High School Recruiting Roundup : Top 3 Prospects Let Letter of Intent Day Pass

San Diego’s top three football recruits didn’t sign letters of intent Wednesday, the first day high school athletes were able to do so, but they still received plenty of attention.

Vista running back Tommy Booker, Oceanside wide receiver-linebacker Junior Seau and Lincoln wide receiver Patrick Rowe still haven’t picked a college.

“Patrick is still sorting things out,” said Ed Rowe, his father. “So nothing’s new with him.”

The elder Rowe spent part of Wednesday trying to track down rumors regarding the top three prospects.

“I heard there was going to be a press conference where one of the main three kids were going to announce where they were going,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t my kid so I was trying to find out who it was.”

Rowe has narrowed his choices to UCLA, USC, San Diego State and Arizona State.

Booker, who is considering Washington, Arizona State and San Diego State, took the day to start getting his thoughts together.

“He’s confused right now,” Vista Coach Dick Haines said. “I told him to pull the phone out the wall. I heard about the press conference, too. But there’s not going to be any press conference here.”

Seau still has a visit planned for USC this weekend. It’s doubtful he will decided before then. Seau has already visited UCLA, Colorado, Stanford and Arizona State.

Rumor has it that Notre Dame made the biggest haul in this year’s football recruiting derby. No one knows for sure because the Fighting Irish have yet to release an official list of signings.

But assuming that the usually reliable verbal commitments from the players have been converted into signatures on a letter of intent, that would give Notre Dame, which landed 19 recruits last year and just 16 the year before, a jackpot of 30 for second-year Coach Lou Holtz. It would also seem to dispel the notion that Holtz can’t recruit, a tag he picked up while at Arkansas. Three of the biggest commitments came within the past two or three days--running back Tony Brooks from Tulsa, Okla., tight end Frank Jacobs from Newport, Ky., and defensive lineman George Williams from Willingboro, N.J.

Additionally, Jacobs’ decision Tuesday, and the announcement from Jeff Ellis of Louisville on Wednesday that he would attend Ohio State, gave UCLA a double-loss with highly touted Kentucky tight ends.

Elsewhere nationally, running back Randy Simmons of McKinney, Tex., picked Texas A&M; over Texas, giving the Aggies six running backs for the campaign. Like Simmons, Darren Carter of Dallas, was a Parade All-American and three others were ranked among the top 100 players in the state by the Houston Chronicle. That led the way for an overall improvement by the Southwest Conference in keeping the area stars home, compared to the recent probation-marred campaigns.

Oklahoma also fared well, two of its most recent additions being in-state running back Mike Gaddis and defensive lineman Tyrone Rodgers of Wilmington Banning. USC was in the hunt at the end for Gaddis before he decided Tuesday.

Recruiting Notes

Still uncommited: Running backs Leroy Thompson of Knoxville, Tenn., Anthony Ray of Wharton, Tex., and Leotis Flowers of Omaha, Neb., and quarterback Mickey Joseph of Marrero, La. . . . Michigan has recruited two other quarterbacks to go with Ken Sollom of Canyon Country Canyon, Eric Bush of Quincy, Ill., a top-100 prospect, and Wilbur Odom of San Antonio. . . . Bart Hull, the youngest son of former hockey star Bobby Hull signed with Boise State. . . . Meet Emmitt Smith, running back and practical joker. The Pensacola, Fla., All-American, who set national records for career touchdowns (109) and 100-yard games (45) and is third on the all-time yardage list (8,804), announced at a press conference that he would attend Florida--but was wearing Nebraska colors at the time. “I knew if I made my decision to go to the University of Florida you all were going to expect me to come in orange and blue,” Smith told reporters. “I fooled you, though. I wore red and white just to keep everybody off balance.” Don’t expect many people to be laughing in Lincoln, Neb. . . . Running back Leonard Russell from Long Beach Poly, one of the most highly touted players in the country at the start of the season, signed with Arizona State, as expected.

In women’s sports, Megan McCallister of Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, the girls’ volleyball national player of the year according to Volleyball Monthly, signed Wednesday night with USC, picking the Trojans over UCLA and Stanford. Four of her teammates from the No. 1 team in the nation for much of the year have also announced plans for college, with Holly McPeak and Lisa Arce picking California, Karrie Trieschman going to Hawaii and Heather Bova to Brigham Young. McPeak, Arce and Trieschman are All-Americans. Pepperdine landed one of the top prospects in the country, All-American Barbara Blizzard from Oak Lawn, Ill. She played for H.L. Richards High, picked as the national champion by Volleyball Monthly.

WHERE SAN DIEGO’S TOP HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS ARE GOING

Name High School Height Weight Position John Ashworth Poway 5-11 170 K Terry Anderson Madison 5-11 185 DB Jon Beck La Jolla 6-5 225 DL Dane Block San Pasqual 5-11 175 LB Todd Brose San Pasqual 5-11 160 QB Tim Burton El Cajon 6-5 230 NG Harlan Carroll Poway 5-11 165 DB Scott Carson Torrey Pines 6-1 175 LB Duffy Daugherty Orange Glen 6-3 225 QB Tony Evenson St. Augustine 5-11 175 WR Charles Fishero Morse 6-6 260 DL Larry Galleigo USDHS 6-0 180 LB Marcus Hopkins Lincoln 6-0 180 RB George Jackson Morse 6-0 185 RB Troy Juergens Serra 6-3 215 LB Kevin Key Lincoln 5-11 210 RB Dan Leoncini Valhalla 6-0 200 LB Derek Lobbins Helix 5-10 175 DB Paul MacRenato University City 6-0 200 LB Lawrence Misa Lincoln 6-5 285 DL Anthony Mitchell Vista 6-7 295 T Keith Mitchell Lincoln 5-10 185 QB John Okken Christian 6-2 185 QB Charles Patterson Lincoln 5-10 180 DB Ivory Randle Crawford 6-1 180 DB Jim Souza Mira Mesa 6-1 225 G Tony Trousett Vista 6-3 190 DB Tom Vardell Granite Hills 6-2 205 RB Mike Vivoli Patrick Henry 6-4 240 T James Wilson USDHS 6-4 185 RB

Name College Choice John Ashworth New Mexico Terry Anderson Texas El Paso Jon Beck California Dane Block Air Force Todd Brose Pacific Tim Burton Northern Arizona Harlan Carroll Colorado State Scott Carson Navy Duffy Daugherty New Mexico Tony Evenson Santa Clara Charles Fishero Colorado Larry Galleigo Santa Clara Marcus Hopkins USC George Jackson Eastern Illinois Troy Juergens Weber State Kevin Key Weber State Dan Leoncini Weber State Derek Lobbins Air Force Paul MacRenato Colorado State Lawrence Misa Army Anthony Mitchell Oklahoma Keith Mitchell Arizona John Okken Oregon Charles Patterson Utah Ivory Randle Washington Jim Souza Harvard Tony Trousett Stanford Tom Vardell Stanford Mike Vivoli Utah State James Wilson USC

Times staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper contributed to this story.