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With their talents leading to opportunities, five Lancer football players head one step closer to success by signing scholarship letters of intent with NCAA Division 1 universities.Head coach Kenny Lawler is confident that the players are prepared to move on to the next level. “Everything I try to do in my program is [meant] to prepare them for the next level, [to] make that transition from a two-year to a four-year [college] as smooth as possible,” he said.

Having had experience coaching at the Division 1 level as a secondary coach at Boise State, Lawler has modeled his program after the expectations the players will encounter.

David Pittman, sophomore quarterback, has chosen to attend the University of Minnesota. The nation’s leading passer for two years at PCC, Pittman not only excelled at football but, like his six colleagues, he was also a good student. “He has great character, and he is a student, not just an athlete,” said Lawler.

Pittman finished the season with 3.643 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns, both single season school records. He also led the Lancers in rushing with 572 yards on the ground.

Minnesota is a good fit for Pittman as a quarterback, since the Golden Gophers run a very similar spread offense that he ran so well at PCC. The Golden Gophers struggled in the Big Ten last year, going winless in conference with an overall record of 1-11.

Cornerback Terell Carr and offensive lineman Tom Njunge have committed to Arizona State University.
Carr, a lockdown cornerback, finished the 2007 season with a Mission Conference leading seven interceptions and 13 pass breakups.

Njunge, a local player out of Muir High School, led an offensive line that gave up only nine sacks on the year.
Carr and Njunge join a resurgent Sun Devil team that contended for the Pac 10 title last year and lost to Texas in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The Sun Devils finished with a 10-3 record and a #13 ranking under first year coach Dennis Erickson.

Sophomore wide receiver/kick returner Marcus Anderson will soon be attending New Mexico State University along with linebacker Jason Scott.

Anderson had 40 receptions for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns last season, and averaged 15.2 yards per punt return and 29.8 yards per kick return.

Scott finished the 2007 season with 88 tackles, 11 for losses, 6.5 sacks and four interceptions.

Although Scott is certain that “everything is that much more intensified” at the Division 1 schools, he feels that he will be able to make the appropriate adjustments. “I’m nervous but I’m excited,” he said.

Anderson and Scott will join an Aggie team that struggled in the Western Athletic Conference last season, amassing a 1-7 record in conference and a 4-9 record overall, also running the familiar spread offense.

Record setting receiver David Reed is also considering his four-year college options, but has yet to make a decision. According to Lawler, Reed is considering Division 1 opportunities at Kansas State and Utah.

Another four-year transfer is Josh Avery, who has chosen Southern Virginia University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school.

Avery said that although the transition holds challenges and is emotionally difficult, PCC prepared him both academically and athletically.

While these seven students were successful at PCC, Lawler said there are challenges they will encounter even with their talents. “There is more pressure for them to win, to perform, because the coaches at that level, that’s their job.”

According to Lawler, the players need to acquire a business approach to both school and football. Although there is a good amount of pressure for the players at PCC, the pressures of coaches, fans, and media only escalate in the upper division schools.

“Until you encounter it, you don’t know,” he said.

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