Pacheco’s Ginda signs with San Jose State

Pacheco High senior Frank Ginda made his college choice official on Wednesday, signing his papers to play football for San Jose State.

After completing his high school requirements online in the coming weeks for early graduation, Ginda is scheduled to begin classes at SJSU on Jan. 23. He said he plans to return for prom and to walk at graduation with his classmates. The classes, English and government, are a requirement of Los Banos Unified School District, not the NCAA or SJSU.

“The SJSU coaches told me that they really wanted me to graduate early so I could get a jump-start and be able to play spring ball before others can,” Ginda said, “and it will give me an opportunity to see the field as a freshman.”

Ginda, playing middle linebacker and running back, was instrumental in Pacheco’s third consecutive run to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs this fall, even though the Panthers exited in the first round for the third year in a row. He recorded 93 tackles (nine for a loss) and an interception this year. He also ran the ball 42 times for 462 yards and four touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 383 yards and five more TDs.

Ginda is one of three players signing early with San Jose State – the others are quarterbacks Kenny Potter from Long Beach City College and Seth Collins from Granite Hills-El Cajon.

“On the defensive side, Frank Ginda is an outstanding linebacker prospect that we were recruiting for quite some time,” San Jose State coach Ron Carragher said in a university press release.

Ginda has been an early starter throughout his high school career, playing junior varsity ball as a freshman and stepping into a backup role on varsity as a sophomore. As a junior, Ginda was set to split starting running back duties with Kalama Kamoku, but when Kamoku injured his knee during the summer, the job fell to Ginda. He responded by becoming the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher, carrying 129 times for 1,116 yards while compiling 80 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions on defense.

“I feel like since I’m going to be more focused on linebacker that I’m going to be way more physical,” Ginda said, “and I’ll be better at my craft and able to get after it a little bit more than in high school.”

Ginda is the first Pacheco football player to sign with an NCAA Division I school, and is the second athlete from the school after Gia Rodoni signed her national letter of intent earlier this fall to play softball for Baylor.

This story was originally published December 17, 2014 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Pacheco’s Ginda signs with San Jose State."