It was quite a night for the Oklahoma Sooners and for former
Pleasant Grove wide receiver Jalen Saunders. Playing Jan. 2 at the Sugar Bowl
in New Orleans, the Sooners upset Alabama, 45-31, with Saunders scoring a pair
of touchdowns on pass receptions.
In his final collegiate game, the speedster caught five
balls for 75 yards including TD receptions of eight and of 43 yards.
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| Oklahoma's Jalen Saunders hugs Sooner coach Bob Stoops following a touchdown Thursday during the Sugar Bowl |
He finished the year as the Sooners’ top receiver with 61
catches, the 13th best all-time at Oklahoma. He also returned two
punts for touchdown this season.
Saunders will be playing later this month in the Senior Bowl
in Mobile, Ala., and then probably attend the NFL Combine in preparation for
the pro draft in April.
CBS Sports.com rates him as the 23rd best wide receiver
prospect coming out of college this year. The site has projected Saunders as a
fifth-round draft choice.
Saunders was one of Pleasant Grove’s top players when the
Eagles won the Sac-Joaquin Section championship in 2009.
Former EGHS Football/Basketball Star Dies
A key member of Elk Grove High School’s football and basketball teams of the late 90’s, Jeremy Callaway, died Jan. 3 at the age of 32. The cause of death isn’t known exactly but he was being treated for cancer of the colon.
In the Herd’s high-powered teams of 1997 and 1998, Callaway was a key slot receiver who scored 20 TD’s in 1998 and also played linebacker alongside Lance Briggs. He went on to play at Sacramento State.
On the basketball court he was one of Coach Todd Reiswig’s top defensive players.
Callaway lived in North Carolina and leaves behind a wife and a child.
Football Recruiting
Now In High Gear
It’s just inside of a month before we know exactly, but
there is a decent chance there will be a good number of Elk Grove-area high
school football players signing NCAA National Letters-of-Intent with a college
program.
