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Ferguson follows Akey to Idaho

Redlands (Calif.) East Valley High School defensive end Andre Ferguson has signed with the University of Idaho.
The young lineman spurned interest from the likes of Washington State, CSU, Kansas, SDSU, UNLV, Utah, UTEP, Wyoming and Arizona State, to which he originally verbally committed before the firing of ASU head coach Dirk Koetter.
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"The new coach at Idaho (former Washington State defensive coordinator Robb Akey) was recruiting me for the Cougars, so when he got the job at Idaho, he called me up and asked me if I would be willing to follow him there," he said. "So I thought about it and took a visit and signed with them."
Ferguson believes that although Idaho is small, it is where he belongs.
"I like the integrity level of the coaching staff," he said. "I also like the town; there's a lot of things to do there."
SDSU and UNLV were second and third, respectively, for the young defensive player.
"I really liked UNLV and SDSU a lot," he said. "But when it came down to it, I just felt more comfortable at Idaho."
The number-one reason Ferguson chose Idaho was coaching stability.
"Coach Akey promised that he would stay there my entire career," he said. "That was important because I don't want to have to change everything in the middle of my time in school."
After visiting Idaho two weeks ago, Ferguson came away with a very good feeling.
"The town was cool," he said. "And the players on the team were really cool — my hosts were fantastic."
The Californian also believes that Idaho is the right school for him academically.
"I want to major in sociology," he said. "Academically, they have what I need to succeed."
Standing 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Ferguson knows that he needs to get bigger and better.
"I need to get stronger," he said. "But I think I'll get better and have a chance to play as a freshman."
With all of the large schools recruiting Ferguson, this was quite a coup for the small school. But Idaho's excitement about Ferguson is mutual.
"I can't wait," he said. "I'm going to start in summer school so I can get going."
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