Irish Eyes are Smiling : Banning High’s Davis Will Attend Notre Dame, but Several Other South Bay Players Are Still Considering Options

If Travis Davis harbored any doubts he was a special football player, the events of the past two days certainly have erased them.

Tuesday night, the Banning High running back attended the team’s awards banquet and walked off with six prizes, including the most-valuable-player trophy. After a good night’s sleep, he realized another dream.

Davis gave an unwritten commitment Wednesday to play football for Notre Dame, choosing the Irish over Stanford and USC. He also considered UCLA and Washington.

“They are all great schools, but Notre Dame is the one I like the best,” he said. “I like the campus, it was nice. And I like the academic part and the football part.”

Davis said he will sign a letter of intent Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period for high school seniors.

Stanford Coach Dennis Green was the guest speaker at Banning’s banquet, a gesture some might interpret as a last-ditch effort to land Davis. If it was, Green came away disappointed. That fact made Wednesday’s announcement all the more difficult for Davis, who rushed for 1,760 yards and 18 touchdowns last season to help Banning reach the L.A. City 4-A Division championship game.

“That’s always hard, to say no,” he said. “(Green) didn’t ask for an answer, but I’m going to call everyone.”

While several South Bay seniors have given schools unwritten commitments, many others are still evaluating scholarship offers with less than a week to go before the signing date.

One player weighing his options is Carson’s Abdul Muhammad, a versatile athlete who played running back, receiver and defensive back for the Colts. He has visited USC, Miami and Texas-El Paso and will leave Friday for Nebraska.

“I’m just chillin’ right now,” Muhammad said. “They’re all still in the picture. I should be making up my mind pretty soon.”

Muhammad indicated Nebraska stands a good chance of acquiring his signature on a national letter of intent.

“If I like Nebraska--if I can handle the weather and everything--I’ll probably go there,” he said. “It’s been my favorite school for a long time. I like a lot of the guys who have played there--Mike Rozier, Irving Fryar and Turner Gill.”

Carson safety Tarriel Hopper also might follow in the footsteps of one of his idols. He has narrowed his choices to USC and Illinois. His older brother Darrel was a defensive back for the Trojans.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be USC,” Hopper said. “If everything works out, that’s where I’ll be.”

A few weeks ago, Hopper said he had ruled out USC because of reported tensions between Trojan coaches and players. But he changed his attitude after USC renewed its interest in him when he scored an NCAA-qualifying 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“They came back around and explained the situation,” Hopper said. “One of the assistant coaches (Clarence Shelmon) came to my house and Coach (Larry) Smith called me. I’ve been considering them ever since.”

Robert Coulter, a two-time All-CIF running back for Rolling Hills, said he has narrowed his choices to Arizona and Washington. He said he will probably sign next week, despite the fact he is awaiting the result of his second try at the SAT.

“I’m positive I’ll pass,” Coulter said.

Through Wednesday, nine South Bay seniors had given unwritten commitments to Division I schools.

Torrance lineman Wade Owens committed to Oregon after visiting Eugene two weekends ago. He also visited Cal State Long Beach.

“The facilities are real nice and the people are real nice,” Owens said of Oregon. “Also, I wanted to get out of California. My mom has always told me life is different out of California.”

A slower lifestyle was a major selling point for Banning defensive lineman Brandon Johnson, a Kansas recruit.

“I enjoyed the atmosphere,” said Johnson, who also visited Oregon State and Texas-El Paso and canceled trips to Arizona State and Fresno State.

Other area standouts headed to out-of-state colleges include Carson quarterback John Walsh (Brigham Young) and Banning offensive lineman Eric Battle (Washington).

Serra running back-defensive back Jerald Henry, an All-CIF selection who led the South Bay with 23 touchdowns last season, decided to stay closer to home. He committed to USC in November after his one and only visit.

“That was it,” he said. “I wanted to be part of the great tradition.”

Others who opted for Pacific 10 Conference schools were brainy (1,040 SAT) and brawny (6-2, 225) Bishop Montgomery

linebacker Mike Hall (Stanford) and Carson wide receiver Fred Sims (UC Berkeley).

The speedy Sims, who averaged 28.7 yards per catch last season for the L.A. City 4-A champions, chose the Golden Bears over Washington, Colorado State and Texas-El Paso. When he visited Berkeley, his host was Brian Treggs, a former Carson standout who has been one of Cal’s leading receivers for the past two seasons.

“It was good to know someone,” Sims said. “He can help me out this summer. I’m going into a good situation because (Treggs) is going to be a senior. Hopefully, I can step into his spot when he’s gone.”

South Torrance nose guard Kevin Jones, the Pioneer League Lineman of the Year and an All-CIF selection, committed to San Diego State two weeks ago.

“I like the town, it’s a laid-back atmosphere,” Jones said. “And I was impressed with the coaching staff.”

West Torrance running back-linebacker Alex Schultz, the Pioneer League Most Valuable Player and an All-CIF choice, visited Hawaii last weekend and is also considering a scholarship offer from UCLA, according to his father, Glen.

All-City running back Walter Grissam of Westchester will probably sign with Hawaii, Comets Coach Larry Wein said.

Several area players are being recruited by Nevada, where two former South Bay standouts--quarterback Fred Gatlin (Carson) and receiver-return man Treamelle Taylor (Hawthorne)--were All-Big Sky Conference players last season.

Those considering Nevada are offensive lineman Brian Malcolm and linebacker Alex Marcelin of Serra and defensive back Nakawa Shepherd of Carson.

SOUTH BAY FOOTBALL RECRUITS

PLAYER SCHOOL POS. SIZE Eric Battle Banning OL 6-3, 260 Robert Coulter Rolling Hills RB 5-11, 190 Travis Davis Banning RB 6-0, 180 Walter Grissam Westchester RB 5-7, 165 Mike Hall B. Montgomery LB 6-2, 225 Jerald Henry Serra WR 5-9, 180 Tarriel Hopper Carson DB 6-3, 215 Brandon Johnson Banning DL 6-3, 260 Kevin Jones South Torrance DL 6-2, 245 Brian Malcolm Serra OL 6-3, 280 Alex Marcelin Serra LB 6-1, 190 Abdul Muhammad Carson WR-DB 5-10, 170 Wade Owens Torrance DL 6-5, 250 Alex Schultz West Torrance RB-LB 6-1, 210 Nakawa Shepherd Carson DB 6-2, 180 Fred Sims Carson WR 5-10, 170 John Walsh Carson QB 6-4, 215

PLAYER COLLEGES Eric Battle Unwritten commitment to Washington Robert Coulter Arizona, Washington Travis Davis Unwritten commitment to Notre Dame Walter Grissam Hawaii Mike Hall Unwritten commitment to Stanford Jerald Henry Unwritten commitment to USC Tarriel Hopper USC, Illinois Brandon Johnson Unwritten commitment to Kansas Kevin Jones Unwritten commitment to San Diego State Brian Malcolm Fresno State, Nevada Alex Marcelin Nevada, Hawaii Abdul Muhammad Nebraska, USC, Miami, Texas-El Paso Wade Owens Unwritten commitment to Oregon Alex Schultz Hawaii, UCLA Nakawa Shepherd Nevada, Fresno State Fred Sims Unwritten commitment to UC Berkeley John Walsh Unwritten commitment to Brigham Young