It didn’t take long for the coaches at West Hills College in Coalinga, Ca. to take a major interest in former Mitchell quarterback Tate Humphrey.

Once Falcons’ head coach Cal Tincher, defensive coordinator Shane Keck and offensive coordinator Steve Wright caught a glimpse of Humphrey’s highlight video on YouTube, it had to happen.

“We were able to get online and find film on him. We were all real interested when we went ahead and saw his highlight film,” Tincher said. “We’re extremely excited about it. The thing is, we’ve been looking at a lot of different quarterbacks, but the thing we were looking for is a quick release guy and that’s what Tate can offer. So when we saw that tape, automatically, especially our offensive coordinator, said, If we can get this guy, that would be huge for us.”

The coaches from the California junior college made Humphrey and offer and Humphrey accepted, despite the verbal commitment he gave to Division II Wayne State College in Nebraska.

“I think it was a pretty good switch because at the quarterback position, they don’t have any quarterbacks coming back,’ Humphrey said. “It’s a better situation with the money. I would have had to pay more money and they have dorms on campus. It’s just better all the way around. It’s a junior college, too, so I can transfer in a couple of years.”

According to Humphrey he will be joined by his cousin, Tarpon Springs running back Calvin Wood and possibly by Gulf running back David Williams, who racked up 2,092 yards and 25 touchdowns, second to Ridgewood’s Byronell Arline’s record 2,188 yards and 35 scores.

Humphrey, who played linebacker and defensive end as a freshman, began his career as a quarterback shortly into his sophomore season. As a senior, Humphrey completed 93 of 154 passes for 1,401 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also rushed for 751 yards and 14 scores.

Humphrey said he wants to transfer to a Florida university once his days in California are done.

“It’s been pretty much a roller coaster because at first, no school was interested in talking to me … but I passed my ACT and schools started talking to me,” Humphrey said. “But it has pretty much been a roller coaster.”