Players Prepare for the Worst : Football: Some Titans shocked, some are considering transferring amid reports Fullerton’s program will be dropped.

For 10 minutes, Tim Drevno discussed his shock, his sadness, his frustration over the apparent demise of the Cal State Fullerton football program. And when the conversation was over, the junior offensive lineman said, “Call back if you want to talk some more.”

Drevno sounded as if he had just lost a dear friend and that it helped to talk about it, to express his emotions.

“You wake up one morning all fired up to lift weights and get ready for next year, and someone says (Coach Gene) Murphy wants to see you in his office,” Drevno said, recalling Friday’s events. “I thought I did something wrong, but Murphy said we were dropping football. I just said, ‘Wow!’ ”

Although university President Milton A. Gordon hasn’t made a final decision on whether to retain the program, Drevno and his teammates aren’t optimistic. “I heard it’s 99% sure football is gone,” he said.

Murphy and his assistants haven’t commented on the situation, but Drevno said the coaches assured the players that they will work hard to place them in other programs if Fullerton drops football.

“It touches me that they put the players in front of themselves,” Drevno said. “The coaches are still in shock. They’re looking for jobs, too--they’ve got to put food on the table. Everyone is stressing out.”

Drevno said he already has been contacted by another school, and three other Titan underclassmen--sophomore Shawn Facione, redshirt freshman John Cotti and redshirt junior Jason Wells--said they, as well as most players, likely will transfer.

If football is dropped, the players can gain immediate eligibility at other schools, but other coaches aren’t allowed to recruit players until the program has been officially discontinued.

Facione was also in the weight room Friday when he heard the news.

“We were questioning it, because right behind us the football stadium was being built,” Facione said. “How can they drop football while they’re building the stadium? But if you’ve been around here long enough, you figured something like this would happen.”

Even Darrell Bruce, a defensive back who completed his senior season last fall, said he was disheartened by the news. Equating the loss of the program with the breakup of a family, Bruce said it will be depressing returning to class this semester.

“When I finish school, there aren’t going to be too many players on campus, and that’s going to be really weird,” he said. “I won’t see all my friends and the people I’m used to seeing. We’re students now, we’re really students. You won’t be able to pick out the football players on campus any more.”