Orange County All-Star Football Game : As South Center, Tullar Hopes to Fill In Fine

Choosing 35 players for an all-star football game is often difficult and is sometimes a bit of a gamble, but the pieces all seemed to fit quite nicely for South Coach Bob Johnson and his staff at El Toro High School.

Johnson didn’t have to look any farther than his own household to get a quarterback for the South team that will play in the 29th Orange County All-Star game Friday night in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

Bret Johnson, a two-time Times back of the year and Johnson’s oldest son, was the easy choice for quarterback. Running backs? Kaleaph Carter of Edison and Robert Lee of Santa Ana were automatic picks.

Johnson needed only to check USC’s recruiting list to find three quality linebackers--David Webb of Irvine, Jeff Pease of Mission Viejo and George Tuioti of Santa Ana.

One of the big question marks, however, was the team’s center. Johnson selected Todd Katovisich of Corona del Mar and Dave Tullar of Newport Harbor, hoping that one of the two would emerge as the starter.

Katovisich came into the camp with impressive credentials, having been named the Sea View League’s defensive player of the year. But Katovisich informed Johnson that he preferred to play defense in the all-star game.

Tullar had been a three-year starter at Newport Harbor, but he hadn’t played center since his sophomore season. He moved to guard as a junior and then to tackle as a senior.

But after 10 days of practice, Tullar has been the biggest surprise in the South camp. El Toro assistant Marty Spalding, the offensive line coach, has been impressed with Tullar’s work ethic and leadership qualities.

“He’s been a dream come true,” Spalding said. “We honestly didn’t know who our center was going to be, and now we couldn’t have a better candidate than Dave. The center plays an integral role in initiating our line calls, and Dave has recognized what we want from Day 1.”

Tullar, who is 6-feet 1-inch tall and weighs 220 pounds, said playing three positions has helped him develop into a good center. He began rotating as a guard and center for Coach Mike Giddings during his sophomore season and then started solely as a guard during his junior year.

Last fall, Tullar played offensive and defensive tackle for Newport Harbor, leading the Sailors to a wild-card berth in the Central Conference playoffs. The move back to center for the all-star game has Tullar excited.

“It’s an honor to be in front of a great quarterback like Bret,” Tullar said. “I snapped for Shane Foley as a sophomore, and I thought he was great, but Bret is something else. The first time I snapped the ball to him, I knew he was a winner. He takes total control.”

Tullar’s forte is pass blocking. He gets his hands out quickly, plants his feet firmly and extends his arms under an opponent’s shoulder pads. Tullar’s intelligence on the field allows him to read opposing defenses and call “checks,” or audibles, for his teammates on the offensive line.

Tullar constantly moves his head from side to side after snapping the ball, looking to see if a guard or tackle needs additional help with his blocking assignment.

Tullar plans to continue playing football at Humboldt State in Arcata, Calif., in the fall. Humboldt, a Division II school, is located five miles north of Eureka, but it might as well be a million miles away from the fast-lane life style of Newport Beach.

“That’s fine with me,” Tullar said. “I visited the school in April and liked everything about it. Plenty of trees and fresh air. There’s too many people and too much smog around here. It’s time to get away for a while.”

It’s easy to understand Tullar’s disdain for the smog. He suffered a bad respiratory infection as a senior that cut short his wrestling season. Tullar finished third in the Southern Section’s heavyweight class as a junior, but he failed to repeat when he developed a lasting cough.

“I couldn’t take a deep breath for five months,” he said. “I went to my personal doctor, team doctor and then a specialist. Nothing seemed to help. It was terrible.”

Tullar enters Friday night’s game with a simple prediction.

“Whichever team does the best job on the offensive line will win the game,” he said. “Our job is to protect Bret, and if we do, I think we’ll do pretty well. I only allowed one sack in three years at Newport Harbor, so I think I can do the job.”

All-Star Notes

George Tuioti, Santa Ana linebacker, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange on Monday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, suffered last week during practice in the South camp. Tuioti is expected to be on crutches for several weeks and will then began rehabilitation. He has signed a national letter of intent with USC. . . . Derrick Odum, Woodbridge defensive back, has been added to the South team that will compete in the 37th Shrine All-Star game scheduled for July 23 in the Rose Bowl. Odum is also playing in Friday night’s game for the South team.