Sports

Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Atascadero High senior Nick Tenhaeff headed to San Diego State

Atascadero senior running back will likely play in the linebacker corps for the Aztecs next season

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The high school football season hasn’t started, but for Atascadero senior Nick Tenhaeff, he already knows he has a future beyond this year.

On Thursday, Tenhaeff told The Tribune he has made a verbal commitment to play next year at San Diego State.

“I sat on the offer for a few weeks and talked to my family a lot and I talked to (San Diego State) head coach (Chuck Long) a few times,” Tenhaeff said. “It seems like a really good fit for me. It’s somewhere I’d really like to spend the next few years of my life.”

Tenhaeff, who also had interest Cal Poly and Boise State, has known for a while that he might be an Aztec in 2009.

The day after school let out in June, Tenhaeff was in San Diego for a workout and it didn’t take long for him to impress. The Aztecs’ coaching staff liked what they saw from the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder and they offered him a full-ride scholarship that day. San Diego State coaches cannot comment on recruits until they sign a national letter of intent in February.

While he has stood out as a running back, and comes into the season as one of the top backs in San Luis Obispo County, he was recruited to play linebacker.

“I was ready for it,” Tenhaeff said about the position switch. “I assumed if I played college

football, that was the path I’d go down.”

There might not be much tape of Tenhaeff on defense, but there is some. He saw time at safety last season and this year Atascadero coach Vic Cooper said Tenhaeff would move to linebacker.

However, that still means San Diego State is taking him sight unseen as a linebacker in game situations.

“That’s just a testament to his skill, to make that offer without seeing any game film on him,” Cooper said.

By the end of the season, game film of Tenhaeff on both offense and defense should be readily available. Cooper said his plan is to play Tenhaeff both ways and spell him when necessary because there is enough depth at both positions.

Tenhaeff comes into his final campaign with the Greyhounds after a stellar 2007. On offense, he ran for 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns, and on defense he made 21 tackles (16 solo) and hauled in one interception.

“(San Diego State) is getting a kid that will lead by example,” Cooper said. “He is 100 percent football, 100 percent of the time. He is a guy on the field that pays attention to detail to make sure he understands the schemes. He is going to give you everything he’s got all the time.”

Next year, he will join the Aztecs defense which already has one local star on it.

Former Morro Bay High standout Jerome Long is going into his true freshman season at San Diego State, and he could see the field when Cal Poly opens at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday. Tenhaeff said he’ll be at the game.

But before Tenhaeff gets his chance to harass offenses with Long, he goes into this season knowing he can hone his skills on defense, rather than worry about impressing recruiters.

“It’s nice, kind of a weight off my shoulders you could say,” Tenhaeff said. “I can concentrate on high school football this season and worry about everything else later.”