SDSU Notebook : Stolz Says Wagner Won’t Be Released If He Transfers

Darrin Wagner, a freshman tailback who quit the San Diego State football team 2 weeks ago, will not be released from his letter of intent, Coach Denny Stolz said Thursday.

This means that if Wagner transfers, he would not be able to receive an athletic scholarship for a year. He would be eligible for other need-based financial aid.

Wagner’s father, Norman, said the decision not to release his son would not change Darrin’s intention to transfer.

Stolz said Wagner, The Times’ 1987 San Diego County high school back of the year at Lincoln, had a responsibility to honor his commitment to SDSU.

Al Luginbill, who will replace Stolz as the school’s football coach Wednesday, said he will meet with the Wagners Monday.

Stolz also said Marc Jones has accepted a scholarship offer. Jones is a running back/defensive back from Vista who lost a scholarship to Colorado after he pleaded guilty in August to mayhem in the beating and partial blinding of a Fallbrook teen-ager.

Jones received a 1-year sentence, and Luginbill said he “would want to visit with him first” before making any final decisions. Luginbill said that if Jones is admitted to the school, he could be released before the end of his sentence, in time for the spring semester.

Terrence Hamilton, a forward from Patrick Henry High, and Vernon Thompson, a swingman from Skyline College in San Bruno, have signed letters of intent to play at SDSU, basketball Coach Jim Brandenburg said.

Hamilton, a 6-foot 6-inch senior, was an All-City Eastern League pick as a junior while averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds. Thompson, a 6-5, 190-pound sophomore, has averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the first 2 games this season.