It's a good day to be a football player from North Whatcom County, and a proud day to be a football coach or football parent from the area.

No fewer than five county high school seniors signed their national letters of intent to play college football when the signing period opened on Wednesday, Feb. 1 - two of them became the first from their respective schools to sign a full football scholarship offer from an NCAA Division I program.

That honor went to Nooksack Valley offensive lineman B.J. Salmonson, who signed to play for Washington State University, and Blaine tight end Andrew Price, who made his intentions to attend the University of Nevada Las Vegas official.

Not to be outdone, three other seniors signed their letters to play for Division II schools - Nooksack Valley quarterback Trevon Myhre with Central Washington, Blaine offensive lineman Jesse Antczak with Minot State and Meridian offensive lineman Brett Gunderson with Simon Fraser University.

"I think it's pretty exciting to see this many guys moving on," Antczak said. "A bunch of us have been playing against each other since we were in middle school, and it's neat to see how hard work and dedication can help you get to this point."

To help celebrate those accomplishments, Blaine and Nooksack Valley held signing parties for Antczak, Price, Salmonson and Myhre and their families and coaches, complete with T-shirts and caps for their new schools.

In the case of Myhre, family and coach are one and the same, as his father, Robb, is the head coach at Nooksack Valley.

"I think that's helped a whole lot, having my dad be a football coach and basically being brought up with a football in my hand," Myhre said. "There are a lot of benefits to being the coach's son. He's a great coach and a great dad, but I've had a lot of great coaches along the way that have definitely helped me get to this point. Coach (T.J.) Ackerman and coach (Britt) Lentz, and all those guys have taught me so much and helped prepare me for this."

Chances are all five players have plenty of coaches to thank for helping them get to the point where they could sign for a college football scholarship.

"It feels pretty special to be the first (to sign a Division I scholarship offer from Blaine)," Price said. "You always want to be the first to do something, and that is great. But a lot of credit for that has to go to my coaches and my parents for helping me reach this point. I think there are a lot of other great players coming up through Blaine that are going to get their opportunity. You look at a guy like James Fakkema, who already is so big and so strong as a junior that he's getting some interest. I think there are going to be a whole lot of Borderites going Division I and going to other colleges really soon."

Price said he made his decision to go to UNLV over five or six other schools, including offers from Idaho and Washington State, because he liked the close-knit feel of the Las Vegas campus.

"I really liked what I heard from the coaches and the direction the program is going," Price said. "It sounds like they're bringing in some pretty good athletes, and I think it's going to be pretty exciting."

Price said he also is excited that UNLV offers Kinesiology as a major.

The Rebels, meanwhile, are interested in the versatility and athleticism that the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Price can bring them as either a tight end or a receiver out of the slot. Price led the run-oriented Borderites with 23 catches for 436 yards and five touchdowns as a senior and also played a role blocking for running back Mario Gobbato, who rushed for 2,669 yards and 38 touchdowns.

"Andrew Price is a big, smooth athlete that I had a chance to watch play basketball in December," UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said in a press release. "His football video was good, but when I watched him run up and down the court and saw how soft his hands were and how easily he changed direction, I knew we really had something."

The same could be said of Salmonson, who announced his decision to join the Cougars last summer but could not make it official until Wednesday. He said WSU was the only school he seriously considered signing with, and he plans to major in Sports Movement or Sports Management.

Like Price, Salmonson said he was happy to be the first Division I scholarship recipient in his school's history.

"Hopefully, I'm just the first," Salmonson said. "It would be great to see other guys be able to do it in the future."

Salmonson actually didn't make his visit to Pullman until last weekend, giving him a chance to meet with new coach Mike Leach.

"I'm glad I got the opportunity to talk to him," Salmonson said. "I like his personality and what it sounds like he expects out of his players. ... He expects big things for that program. I think he's got the program pointed in the right direction, and I'd like to be a part of that."

At 6-5, 285 pounds, Salmonson's definitely going to be a big part of that, though he said he expects to gray shirt, meaning he may not enroll as a fulltime student at WSU during the fall semester of 2012. He was a starter for the Pioneers the last three years and a big part of Nooksack piling up 3,535 yards and tying for the Northwest Conference 1A title last fall. He also finished with 78 tackles, including 161/2 for loss and 91/2 sacks.

"He's got good feet," Leach said in press conference announcing the Cougars' signings. "Like with a lot of our offensive linemen we got, he's got experience on the defensive line. That means they've got quick feet and embrace contact and the competition we are looking to transfer to the offensive line."

If anybody understands what a dominating lineman Salmonson is, it would be the man that had his blindside protected by No. 76 last fall - Myhre.

"I've known that this day was going to come for B.J. since he was 215 pounds as a sixth grader," Myhre said. "I'm really happy for him."

Myhre was also excited to share some of Salmonson's spotlight by signing with Central, a school he said he chose over offers from Simon Fraser and the School of Mines and Technology in South Dakota. He said he also got looks from Eastern Washington and Portland State earlier in the year.

"It was a nice location (Ellensburg) and a really good school," Myhre said. "I liked that it was far away, but not too far away. I like that I'm going to have to live on my own, but I won't be too far from home, either."

Myhre said the Wildcats were expected to sign two other quarterbacks this year, and he looks forward to competing for playing time.

He certainly proved he has the skills to compete, as he passed for 2,162 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 713 yards and 14 TDs in his first full year as a starter under center.

Like Myhre, Antczak also was drawn to Minot State by the location of the campus, though he said he hasn't yet visited Minot, N.D.

"From what I saw from the pictures online, it kind of reminded me of Bellingham," Antczak said. "It's kind of a small, close-knit community. ... It's simple surroundings, and I like that. The community really seems to get behind the sports teams there."

Antczak also liked what he saw out of the Beavers, though last year was a struggle during the school's first year at the Division II level after many successful years playing NAIA.

"It's a work in progress," Antczak said. "They're trying to get bigger. They've got some strong guys, but it sounds like they're recruiting a lot of big, strong guys this year - some guys even bigger than me."

That's saying something, considering Antczak weighs in at 6-4, 300 pounds. He was the anchor of Blaine's offensive line that nearly led Gobbato to the state's single-season rushing record.

Like Antczak, Gunderson was a huge, physical presence on Meridian's line, helping lead the way for the Trojans to gain 4,587 yards of total offense and reach the Class 1A state playoffs.

Gunderson said he had not sent his Letter of Intent in by fax to Simon Fraser on Wednesday, but planned to on Thursday, Feb. 2.

"I'm really excited," he said in a phone interview. "I'm looking forward to bettering myself and continuing to play the sport that I love."

Gunderson said he visited the Burnaby, B.C., campus twice and was impressed with the coaching staff and players that he met and the prospects for the program, which also is in its Division II infancy.

A pair of Bellingham defenders just completed their first season with the Clan in defensive lineman Dakota Sam-Sanchez and linebacker Keenan North.

"It's great to see so many guys moving on from here," Gunderson said. "I think it's the small-town environment. Everyone works harder in a community like this - it's more close-knit."

Whatever the reason, it definitely seemed to be working for northern Whatcom County football players on Wednesday.

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2271.

MOVING ON

Here is a look at the Whatcom County high school seniors who either have signed or are planning to sign national letters of intent or have made commitments to be student athletes in college:

NOTE: To report a Whatcom County high school student athlete that is planning to continue their playing career in college, please contact David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2271.