Bothell High football players commit to play university ball

Cougars sign national letters of intent.

By Andy Nystrom • February 5, 2020 9:30 am
Bothell High head football coach Tom Bainter speaks about his Cougar players, from left to right: Chris Bailey, Trent Suckut, Christian Galvan, Tala Tevaga and Jordyn Turner. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo
Bothell High head football coach Tom Bainter speaks about his Cougar players, from left to right: Chris Bailey, Trent Suckut, Christian Galvan, Tala Tevaga and Jordyn Turner. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo

Bothell High’s Christian Galvan, Jordyn Turner, Trent Suckut, Tala Tevaga and Chris Bailey signed their national letters of intent to play football on the university level at a morning gathering on Feb. 5 at the school.

Galvan (5-8, 183, RB/DB) will play for the University of Washington; Turner (6-5, 189, WR/DB) will play for Weber State University (Ogden, Utah); Suckut (6-0, 217, OL/DL) will play for Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell, South Dakota); Tevaga (5-9, 203, RB/LB) will play for Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada); and Bailey (5-11, 204, OL/DL) will play for Pacific Lutheran University.

Galvan was an Associated Press all-state honorable mention at running back.

In 4A KingCo Crown action, Galvan was the offense co-most valuable player and was a first-team offense selection, Turner was a first-team offense selection at wide receiver, Suckut was a second-team offense selection and Tevaga was an honorable mention.

The players led Bothell to the 4A state final, where they lost to Camas, 35-14. The Cougars won the 4A KingCo championship over Eastlake, 47-24, and finished 11-3 overall.

Bothell athletic director Yonni Mills introduced the players and noted, “Way to go after your dreams, way to work hard.”

The Reporter asked each signee what is the most important thing they learned from playing for the Cougars that they can carry on in their lives:

Suckut: Always put the team first before yourself. Do anything for your brothers. It’s harder to let them down than it is to let yourself down. Do anything for them, because you know they’ll do it for you.

Bailey: I play on the O-line, but I’m not the biggest person. If you try hard enough with anything, then you can succeed, even if you have odds that are against you.

Galvan: Put others before yourself. The whole Bothell program prides itself on family and what can you do for others? How can you make others’ lives better? Just taking that to the next level. Of course, I’ve learned things like competition and play with passion and total all-out effort on the field, but when it comes down at the end of the day, it’s more than football. Being a good person and having good character and caring about others before yourself.

Turner: Brotherhood and camaraderie. The next period of my life is gonna be a dream come true.

Tevaga: I think the one thing is effort. Whether it’s in the classroom or on the field, you always gotta give 100 percent effort and that’s pretty much the name of the game. If you can give all the effort that you can give, you’ll be successful.