Los Alamitos’ Brown Picks Stanford

Hartwell Brown, a defensive end at Los Alamitos High School, said Monday that he has orally committed to Stanford.

Other Orange County players who made oral commitments were Fountain Valley lineman Scott Wohrman (Cal State Long Beach) and Mission Viejo linebacker Chris Wild (University of the Pacific).

The first day football players can sign letters of intent is Feb. 14.

Brown, one of the top recruits on the West Coast, also visited USC, UCLA, California and Nebraska. He committed to Stanford after visiting USC last weekend. He also had offers from Notre Dame, Colorado, Washington State, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, Northwestern, Fresno State and San Diego State.

“It was really a tough decision,” Brown said. “USC is winning all the time and there’s a strong possibility of a national title. UCLA just hired Homer Smith and they’ll be right in there too.

“I think Stanford will win too, and the academics are very, very strong. I felt comfortable with the coaches and players when I visited there. I had a gut feeling I would be going there after my visit.”

Brown, 6-4, 240 pounds, was ranked among the top 100 recruits in the nation by college scout Max Emfinger. He also was Super Prep magazine’s defensive player of the year in the Far West region and was on The Times’ All-County first team. Brown scored 1,330 out of a possible 1,600 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and was honored as a National Football Foundation scholar-athlete.

Wild, 6-3, 235 pounds, visited Nevada Reno and Pacific. He canceled trips to San Diego State, Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton late last week. “I have a chance to play early,” said Wild, who had 101 tackles last season. “I might be able to start as a true freshman. I’ll get to play against good teams like Tennessee.”

Wohrman, 6-4, 255 pounds, turned down offers from Utah State, Colorado State and Cal State Fullerton. He expects to redshirt his freshman year.