Dec. 18, 2003
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head football coach Mick Dennehy announced Thursday the signing of six football players who will compete for the Aggies next fall. All six student-athletes will enroll at Utah State for the Spring, 2004 semester and compete in spring practice beginning in March. Among the group of six junior college players signed by USU are two offensive lineman, a wide receiver, a tight end, an outside linebacker, and a cornerback.
"Our biggest needs were on the offensive side of the ball and we feel like we really helped ourselves on the interior with (Brent) DeLadurantey and (Justin) Schlimgen," Dennehy said. "With us graduating our center and both guards we needed to bring some guys in and both of these guys are big, physical players that will help us immediately.
"We also felt like we needed to upgrade ourselves at a couple of other positions on both sides of the ball and we addressed everything that was an immediate concern for us. Overall, we feel really good about this group."
D.J. Brookter is a 6-2, 220-pound linebacker from Fresno (Calif.) Community College who played as a true freshman at Utah State in 2001 before returning home for personal reasons. During his one year at USU, Brookter appeared in eight games recording nine tackles. As a sophomore at Fresno CC, he started all 11 games at linebacker and recorded 64 tackles to go along with five passes broken up and four forced fumbles in helping his team to a 9-2 record and the Producers Dairy Bowl Championship. As a prep senior at Bullard High School in Fresno, Brookter earned first-team all-league and second-team all-valley honors after recording 68 tackles and five sacks.
Brent DeLadurantey (pronounced Dela-dur-aun-tay) is a 6-3, 320-pound offensive center from Cerritos (Calif.) Junior College. DeLadurantey will have three years of eligibility at Utah State after redshirting his first year at Cerritos JC. During this past season, he started all 11 games and helped his team to a 7-4 record and the Potato Bowl Championship. As a prep star at La Serna High School in Whittier, Calif., DeLadurantey was named the team's lineman of the year and Hammer Award winner for most pancakes.
Lawrence Lovelace is a 5-11, 185-pound wide receiver from Chaffey (Calif.) Junior College. As a two-year starter, Lovelace helped his team to the 2002 Southern California Championship game as a freshman and to another bowl game as a sophomore. During his sophomore season, he caught 30 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns. Lovelace prepped at A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, Calif., and earned first-team all-Citrus Belt League honors as a senior along with being named the team's Offensive MVP. He is the cousin of former Oregon State standout Nick Barnett who was selected in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.
Leslie Mongo is a 6-0, 185-pound cornerback from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College. As a sophomore he earned honorable mention all-Mid Empire Conference honors as he recorded 40 tackles, 10 pass breakups, two interceptions and two blocked field goals. Mongo prepped at Ramsey High School in Ramsey, N.J. where he was named all-conference in football twice. He is the brother of Tyrone Wheatley who is a tailback for the Oakland Raiders.
Justin Schlimgen (pronounced Sch-LIM-jan) is a 6-3, 295-pound offensive guard from Moorpark (Calif.) Junior College. He earned first-team all-Western States Conference honors as a sophomore starting eight games on the offensive line. Schlimgen also was a two-time first-team all-Pacific View League selection at Camarillo High School in Camarillo, Calif., and earned first-team all-county honors as a senior.
Ryan Wilson is a 6-3, 240-pound tight end from American River (Calif.) Junior College. As a sophomore he earned first-team all-Mid Empire Conference honors along with being named to the All-Northern California Region team as he caught 19 passes for 152 yards. He attended Rio Linda High School in Rio Linda, Calif. where he earned first-team Capital Valley Conference honors as a senior and was awarded with the team's Hustle Award as a junior.
