RECRUITING NOTEBOOK : It’s Official: Mitchell, 34 Others Sign Letters

He was called to the principal’s office at 10 a.m. Wednesday, but he wasn’t in any trouble.

Erik Mitchell and three other football players at Los Alamitos High School crowded into the small office, surrounded by parents, faculty and football coaches, and signed away the next four years of their life to college.

Mitchell was among at least 35 Orange County football players to sign national letters of intent Wednesday.

Mitchell, one of the top running backs in the county, signed with Colorado. Teammates Hartwell Brown, a defensive end, chose Stanford, and quarterback Todd Gragnano and linebacker Brian Havens picked Nebraska.

Mitchell, one of the fastest players in Southern California, said he also will be a sprinter on Colorado’s track team. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.

“Track is something I’ll fall back on after college if I don’t play pro football,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully I’ll be good enough to make it to the Olympics.”

Last season, Mitchell, 5-11, 168 pounds, was 12th in the county in rushing with 1,011 yards in 161 carries. He said he’s still awaiting the results from his Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Test to see if he’s eligible.

Add Los Alamitos: Griffins Coach John Barnes left his former players with some advice as they signed letters of intent.

“All the hard work is just beginning,” he said. “Next year you’ll get on the field and the coaches will forget your name. You’ll have to remind them, because they will be yelling at you all the time.”

Foothill’s Jamal Duff turned down offers from USC, Arizona and Colorado to sign with San Diego State. Duff, 6-7, 230 pounds, said he will play either tight end or linebacker for the Aztecs.

“I wasn’t worried about the top 10 (polls), the Big Eight or whatever,” Duff said. “That wasn’t a factor. What was a factor was my education and football.”

Duff said there are several things he likes about San Diego State.

“I like the fact that they throw more to the tight end,” Duff said. “I have a chance to catch more balls. And I like the defense. I like how they attack and how the linebackers are free to move around.”

Ian Long, an offensive lineman from Newport Harbor, said he turned down scholarship offers from Fresno State and Cal State Fullerton to walk on at Arizona State. Oscar Wilson, a nose guard from Santa Ana, said he will walk on at Rancho Santiago College. Wilson was a member of The Times’ all-county first team.

Mater Dei had five Division I recruits, more than any other county high school.

The Monarchs’ signees were quarterback Danny O’Neil (Oregon), offensive lineman Ryan Motherway (UCLA), running back Kealii Clifford (Oregon) and linebacker Ryan Walton (Northern Arizona). Jay Shinnifield, an offensive lineman, enlisted in the Army and plans to play football at West Point.

Dana Hills linebacker Andy Marrone had a good time on his recruiting trip to Nevada Las Vegas. Although he’s under the legal gambling age of 21, he managed to slip a few coins in the slot machines at the casinos on The Strip.

“I lost about $10,” he said. “We cruised The Strip a bunch of times on the first night. We went on a tour of the campus the next day and saw the UNLV-North Carolina State basketball game. It was incredible.”

Incredible enough for him to sign with the Runnin’ Rebels.

Although his recruiting trip wasn’t quite as spectacular as Marrone’s, Servite offensive tackle Marc Lamb still had a good time at Northern Arizona last weekend.

“I went out with bunch of old linemen and partied all night,” he said.

Scott Wohrman, an offensive lineman from Fountain Valley, swore he was talking to former President Ronald Reagan when he took his recruiting trip to Cal State Long Beach.

Wohrman, 6-4, 255 pounds, was offered scholarships from Utah State, Colorado State and Cal State Fullerton. He took only one visit, to Long Beach, and made up his mind after meeting new coach George Allen.

“I can’t describe him, really,” Wohrman said of the 71-year-old coach. “He sounds really smart, like he has it all together. He sounds a lot like Reagan. There’s a certain kind of authority to his voice.”

Dan Ledieff, a defensive lineman from La Habra, also will play under Allen at Long Beach. He had other reasons for signing with the 49ers, however.

“I want to be a fireman and Long Beach offers a degree in fire science,” he said.

Ron Papazian, a linebacker and fullback from Whittier Christian, was impressed with more than the athletic facilities when he visited the University of the Pacific. Papazian said he chose Pacific over Washington and Oregon for academic reasons.

“I think I’ll do better academically at a smaller school like Pacific,” he said. “Some of the lecture halls in the Pacific 10 schools have 300 to 500 students. Pacific’s are only 50 or 60.”

Whittier Christian’s enrollment is 850, about half the size of most Orange County high schools.

COUNTY SIGNINGS

Orange County high school football players signed Wednesday by major college programs:

Name School Position College Hartwell Brown Los Alamitos Lineman Stanford Kealii Clifford Mater Dei Running Back Oregon Tom Cowen Western Lineman Colorado State David Cuttrell El Toro Lineman Oregon Jamal Duff Foothill Linebacker San Diego State Michael George Savanna Lineman Fresno State Gary Gibson Woodbridge Linebacker Arizona State Todd Gragnano Los Alamitos Quarterback Nebraska Brian Havens Los Alamitos Linebacker Nebraska Jeff Jackson Corona del Mar Tight end Washington Malcom King Buena Park Defensive back Cal State Fullerton Marc Lamb Servite Lineman Northern Arizona Dan Ledieff La Habra Lineman Cal State Long Beach Brian Lucas Corona del Mar Running back Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Kevin McAninch Huntington Beach Lineman Army Tim Manning Trabuco Hills Defensive back California Andy Marrone Dana Hills Linebacker UNLV L. Mayweather Sunny Hills Defensive end CS Fullerton Erik Mitchell Los Alamitos Running back Colorado Lawson Mollica Edison Lineman Pitt Ryan Motherway Mater Dei Lineman UCLA Keith Navidi Esperanza Lineman Washington Danny O’Neil Mater Dei Quarterback Oregon Ron Papazian Whittier Christian Running back Pacific Jim Perricone Buena Park Lineman Cal State Fullerton Brian Pizula Sunny Hills Running back New Mexico State Tim Rapp Katella Lineman Cal State Fullerton Jay Shinnifield Mater Dei Lineman Army Mark Slymen Mission Viejo Lineman Oregon Brenden Stai Esperanza Lineman Nebraska Steve Stenstrom El Toro Quarterback Stanford Danny Todd Foothill Lineman Colorado Ryan Walton Mater Dei Linebacker Northern Arizona Chris Wild Mission Viejo Linebacker Pacific Jerrott Willard Corona del Mar Linebacker California Scott Wohrman Fountain Valley Lineman Cal State Long Beach