After Poor Season, UCLA Recruiting Hits Homer in Texas : College football: Return of Smith helps Bruins sign seven players from Lone Star State.

With many high school football seniors honoring earlier oral commitments, there were not many surprises Wednesday, the first day for signing letters of intent.

Despite its worst season in 18 years, UCLA brought in a blue-chip recruiting class headed by seven prep players from Texas and a pair of outstanding local linebackers.

The Bruins, who benefited from the return of Homer Smith as offensive coordinator, saw their efforts in the Lone Star State pay off. They signed three prep All-Americans, defensive back Othello Henderson and tailback Daron Washington of Killeen Ellison, and defensive lineman Paul Kennedy of Austin.

Other UCLA recruits from Texas are defensive back Carl Greenwood of Corpus Christi, tight end Bobby Gray of Arlington, fullback Shane Jasper of Troup and linebacker Brian Tighe of Pflugerville.

The Bruins also landed linebackers Bruce Walker of Compton Dominguez and Nkosi Littleton of Carson.

“We feel that this group has the potential to be a fine class two or three years down the road,” said UCLA Coach Terry Donahue, whose team finished 3-7-1 last season in only his second losing season.

Other Bruin signees included linebackers Randy Cole of Santa Monica College, Rod Smalley of Santa Ynez, London Woodfin of Sylmar, and Andrew McClave of Portland, Ore.; linemen Ryan Motherway of Santa Ana Mater Dei, Sale Isia of Oceanside, and Eric Banducci of Santa Monica; receivers Mike Nguyen of Portland, Ore., Kevin Jordan of Beltsville, Md., Bryan Adams of Bakersfield, and J. J. Stokes of San Diego Pt. Loma; tight end Jason Green of La Puente Bishop Amat; defensive back Marvin Goodwin of Camden, N.J., and Chris Alexander of Hawthorne.

USC TROJANS

USC, the three-time defending Pacific 10 Conference champion, signed 18 prep players and one junior college player, offensive lineman Derrick Deese of El Camino College, who has already enrolled.

“I’m pleased with our class of recruits,” USC Coach Larry Smith said. “It’s an outstanding class with a lot of great athletes. We’ve filled a lot of our needs. There are players who help us at every position and some who have a chance to play as freshmen.”

Among them is Curtis Conway of Hawthorne, who signed with USC last year but failed to qualify academically. Conway, a prep All-American quarterback and the state 100-meter champion in track in 1989, will enroll this fall. He attended El Camino College as a part-time student this year.

The Trojans, who will graduate four offensive and two defensive linemen from last season’s Rose Bowl championship team, signed eight other line recruits.The prep signers are Andre Abrams of Perris, Chris Andresen of Downey Warren, Tony Boselli of Boulder, Colo.; Joe Cajic of Phoenix; Norberto Garrido of La Puente Workman, Jason Keiderling of Reseda and Kris Pollack of Fresno.

USC also signed running backs Michael Jones of Van Nuys Montclair Prep and Jerome Casey of Sylmar; wide receivers John Herpin of La Porte, Tex., and Ryan Lenderman of Grand Junction, Colo.; defensive backs Jason Oliver of Bakersfield, Errol Small of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Deon Strother of Oakland Skyline; and tight end Elic Mahone of Pasadena Muir.

In Herpin and Lenderman, USC signed two of the most sought-after receivers in the country. Although he broke his arm in his fourth game and was sidelined for the rest of 1989 season, Herpin was rated as the top receiver in Texas by many. Lenderman, who is the cousin of former USC quarterback Sean Salisbury, caught 251 passes in his prep career, one shy of the national record.

USC signed a pair of outstanding linebackers in Willie McGinest of Long Beach Poly and Jeff Kopp of Danville San Ramon.

McGinest, a 6-6 outside linebacker, was a consensus All-American last season in making 107 tackles with 18 sacks. Kopp, 6-3 and 230, is another consensus All-American who made 172 tackles with seven sacks and four fumble recoveries.

SOUTHLAND

Colorado signed four Southland players--wingback Erik Mitchell of Los Alamitos, wide receiver Charles Johnson of San Bernardino Cajon, defensive back Blake Anderson of Palos Verdes and tight end Christian Fauria Encino Crespi.

Highly touted Glendora 6-4 quarterback J. J. O’Laughlin signed with Illinois, becoming the eighth California quarterback to play for the Illini in the past 10 years.

Fresno State signed quarterback Armin Youngblood and wide receivers Tydus Winans and Michael Ross of Carson; running backs Ron Rivers of San Bernardino San Gorgonio, James Fuller of Los Angeles Locke and Greg Greene of Pomona Garey.

New Mexico signed six local players--defensive backs Vincent Bonner of Westchester, Fred Easter of Riverside City College and Herbert McKinley of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs; wide receivers Manley Woods of Gardena and Dion Thompson of San Bernardino San Gorgonio and running back Tony Foster of Moreno Valley.

Nevada Las Vegas signed two local players--defensive back Bobby Perkins of Carson and quarterback John Ma’ae of Wilmington Banning.

Cal State Fullerton signed two Banning wide receivers, Terrance Campbell and Sheldon Butler, and running back Chris Peery of Canyon Country Canyon. Banning defensive backs Curtis Daniel and Nizam Walter signed with Michigan State and Vanderbilt.

(Orange County Edition) * Lettermen: The list is long as at least 35 county players sign letters of intent. C18