A couple of common threads binding together the high school athletes who expressed intentions of going to the Air Force Academy to play football for coach Troy Calhoun were a liking of the coaching staff and a desire to do something positive for their country.
The academy isn’t involved in the standard letter of intent process, but prospective players can sign a certificate of intent if they plan to enroll and begin their school year in July by attending boot camp before classroom work begins in August.
Matt Gaiter, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end from Chatfield High School in Denver’s southwest suburbs, signed his certificate Wednesday morning.
“Once I visited down there, I found I really liked the coaches and the atmosphere,” Gaiter said. “It’s a good fit for me. I’ve always looked up to people who serve their country.”
Michael DeVries (6-2, 258), a defensive end from Centaurus High School in Lafayette, even looks at boot camp as a positive thing.
“I think I’ll learn a lot by just going through it,” DeVries said. “There were a number of factors for me, but right up there was the chance to play Division I football and to serve my country.”
Danny Highland (6-3, 240), a defensive end from Thompson Valley High School in Loveland, committed to Air Force in July — before the Falcons’ 10-3 season last fall after going 2-10 in 2013.
“A combination of things made it an easy choice for me,” Highland said. “I liked the coaching staff and I’m excited to get started.”
Calhoun called his anticipated incoming class of freshmen a “quality group” and credited his coaching staff with doing a thorough and precise job in finding the prospects who could meet the needs in football as well as the demands in the classroom and the military obligations.
“We always emphasize the education and the ride that’s involved here at the academy,” Calhoun said.
As for the new class, Calhoun said the objective was to bring in at least one player at every position between prospects going to the prep school and those entering directly into the academy.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or
