Recruiting: Tea Signs With Cowboys

STILLWATER (www.okstate.com) — Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy has announced the signing of defensive tackle Tonga “Junior” Tea (pronounced TEE-uh) to a national letter of intent. Tea, a first-team All-America selection from Snow Junior College, is expected to join the Cowboys in January and participate in spring drills with OSU.

“He’ll be a great addition for us and will give us some strength and maturity on the interior of our defense,” said Gundy. “We’re very excited about his attitude and the excitement he has about the game of football. By coming in and participating in spring practice, he’ll be a big addition.”

Tea was named a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American and Rivals ranked him as one of the top 30 two-year players in the country, regardless of position. Scout’s JCFootball.com considers Tea as the nation’s best junior college defensive tackle and a top-10 overall prospect.

The 6-0, 310-pound native of Anchorage, Alaska, played just one season of high school football at East Anchorage High School, but still earned all-state honors. He redshirted his first year at Snow.

As a sophomore, Tea was credited with 24 tackles, including nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, 3.5 quarterback sacks and he forced a fumble. He was twice named as the Badgers’ defensive player of the week despite facing constant double teams.

Snow finished the season ranked No. 2 in the junior college poll, and the Snow defense was among the top 15 units in the country each of the last two seasons. The Badgers allowed just 211 yards per game in 2006.