By Brad Blume

South Dakota School of Mines

RAPID CITY - The South Dakota School of Mines football program continues to tap its West Coast talent resources as the Hardrockers recently announced the signing of another Southern California standout.

The 2008 season saw freshman running back Jamie Dale and freshman quarterback Nick Russell, both of California, had a tremendous amount of success. The 2009 version looks to be just as promising with the signing of Dakota Savage to the Hardrocker football squad.

Savage is a 5-foot-9, 145- pound athlete from Julian, Calif., who can play a number of positions but is most productive as a running back and kick returner.

"Dakota is one talented young athlete," said Hardrocker football head coach Dan Kratzer. "He is a great fit for our school and has played several different positions and been successful at all of them. His statistics are outstanding and also note that he is a great special teams guy as well."

Savage was a member of the Julian High School Eagles for the past four years. During his senior year, he helped his team finish with a 7-4 record. Savage carried the ball 202 times in 2008 and racked up 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 7.5 yards a carry and tallied 137.9 yards per game.

As a receiver, Savage had two TD catches among his 12 receptions for 177 yards on the year.

Savage also played defensive back where he had five interceptions to his credit along with 23 tackles. He also punted a few times for the Eagles and even kicked some extra points.

As a junior, Savage earned first-team all-league honors as a cornerback, was the defensive player of the year in his team's division and received The Union Tribune Academic Award.

During his senior year, Savage took first-team all-league honors as a running back, received the team MVP award and was honored with the Union Tribune Academic Award.