Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 20th
By: University of Idaho Athletics
MOSCOW, ID -- Paul Petrino assessed the University of Idaho football team as soon as he arrived in Moscow and set a list of recruiting priorities. He hit the recruiting trail looking for running backs and linebackers and found just what he wanted in a strong junior college class.
At running back, he signed Jerrel Brown and Kris Olugbode, while at linebacker Marc Millan and Eric Tuipulotu committed to the Vandals.
"He's a big, physical, downhill, as good a looking kid as you can see," Petrino said of Brown, a transfer from the College of San Mateo. "He's a guy we were looking at a little bit at Arkansas. He'll be a great player for us."
Brown (6-0, 220) comes to Idaho after two seasons at College of San Mateo, where he was a running back on the 2012 Nor-Cal championship team. As a sophomore, Brown carried the ball 91 times for 428 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry with his best game of 2012 a 19-carry,96-yard outing against Laney College. As a freshman in 2011, he had 104 carries for 539 yards and 12 touchdowns.
"He'll bring some leadership," Petrino said. "He'll bring some toughness to the team. He's a guy you can give the ball to a lot."
Brown is a 2010 graduate of Hillsdale High School at San Mateo, Calif.
Olugbode, from the City College of San Francisco, adds immediate depth.
"He's a guy you can give the ball to as many times a game as you want," said Petrino of Olugbode (5-9, 200), who had 270 carries as a sophomore. "He's a great kid, a great student and comes from a great family.
"He will bring some leadership."
Olugbode comes to Idaho after a stellar sophomore season at City College of San Francisco. In 2012, he carried the ball 270 times for 1,699 yards. He scored 19 touchdowns, while averaging 141.6 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry. He rushed for at least 100 yards in nine of 12 games and twice eclipsed the 200-yard mark. His career high was 310 yards on 32 carries against Santa Rosa. He scored five touchdowns in a 31-carry, 216-yard outing against American River. Thirty-two carries is a career high and he twice had 31. His long run was 55 yards. He also had 16 receptions for 149 yards with a long of 98.
Olugbode is a 2010 graduate of Bellarmine Prep at San Jose, Calif.
In his quest for linebackers, Petrino found Millan at Santa Ana College and Tuipulotu at San Mateo College, where he was a teammate of Brown.
"Marc is a guy who really flies around," Petrino said. "He plays the game the way you want to see it played – he can go sideline to sideline, make tackles and plays with great passion.
"He just looks like he's having fun playing the game of football."
Millan (6-1, 215) led Santa Ana College in tackles from his linebacker position. He had 70 total tackles (43 solo and 27 assists) in addition to five sacks (-35 yards) and 17.5 tackles for loss (-75 yards). Additionally, he forced three fumbles, had one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and scored one safety. His consistency is evident in that he totaled eight tackles in three games and seven tackles in another four.
Millan is a 2010 graduate of Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School.
Petrino picked up another player at the College of San Mateo with the signing of linebacker Tuipulotu.
During his sophomore season, Tuipulotu (5-11, 215) had 59 total tackles (26 solo and 33 assists). In his totals were 2.5 sacks (-10 yards) and four tackles for loss (-22 yards) to go with four pass breakups.
"Eric is a tough, hard-nosed guy," Petrino said. "He just runs around and hits people, and when he hits you, you know it. He has great passion and plays the game the way everybody wants to see a Vandal play.
"We're so excited to have Eric on the team."
Tuipulotu is a 2010 graduate of Serra High School at Menlo Park, Calif.
