On National Signing Day, 10 members of the Cerritos College football team have announced where they will be playing next season. With half of the signings athletically eligible to return next season, the Falcons continue to be one of the preeminent colleges for getting players scholarships with extra time on their clock.

"Our main purpose at this level is to help prepare players to compete at the next level," said defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator Tom Caines. "Yes, it means we have to recruit extra players for next season, but this is something we've been doing for a long time. We know that if we bring in a qualifier out of high school, there's a really good chance we will only have them for one season. But we try to recruit good kids and I think we have a proven product here at Cerritos."

Five of the players who have signed are already enrolled at their new schools and were unavailable for the group photo. Defensive end Derek Thomas (University of Hawaii), offensive tackle David Zavala (University of New Mexico), cornerback/returner Stanley "Scrappy" Norman (Lamar University), wide receiver Justin Garrett (University of Texas-El Paso) and tight end Kevin Ventura-Cortes (Abeline Christian University) have already moved on to their new schools. Of those, Thomas, Zavala and Norman will go in as sophomores.

Also signing were wide receiver Stacy Chukwumezie (Northern Arizona University), defensive back Josh Caldwell (University of Texas-El Paso), offensive tackle Chris Faaumu (Weber State University) and defensive back Devan Burrell (Missouri Western State University). Both Caldwell and Burrell were athletically eligible to return to the Falcons next season.

Another Falcon close to signing is cornerback Kelvin Murray, who will make a decision between Georgia Tech University and the University of Maryland. The coaching staff expects to have anywhere from 8-10 more signings coming up.

Zavala was a unanimous All-National Division Northern League pick and was joined by both Burrell and Garrett who were 1st Team selections. Thomas, Caldwell and Ventura-Cortes were 2nd team picks.