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 Mark Morris lineman Jake Welch participates in preseason drills. TDN file photo
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Monarchs' Jake Welch commits to Air Force
Thursday, November 5, 2009 10:05 PM PST
By Ben Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleMark Morris senior Jake Welch on Thursday made a verbal commitment to play football for the Air Force Academy.
Welch, a 6-foot-4, 297-pound offensive guard and defensive tackle, told Air Force offensive coordinator Clay Hendrix that he was accepting the school’s offer of a full-ride athletic scholarship.
The scholarship will cover “100 percent” of Welch’s college expenses, he said.
“I kind of decided last week, but I made it official (Thursday),” Welch added. “It’s cool to finally know where I’m going to go for sure.”
Welch said he has been receiving a lot of attention from UNLV, and also that he was “hoping to get another talk with the (University of Washington), but that never came.
“It was just time to decide,” he said.
Verbal commitments are non-binding. National Letter of Intent signing day is Feb. 3, 2010.
Welch said that the academic opportunities offered by Air Force were among the clinching criteria.
“The kind of programs they have, and the opportunities available to me after I graduate, that was just overwhelming,” he said.
The Falcons compete in the Mountain West Conference with BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State, TCU, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming,
Welch is a four-year starter at Mark Morris, which begins its third consecutive state playoff quest when it hosts River Ridge in a district playoff game on Saturday.
Now that he has made his college decision, Welch said he can narrow his focus to one goal.
“State,” he said.
Howdy wrote on Nov 6, 2009 7:14 AM:
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