First Mesa football players sign four-year Letters of Intent

  MESA, AZ – For the last three years Mesa football players have been moving on to some of the most prestigious Division I programs in the nation. The list includes the likes of Arizona State, Southern California, Purdue, Kansas, Oregon State and many others.

  That tradition continued on the first official day of NCAA signing as the first seven T-Birds inked their Letters of Intent, with many more to come.

  Safety Derron Bown (F., Laveen, AZ/Fairfax, H.S.,), offensive tackle Brandon Pertile (So., Clearwater, Fla/Countryside H.S.), safety Juan Giraldo (Fr., Gilbert, AZ/Mesquite H.S.), cornerback D.J. Hampton (So., Glendale, AZ/Kellis H.S.), guard Andrew Erbes (Fr., Scottsdale, AZ/Saguaro H.S.), guard Tevin Clemmons (So., Pensacola, Fla/Pensacola Catholic H.S) and defensive tackle Jalen Durham (So., Columbus, Ga/Northside H.S.) all completed their commitments to various schools on the first day possible.

  Brown, who is headed to California, made 48 tackles, including six for losses, and had three interceptions. He will join A.J. Greathouse who practiced with MCC last spring and then signed with the Bears and played during the 2014 season.

  Pertile was a highly-regarded recruit who missed the entire season due to an injury, but still was signed by Oklahoma State.

  Two T-Birds will remain teammates as they head to Idaho. Hampton and Erbes join a regular pipieline that has seen numerous Thunderbirds join the Vandals.

  Giraldo, who had 32 tackles including one for a loss, will join the program at Eastern Michigan, while Clemmons will play at Winston-Salem State in North Carolina. In addition, Durham signed an LOI at Washburn (Kan.).

  In addition to this group several other players are nearing completing their choice. Quarterback Austin Apodaca (So., Longmont, Colo/Silver Creek H.S.) will likely sign soon with either Vanderbilt or New Mexico and defensive end Auleilo Olomua (So., Mesa, AZ/Mesa H.S.) has verbally committed to Kansas State.

  Numerous other signings will take place over the next few months.

Brandon Pertile, right, and head coach Ryan Felker flash the OSU "Pistols Firing"	Derron Brown is headed for California
D.J. Hampton, left, and Andrew Erbes will both be joining the Vandals of Idaho	Juan Giraldo heads to the midwest and Eastern Michigan
Tevin Clemmons is joining the program at North Carolina's Winston-Salem State