The Preps / Scott Howard-Cooper : Holieway Plans to Go to Oklahoma

Down the stretch they come . . .

A brief update of the high school football recruiting scene a day before national letters of intent can be signed:

Quarterback Jamelle Holieway, the City 4-A Player of the Year from Los Angeles Banning, will sign with Oklahoma.

One of Orange County’s biggest prospects, 6-foot 7, 275-pound Mike Beech of Newport Harbor, canceled a recent trip to SMU and then chose UCLA over USC.

All-American running back Aaron Emanuel, having canceled his visit to Arizona State over the weekend in the wake of Darryl Rogers’ resignation as the Sun Devils’ coach, is down to Nebraska, USC and Washington. But, he said, he most likely will not decide until after Wednesday, when most players will make their choices official.

UCLA will get Craig Davis (6-3, 205) of Canyon del Oro in Tucson, Ariz. He made 251 tackles last season and is rated as the top linebacker in the state and one of the top two players overall.

Talented wide receiver John Jackson from Bishop Amat, the Angelus League offensive player of the year and the son of the former USC assistant, said he will sign with the Trojans and also play baseball.

The Trojans also got commitments from Chuck Ebertin, 6-6, 255-pound offensive tackle from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, and running back Dwayne Garner of Oakland Skyline. Ebertin, who chose the Trojans over Ohio State, had a back problem that caused him to miss part of the 1984 season but he says now that he is fully recovered.

Speedy tailback Alan Grant of St. Francis and Lance Johnson of Chaffey said they will attend Stanford.

Two Colorado players, highly touted lineman Bill Paige (6-5, 260) from Wheat Ridge and tight end Brad Bryson (6-4, 220) of Bear Creek, said they will go to UCLA.

Rogers tried to withhold the news of his decision to leave Arizona State as long as possible so that potential recruits would not get any thoughts about an unstable coaching situation.

Nice try, but two Southern California players aren’t waiting around to see how it turns out and a third is taking a longer look elsewhere now.

Emanuel wouldn’t even take his final trip to Tempe over the weekend after hearing the news.

Kevin May (6-3, 275), an All-Southern Section lineman from Pomona had orally committed to Arizona State, but changed his mind last week and jumped to Arizona to join teammates Aaron Prisock, a tight end, and highly touted defensive lineman Reggie Gaddis.

Baldwin Park’s Michael Johnson, considered one of the top quarterbacks in California, left for a weekend visit to the University of Hawaii, unsure of his future.

“I think Arizona State is still his first choice, but Arizona is a very tight second,” Baldwin Park Coach Trifone Pagone said. “When all this happened, he became very confused and a bit concerned. In fact, he was very concerned.”

How much did Oklahoma want Holieway?

On Sunday, the final night of the final weekend of recruiting, Sooner Coach Barry Switzer was at Holieway’s house, making the final sales pitch to his parents. They were partial to Cal, but Holieway, who made his final trip over the weekend to New Mexico State, has been more than partial to Oklahoma for a long time.

Prep Notes Jim Walker will not return as football coach at St. Paul, but it’s tough to determine whether the decision was his or someone else’s. The Swordsmen failed to make the playoffs in each of Walker’s three years after 15 straight appearances under Marijon Ancich, who left to become an assistant at Northern Arizona. Ancich has since been at Cerritos College and Tustin High, but said Monday he has not been approached to return to St. Paul. One rumor has former St. Paul assistant Dick Ambrosi, who has not coached in five years since leaving Bishop Amat, as a possible replacement. . . . Senior Cedric Bailey, the only returning starter from last season’s Southern Section 1-A basketball championship team at L.A. Lutheran, was dismissed from the squad by school administrators for his involvement in a fight with Burbank High students in January. . . . The Shrine all-star football game, which was not played last year, is scheduled July 27 at East LA College.

Standout offensive tackle Roman Matusz of New Jersey picked Nebraska over UCLA Monday. . . . Reports are that All-State linebacker Keith Carter of South Miami, Fla., is still considering USC, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Florida State and Ohio State.