Idaho State head football coach Mike Kramer spoke of the 17 players in the Bengals’ 2012 recruiting class with obvious excitement during a press conference on Wednesday.

    His joy was as much for their potential impact on the field as it was for what they will bring to the classroom.

    “All of them have met several criteria that we put in front of them,” Kramer said. “Their test scores and overall GPA both exceed every one else in our conference. Our academic standards here are higher than everywhere else and we’re going to make sure our play on the field equals our academic performance.”

    The Bengals tapped into a local high school, recruiting four Highland players. Defensive back Taison Manu, wide receiver Kai Campbell, defensive lineman Patrick Ryan and offensive lineman Montana Gessell all signed to play at Idaho State.

    “One school signing four guys from one high school is a pretty rare occurrence,” Kramer said. “There are still other recruits in the area that we hope to attract to the program once they get through the academic threshold.”

    He added that recruiting within the state is an important part of ISU’s program.

    “We try to be Idaho’s team, a place where kids from the state of Idaho have a place to play division 1 college football,” he said.

    What’s unique about the signees from Highland is the fathers of three of them also played at Idaho State.

    “Between Ryan, Manu and Campbell, their three fathers have 10 ISU football letter among them,” Kramer said.

    “It feels great, like a weight has been lifted,” Manu said. “My dad played there and it will be like walking in his footsteps.”

    Those three athletes have played football together since they were children. Couple that with the connections their families already have with ISU and the Bengals are getting dedicated competitors.

    “It’s a big relief,” Ryan said of his signing. “I hoped to go play at ISU and win some games. It’s good they have recruited some Idaho boys.”

    “It’s a big relief,” Campbell said. “It’s a great feeling. All the hard work from the last five to ten years has all paid off.”

    Other athletes from Idaho that signed on Wednesday include Cody Abbott, a 6-foot-3, 277 pound offensive lineman from Meridian High School. Joining him is teammate Hayden Stout, a 6-foot-2, 185 pound running back.

    The Bengals are also brining in four players from Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash.

    Among the signees are five offensive linemen, four wide receivers, three defensive backs, two running backs, two defensive linemen and one linebacker.

    When the season ended last fall, Kramer said that his focus was to get depth at both the offensive line and wide receiver. The numbers show that he was true to his word.

    “We feel like this class has enough size and bulk to be able to compete, back up and be an integral part of our success right away next season,” Kramer said.

    He also added that even though signing day has arrived, the coaching staff is in no way complete with their recruiting efforts.

    “We are about two-thirds of the way done with recruiting for the season,” Kramer said.

    When all is said and done, the Bengals hope to get a total of 22 to 25 new players in the program. Because of academic standards, Kramer is still waiting on two wide receivers, one quarterback, an offensive lineman “from a long ways away,” two cornerbacks and a safety whose letter on intent had not arrived as of Wednesday.

    He added that there is a quarterback serving an LDS mission who will be back and ready to play this fall. Finally, Kramer is looking to sign a “linebacker played for a prominent ISU coach in another state.”

    Because none of these additional players have signed yet and are not on campus, NCAA laws don’t allow the coaching staff to mention them by name.

    “We’ll end up rewarding three guys with scholarships who are already on the team that are currently walk-ons at the conclusion of spring practice,” Kramer said.

    While addressing immediate and future needs of the team, Kramer is happy that he is bringing in players that will help change the academic atmosphere.

    “The important thing is we’re starting to fix our APR,” he said. “We’re able to go out and actually recruit the height, weight, size and speed that you need to be to be successful in addition to taking care of the guys who are inside this program who are showing the academic responsibility that I find acceptable.”

    He also said that by August, only 12 players will remain in the program that signed under coach Zamberlin.

(Journal sports writer Jennifer Anthony contributed to this story)