to University of Washington.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound wide receiver put up modest statistics last year with just nine catches for 127 yards but that was because the Eagles were a run-first team.

Because of that, Neal considered himself one of those “under the radar” players.

He has not visited the school yet. He plans to take an “unofficial” visit there in August and than go on an “official” visit sometime during the football season.

“They really wanted me and they offered me,” he said. “I felt good about that and it showed they really wanted me that they offered when they didn’t have a lot to go on.”

Among the other schools showing some interest were Arizona, Arizona State and San Diego State although those schools had not formally offered.

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Etiwanda’s Zach Berdnik decides on a college

Zachary Berdnik

Etiwanda High School offensive lineman Zach Berdnik has committed to Division II University of Central Missouri, according to Eagles coach Brandon Rohrer.

Berdnik, a 6-foot-5, 290-pounder was a two-year starter at tackle. He is a relative newcomer to the sport, having played for the first time as a junior.

“He’s an athletic kid with a tremendous upside,” Rohrer said. “No one really knew about him he had a lot of interest coming late. With a year in a college weight program he could really develop into quote a player.”

Rohrer said his player also had planned trips to Arkansas State and Wyoming but those schools both had coaching changes so Berdnik didn’t end up making the visits.

Berdnik will join a Mules program that went 6-5 last season. The school is located in Warrensburg, Mo. and has an enrollment of 12,000. The Mules compete in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

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