RENO -- Wide receiver Willie Johnson out of Fresno City College headlined Nevada coach Chris Tormey's fourth recruiting class that was announced on Wednesday at Legacy Hall. Johnson, who originally signed with Nevada out of high school, joins 22 high school players and two other junior college players in the 2003 class.
"We're going to have a very experienced team returning," Tormey said. "This year's recruiting class, the emphasis was building the depth for next year and (filling) holes in the future. All the junior college players we expect to provide immediate depth and challenge for starting positions."
The one player who should compete right away for a starting spot is Johnson, who caught 61 catches for 1,049 yards and 14 touchdowns during his sophomore season at Fresno City College. The 6-foot-4, 200 pound Fresno native was one of the top junior college wide receiver prospects in the nation. Tormey believes he has the chance to have as much success as Nate Burleson, who gave up his final year of eligibility to enter this June's NFL draft. Burleson led the nation in receptions this past season.
"Willie's got a world of potential," Tormey said of the Johnson, who was also recruited by Tennessee and several Pac-10 schools. "Nate Burleson developed his potential by a hard work ethic. If Willie is willing to work as hard as Nate, he will have a great career here."
The other two junior college players are wide receiver Del McGee out of Glendale (Calif.) College and cornerback Roderick Price out of Sacramento City College. Price was twice named a first team all Nor-Cal League selection.
The two most promising high school recruits are speedsters in running back Jarred Belser out of Bellarmine Prep in San Jose and wide receiver Paul Pratt from Taft High School in the Los Angeles area. Both Belser and Pratt are track stars that have ran the 100 meter dash under 11 seconds flat.
The 5-foot-8, 182 pound Belser rushed for 1,722 yards and 20 touchdowns during his senior season at Bellarmine, where he was twice named a first team all West Catholic League selection. The 5-foot-10 Pratt, who caught 59 receptions for 15 touchdowns during his senior year, was also a two-time all city pick at defensive back. Pratt had eight interceptions as a senior at Taft and was listed as the 19th best cornerback on the West Coast by PacWestFootball.com.
"He is an outstanding football player and an outstanding athlete," Tormey said of Pratt, whose wide receiver teammate at Taft was Steve Smith, who signed with USC on Wednesday. "He can play both sides of the ball."
Tormey also signed running back Drew Robinson out of Ontario Christian High School in Ontario, Calif. Robinson was named the 2002 Inland Valley Player of the Year after rushing for 2,198 yards and 43 touchdowns (Inland Valley record) and catching 20 passes for 597 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder became the first player ever to earn player of the year honors from a school his size.
Tormey didn't sign a quarterback because he already has three underclassmen on scholarship but did sign two tight ends in Adam Bishop, a 6-foot-5 226-pounder from Santa Rosa, Calif., and 6-foot-4 238 pounder Kyle Robertson from the Bay Area.
Four designated offensive lineman also signed, led by Greg Bellasis of Fresno and David Sampson from Cypress, Calif. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound Bellasis was a first team all league and valley selection out of San Joaquin Memorial High School and the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Sampson was first team all California Interscholastic Federation lineman as a senior.
"Sampson was one of those guys you look at as too good to be true," Tormey said.
There are six other players Tormey envisions as either offensive or defensive linemen at Nevada, including Matt Hines, another 300-pound linemen out of Modesto, Calif., who is the brother of current Wolf Pack linemen Chris Hines.
Tormey signed four linebackers: Jeremy Engstrom (6-1, 241 lbs), Nick Fuhr (6-3, 225 lbs), Kevin Porter (6-1, 210 lbs) and John Simpson (6-3, 220 lbs). He also signed four defensive backs. Linebacker and defensive back were the two most important positions for this year's class, Tormey said.
"We will have three senior linebackers next season and three senior defensive backs. It was important to have quality depth and this was a very important group for this recruiting class."
Safety Jeff Wells out of Lakewood, Wash., leads the group of d-backs. Wells was a first team all state safety and the Seamont League's defensive back of the year while at Lakes High School, one of top football programs in Washington. He was also an option quarterback at Lakes, where he passed for 2,127 yards and accounted for more than 2,400 yards of total offense and 36 touchdowns.
Shannon Sevor, a teammate of Belser at Bellarmine Prep, is another track star that will join Nevada in the defensive backfield. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Sevor recorded 87 tackles and finished first in both the 100 and 200 meter in the Central Coast Section in track.
"It seems like we were going up against more Pac-10 schools than we normally do," Tormey said. "You're going to win some of those and lose some of those. We have an awful lot to sell here in Reno."
Nevada, which went 5-7 overall and 4-4 in the WAC last season, opens the 2003 season against Southern Utah on Aug. 30 at Mackay Stadium.