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By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, Western Oregon Universities鈥� head football coach Arne Ferguson announced 28 high school football players signed their letters of intent to join the team in the fall.

Out of the 28 new recruits, 16 are from Oregon and 5 are from Washington. The 2016 recruiting class also has highly touted high school players from Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Idaho.

鈥淲e are very happy with the kids that have committed to Western Oregon,鈥� said Ferguson. 鈥淥ur coaches put in the time and did a really good job recruiting players that will give us an opportunity to compete against the best teams in Division-II.鈥�

At the Wolves鈥� National Signing Day event on Wednesday at Crush Wine Bar and Tasting Room, Ferguson talked about what traits and characteristics the coaching staff looks for in recruits.

鈥淔irst of all, we look for a good student that鈥檚 motivated and driven,鈥� said Ferguson. 鈥淲estern Oregon does a good job recruiting student athletes who will work hard, learn, and get an education.鈥�

鈥淭he second thing is that we are obligated to make sure that they will be successful in Division II football, and that鈥檚 not easy,鈥� added Ferguson. 鈥淲e want [the recruits] to be successful and we want them to be on the football field because we know that they all work very hard for the opportunity.鈥�

鈥淭he last thing we look for is their leadership, being in a winning program and knowing the little things that matter in order to contribute to the team,鈥� said Ferguson.

With the recent success of the program, Western Oregon has created a winning culture. 鈥淲e have had ten winning seasons in a row and we have been second in about eight of those, so we are looking for those extra couple inches to push us over the edge,鈥� said Ferguson.

The following is a list of the student-athletes who have committed to the program: