Here’s what four Modesto prep football players did to land a spot at four-year school

Big Valley Christian senior football players Zachary Aloisio, Brandon Carothers, Spencer Cox, and Marcus Lema found a way to get college offers using one major tool.

Twitter.

“Let’s just say there was a bunch of zoom calls with coaches to learn about their team and university,” Cox said. “Recruiting also involved practically DM’ing every college coach in America on Twitter just hoping to get a response. I went to a couple showcases but honestly from what I have learned recruiting is almost all done through Twitter and especially in this weird year.”

With the CIF football season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the group attended showcase events where they participated in individual drills to get extra film and send to potential coaches.

Aloisio said Twitter became the “hotspot” for recruiting and he trusted the process with the hopes of getting a college scholarship.

On Wednesday, the group all signed with Arizona Christian University on Big Valley’s football field in front of family, friends, and classmates.

“I knew Arizona Christian was a great school and the school I thought was the right place for me but it became a no-brainer once I found out that Zach committed and then myself and Marcus decided to commit together as well,” Cox said. “Then the next day my buddy Brandon committed to which was a nice bonus.”

All four also said the newer facilities (football field, in particular), location, and coaching staff played big parts in their decisions.

Big Valley Christian football coach Brian Berkefeld played a significant role in their recruiting process, especially since all four transferred (Carothers, Cox and Lema from Modesto Christian and Aloisio from Oakdale) before their junior years and had to sit it out the first five games in 2019.

“We sat down (coaching staff) with them and talked about their dreams and the recruiting process,” Berkefeld said. “If you are a top recruit, it’s easy for schools to find you but if you come from a small school, you have to work on your own to find the right camps to go to. We created strategies for them.”

Carothers said after going through his recruiting process, he was thinking of creating a guide for future recruits to help them.

For the Carothers, Cox, and Lema, playing at Arizona Christian together will be nothing new.

They’ve played over 100 games together dating back to their Modesto Kingsmen days in second grade.

“Honestly being able to go to college with three of my best friends is amazing,” Cox said. “It is extremely special because two of the three guys I have been playing football with since I was seven.”

Carothers said he still has memories of playing in a Super Bowl when he was younger, including one not so good story of Cox.

“He got food poisoning and had to miss the game,” Carothers said. “I was so mad.”

------

2020-21 Stanislaus District Signees

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 6:38 AM.

Julian A. Lopez

The Modesto Bee

562-206-9393

Julian A. Lopez has been covering local sports for The Modesto Bee since August 2018. He graduated from Arizona State in 2016 with a BA in Journalism.