The Preps / Scott Howard-Cooper : Bonds Will Attend UCLA, Play Football, Baseball

Think it never snows in Westwood? You should see the snowball that has rolled through UCLA the past couple of days, one that could gain more size in the next 24 or 48 hours. It looks a lot like the one from a year ago.

This season, as last, the Bruins have jumped out to a sizeable lead in the recruiting battles, especially against USC. A big surge Monday showed that. So this is how Terry Donahue welcomes his good friend Larry Smith to town?

Quarterback Jim Bonds of Newhall Hart, the No. 1 quarterback prospect in California, announced a commitment to UCLA, as did linemen Brian Kelly of South Torrance and Tom Lasalette and wide receiver Paul Richardson of L.A. University. Bonds was on the phone with Sean Howard Monday night, and before long, the Encino Crespi linebacker had also decided to become a Bruin, although holding off on an official announcement so he can meet with Washington coaches this morning and give them the bad news himself.

The Huskies, however, are in good shape, in recruiting in Southern California. They received a commitment from lineman Terrance Powe of Wilmington Banning, this after already getting the nod from defensive back Eugene Burkhalter of Long Beach Poly and linebacker Corey Brown of Inglewood Morningside. Last year, they pulled one of the top players out of the area last year in defensive lineman Dennis Brown of Long Beach Jordan.

In Kelly, Howard and Bonds, UCLA has three of the top prospects in the state at any position, and Richardson was the City 2-A co-player of the year and Lasalette an All-Eastern Conference selection. Bonds was sold after reaching a compromise with Donahue to also be able to play baseball, something the Northwestern Conference player of the year said last week had been ruled out.

There also must have been something in the Arizona air. Bonds made his decision after returning from a visit to Tucson and Lasalette and Kelly after coming back from Arizona State.

Smith, the new USC coach, did land a couple verbal commitments heading into next Wednesday’s signing day. Tailback Scott Lockwood from Boulder, Colo., the top prospect in that state, disclosed late Monday night that he would be a Trojan, as did All-City defensive lineman Alan Wilson of 4-A champion Carson. Lockwood’s father, John, played at USC in 1964 and ’65 and is the former head coach at Burbank and Pasadena Blair.

UCLA also has a very good shot at signing Matt Darby of Virginia Beach, Va., rated as the No. 2 prospect in the country by the National High School Football Recruiting Service, a USA Today and Parade All-American and one of the nation’s top prep triple jumpers.

Darby, 6-2 and 187 pounds, played linebacker at Green Run High and is projected as a defensive back in college, has also visited Tennessee, North Carolina and, this weekend, Virginia. In the end, it could come down to a decision between staying in the home state or returning to California, since he was born in San Diego and has relatives there. The UCLA trip was his first time in Southern California since he was 2.

“A lot of people want me to stay home so they can watch me play,” Darby said. “But I’ll see how I feel at Virginia, whether I feel more comfortable there than UCLA. Basically, all the schools are the same academically.

“I liked the atmosphere and the place (Los Angeles) in general. I got a real good feeling when I was there.”

His coach, Tom Rhoades, compares Darby to another former student, Kenny Easley, who starred for UCLA before going to the NFL.

Recruiting notebook: Quarterback Ken Sollom of Canyon Country Canyon, the Coastal Conference co-player of the year, returned from Purdue and announced he will sign with Michigan, canceling his planned USC visit for this Friday. “On my plane ride home from Purdue, I thought about it a lot,” he told The Times’ Steve Henson. “Michigan is the best operation and program I saw.”. . . . Linebacker/fullback Erick Anderson of Glenview, Ill., who had visited UCLA, also gave Michigan a commitment. . . . Banning defensive back Marvin Pollard, who was at USC this weekend, goes to Arizona State Feb. 6 and then figures to decide between the two.

Tight end Frank Jacobs of Newport, Ky., one of the top prospects from that state, left Monday after his UCLA trip. He has already been to Notre Dame, Kentucky and Boston College and makes his final visit next weekend to Penn State. Boston College has already been dropped from consideration . . . The Bruins also hosted receiver Patrick Rowe of San Diego Lincoln.

Four players from the Pasadena Muir team that went undefeated and won the Coastal Conference championship were at Hawaii--running back Ricky Ervins, quarterback Vince Phillips, defensive back Marcus Robertson and linebacker Tony Crutchfield. “If we don’t play on the same team in college, we might as well take a trip together,” Ervins said. But two of them, at least, could end up together. Phillips, the Coastal co-player of the year, and Ervins are both looking at USC.

Prep Notes The Los Angeles chapter of the National Football Foundation banquet, honoring 17 area players with a grade-point average of 3.24 or better, will be held Feb. 5 at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Dan Devine will be the speaker, and Jayne Kennedy will present the awards. For more information: (213) 472-0928. . . . Kendell McDaniels, who quit the Chatsworth basketball team last Friday and said he would transfer to Granada Hills Kennedy, where he played last season, said Monday that he will instead remain at Chatsworth. McDaniels, who is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds a game, said he made the original announcement because he thought his family was moving. Said Chatsworth Coach Gary Shair: “I’ll take him back. I think he’s a great kid and he’s got no problems with me.”