Another Quarterback to JSU?

This is hard to believe, but the following is an article from a paper in South Dakota indicating a former Air Force signee and top 100 QB is heading to Jacksonville State. If that's true, we will likely have 4 quality qbs on the roster. A far cry from two springs ago when we used a walk on.

SDSU football loses two QBs
RB Woods leaves for Iowa State
Terry Vandrovec • tvandrovec@argusleader.com • January 15, 2010

The semester switch is on again at South Dakota State.


Two quarterbacks that came in mid-year last year - Mike Whittier and Lee Mondol - have left the football program. Whittier is bound for Jacksonville State, while Mondol still is shopping his wares.

Their roster spots essentially have been filled by two new transfers: quarterback Jordan Thomas from Santa Ana (Calif.) Junior College and defensive end Zach Bowers from Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College.

Both reported to class Wednesday for the first day of the spring semester, while true freshman running back Walker Woods did not. He has moved on to Iowa State, the second time in as many years that the Jackrabbits have lost a young player to a major-conference club.

"We understand there's a need for junior college guys sometimes - that's the nature of the business," SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said. "If you have a guy that blows out a knee and the other guys aren't ready, you can't stick your head in the sand."

A top-100 quarterback coming out of high school in the St. Louis area, Whittier came to Brookings after signing with the Air Force Academy and spending one season as its prep school. He redshirted this fall.

Mondol began his career as a walk-on at the University of Michigan before playing two seasons at Ventura College, and was No. 3 on the depth chart this season.

According to Stiegelmeier, both left because they believed the top job belongs to Thomas O'Brien, who started six games as a redshirt freshman and led the team to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The situation didn't deter Thomas. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound California native earned all-conference honors as a sophomore, going 142 of 268 for 1,853 yards with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

"He looked at our depth chart and said, 'I'm not battling a lot of guys,'" Stiegelmeier said. "He felt he fit. He was excited about being part of our football program, and he has the things we look for in a quarterback."

Bowers may have a more immediate impact. The 6-2, 245-pounder from Topeka, Kan., had 41 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks - most on the team - for second-ranked Fort Scott. He also had scholarship offers from East Carolina and Central Arkansas.

"He's a powerful guy and he runs well," Stiegelmeier said. "He's not an insurance policy. He's a guy we expect to come in and be in the top two, three, four guys and be in the rotation."