By Robert Barrett
Every year, outstanding football players sign letters of intent to play at universities, and on Feb. 2, three players from East Los Angeles College took that big step forward.
ELAC sophomores Anthony Denham, Chris Dunlap and Jeremy Harris committed to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 schools.
Chris Dunlap, who plays cornerback, chose to attend Eastern Michigan University which plays in the Mid-American Conference.
Jeremy Harris, also a cornerback, decided to play for New Mexico State University of the Western Athletic Conference.
Anthony Denham, who was rated a four star wide receiver by scouts.com, will continue his education at the University of Utah, which will be a new member of the Pacific Twelve Conference at the start of next season.
All three sophomores met inside the coach’s office to sign their letters of intent.
Under the eyes of staff and friends the letters were signed. Denham and Harris both raised their heads with large smiles on their faces showing their excitement.
“I’m the last one. I already have one brother playing division one football, but I’m excited,” said Dunlap.
Denham, who was heavily recruited by many power programs, but chose to stay near home and attend Utah.
“It’s close to home. I wanted to play outside of California, but not too far. I wanted to be a Pac 10 kid and play for Norm Chow,” said Denham.
Harris was thankful for his experience at ELAC. “It took me out of the area I was in and got rid of distractions. [Head Football Coach Lynn Cain] gave me two good years,” said Harris.
These three players who signed their letters of intent on National Signing Day will not be the last for the ELAC football team. Four more players on the roster will be signing letters of intent between April and May but still have not decided which football programs they want to commit to.
“Today is a fantastic day that we have three players signing on this national signing day. This is like a huge celebration,” said Cain.
rbarrett@elaccampusnews.com