Yelm’s Jacob Dimond, who is headed to Idaho State, highlights Thurston County football signings

Jacob Dimond had an overriding goal for his Yelm High School football team going into the 2018 season — improve on the Tornados’ one-and-done playoff result from the season before.

He’s had another goal since the age of 10 — to play football at the NCAA Division I level.

Yelm played its way to the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinals to cap Dimond’s senior season. On Wednesday afternoon, he also reached his personal goal, signing his National Letter of Intent to play for Idaho State, which competes in the Big Sky Conference.

“We pretty much did everything we wanted to do. We went on a longer run than any team in Tornado history has made,” Dimond said.

Dimond came close to missing out on a Division I future. He was verbally committed to Division II Simon Fraser University until the Bengals came calling late with a scholarship offer.

“Idaho State called me last week,” Dimond said. “They said, ‘Hey, we really like your film, we’d like to offer you a scholarship, so let’s get you on campus.’

“I went on a visit last week. Everything went great. They’ve got the multi-platform journalism major I wanted.”

Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo points to the intangibles as a big reason Idaho State wants Dimond, the 3A South Sound Conference lineman of the year, to play either offensive tackle or guard.

“God’s gift is what he has at 6-foot-7, 295 pounds — and he’s all of that,” Ronquillo said. “The first thing college coaches do when they come in the office is take a picture so they can show the other coaches on their staff.

“Then, they want to know what he has to go with the size. Jacob’s a captain for us. He’s done everything we’ve ever asked him to do during the offseason. He’s always the hardest worker in the weight room. He’s done everything he needed to do to get to where he is today.”

Meanwhile, two of Dimond’s teammates at Yelm committed to being opponents in the Division III Northwest Conference next season. In fact, Kyle Robinson and Kodee Gifford — as potent a passer-to-receiver combination Thurston County has had in recent years — may find themselves matched up in games next season.

Robinson, a two-time Olympian All-Area seclection at quarterback, who passed for 2,288 yards as a senior and scored 26 total touchdowns, will compete for the quarterback spot for Pacific Lutheran University, though Lutes coaches have talked to him about playing defensive back.

Gifford, an All-Area pick as a senior, who caught 64 passes for 1,160 yards and 11 touchdowns, will likely step right onto the field as a wideout at Linfield College.

“It’s the right fit for me,” Robinson said of PLU. “My whole family went there, my dad went there, my uncle Travis played football for PLU.”

Robinson sees defense as a quicker route to playing time.

“They have four upperclassmen coming back at quarterback, and a couple others coming in with me, so I can see the field quicker at safety or on special teams,” Robinson said. “I enjoy defense. I started at safety my sophomore year. This year in the playoffs, I played quite a bit of defense in third down situations.”

Gifford was drawn to Linfield’s business major and a chance to play his chosen position.

“The coaches have told me I have a great chance to play right away at wide receiver,” he said.

Twelve miles down the road in Lacey, five Timberline players committed to football programs, led by versatile two-sport star Hunter Campau and hard-hitting linebacker Jamin Fa’alogo, who will be teammates at Central Washington University. Fa’alogo will join the Wildcats on scholarship, while Campau is a preferred walk-on.

“It felt like home,” said Fa’alogo, at two-time Olympian All-Area selection who was a one-man wrecking crew on defense for the Blazers with 132 tackles, 19 for losses, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“I felt super welcomed into their brotherhood — the players and the coaches. I’ve got friends who already go there, too.”

Fa’alogo committed to the Wildcats before Campau, who was The Olympian’s All-Area player of the year after passing for 1,487 yards and rushing for 1,381 as a quarterback.

“When he told me he was going there I was super happy for him, and stoked that we’ll get to keep playing together,” Fa’alogo said.

The 5-foot-8 Campau, who likes that Ellensburg is relatively close to home and that CWU often reaches the Division II playoffs, is expected to change positions when he arrives on campus, giving up signal-calling duties for a slot receiver role. He relishes the challenge.

“It’ll be a hard transition, but it’s something I’m looking forward to,” Campau said. “I feel like I’m best with the ball in my hands and playing slot gives me a chance to do that.”

Blazers coach Nick Mullen thinks both will have a chance to excel.

“Jamin’s the nicest guy you’ll meet off the field,” he said. “On it, he’s a beast. He plays football the way it’s meant to be played. Hunter deserves a chance. So many coaches go by (physical) specs, but he’s special with the ball in his hands.”

Two other Blazers, Drew Ahlf and Justin Kuhn, will join Robinson at PLU. And Timberline’s J.J. Graham will play at Butte College in California — the junior college that developed Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

This story was originally published February 6, 2019 at 5:01 PM.