There’s a fire coming.
The Firestorm, that is.
Donnie Yantis and the rest of his Arizona Christian University staff have scoured the state looking for recruits to help build this second-year program. The fruition of their hard work put pen to paper today.
The Firestorm brought in 60 recruits, 34 of them in-state high school seniors, on Wednesday at their Letter of Intent event on campus.
It seems like Yantis has found a pipeline with Mountain Pointe High School, one of Arizona’s elite high school programs.
Defensive end Austin Pogue, wide receiver Tyree Shivers, and defensive back Vidal Daniels joined the Firestorm ranks.
While Mountain Pointe has been known as a power nationally for quite some time, and Arizona Christian continues to grow in it’s second year, both programs focus on the same values.
“Arizona Christian…they’re all about team and brotherhood and Mountain Pointe is about the same thing. It’s just run (like) the same program,” Pogue said.
Playing for the Pride brought a spotlight and high standards that will help these three thrive, according to Shivers.
“Mountain Pointe being such a big program and being so known, it’s really a great opportunity that I went there because it is a Division-I school. I played against the best competition high school had to offer in Arizona.”
Making the transition from high school to college can be tough for any teenager, let alone a high school athlete. Having teammates and friends who have battled together will help ease that transition a bit.
“It will be more comforting to go through it with those guys than to be alone, but we’re just ready to get after it this year,” Daniels said.
Sounds like music to Yantis’ ears.
