Arkansas Tech University signed 40 student-athletes to national letters of intent to join the Wonder Boys football program on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The 40 incoming freshmen join a program that ranks 10th in NCAA Division II history in wins (526), has won 18 conference championships and has made three NCAA Division II Playoffs appearances since 1999.
“I am beyond excited about this group,” said Steve Mullins (photographed), director of athletics and head football coach at Arkansas Tech. “I think we have helped ourselves tremendously. I bragged about the freshman class we had a year ago, and I feel even better about this class. I think we’ve done an excellent job of addressing needs. Our coaches and graduate assistants worked very hard to get us where we are, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate them.”
The 2012 signing class includes 18 individuals from Arkansas, 10 from Texas, five from Louisiana, two from Oklahoma, one from Missouri, one from Mississippi, one from Tennessee, one from Florida and one from Illinois.
“We have to recruit guys who are concerned about walking across that stage and graduating,” said Mullins. “Everybody would like to go to the NFL, and I hope we send a bunch to the NFL. But that’s not really what our mission is. We need to win games, and we need to graduate. Academically, I think this is a very strong group.”
The Wonder Boys will play their 98th football season in 2012. It will be Mullins’ 16th season as Arkansas Tech head football coach. His 91 career wins are most by a head coach in Wonder Boys football history.
“It’s not always about physical ability or intelligence, it’s about maturity,” said Mullins. “The guys who stick with it, grow and develop…that’s the measuring stick.”
Click here to read the Arkansas Tech Department of Athletics news release with details about the 40 Arkansas Tech football signees for 2012.
Click here to learn more about Wonder Boys football.
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