The Wait Is Worth It for USC : Letters of intent: Trojans land three El Toro High School players--Johnson, Hogue and Haas--at late-night signing party.

With cameras clicking away, Rob Johnson, Jeremy Hogue and Brian Haas sat at the table in the El Toro High School principal’s office Wednesday afternoon, signing their names to blank pieces of paper.

There were no USC football recruiters around. No national letters of intent.

Johnson, a quarterback, Hogue, an offensive lineman, and Haas, a linebacker, were among the first players in Orange County to orally commit to a college this season. But they kept USC recruiters waiting until Wednesday, the first day players could sign with schools.

The real signing ceremony, complete with real letters of intent, didn’t happen until Wednesday night at former El Toro Coach Bob Johnson’s home. That’s when the three officially became Trojan football players.

Johnson staged the earlier ceremony because The National, a five-days-a-week sports newspaper, wanted a photo of the players signing.

But the late-night signing party was after the paper’s deadline, leaving Johnson in a pinch.

His son, Rob, and Hogue played in El Toro’s basketball game against San Clemente Wednesday night, and NCAA rules prohibit football recruiters to visit athletes on game days, regardless of what sport they are playing.

So USC recruiters had to wait until after the basketball game to sign the players.

It was worth it. This was only the third time the Trojans have signed three players from the same school in the same year.

In 1976, the Trojans signed eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, Kenny Moore and Kenny Williams out of San Fernando High School. In 1984, USC signed Banning’s Daryl Henderson, Steve Keith and Joe Scott.

Earlier Wednesday, USC signed Los Alamitos High School receiver Tyler Cashman and Rancho Santiago College running back Estrus Crayton.

Add Rob Johnson: Johnson, 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, was one of three quarterback recruits USC signed. The others were Kyle Wachholtz of Norco High and Loyola’s Corby Smith, son of Trojan Coach Larry Smith.

The three recruits are expected to compete for a wide-open quarterback position.

Todd Marinovich, the former Capistrano Valley standout who started most of the past two seasons for the Trojans, has left school to make himself available for April’s NFL draft.

Marinovich’s departure leaves the Trojans with only one returning quarterback on scholarship--third-year sophomore Reggie Perry, who played briefly in one game last season.

Sophomore Curtis Conway, a receiver who played quarterback at Hawthorne High, might move back to quarterback during spring drills.

Johnson led Orange County in passing last season with 2,207 yards and 25 touchdowns. He completed 71% of his passes in 10 regular-season games. His brother, Bret, signed with UCLA in 1987 and spent two seasons with the Bruins before transferring to Michigan State last fall.

Cashman became the second person in his family to go to USC. His father, Pat, was a defensive back and punter for the Trojans in 1966-67.

Pat Cashman was one of the heroes of USC’s 21-20 victory over UCLA in 1966, returning an interception 55 yards for a touchdown that helped the Trojans earn a Rose Bowl berth.

Irvine High School lineman Dean Wakeham was recruited by several schools, including UCLA and California. He turned down both Pacific 10 schools to play for the Naval Academy. The Navy? During a war?

Wakeham said it was a logical choice.

“I want to work in the government, in international relations, after I get out of school,” Wakeham said. “I figured going to Navy would be better than going to UCLA.”

Navy landed Wakeham and Capistrano Valley quarterback Tony Solliday. Both players are committed to the academy for four years, then five more years of active duty.

Wakeham said the Persian Gulf War hasn’t discouraged players from committing to the military school.

“I asked a couple of recruiters about it and they still get a lot of kids who want to come (play football),” Wakeham said. “When you enroll there, it (war-time duty) is something you understand could happen. That’s the risk you take.”

Wakeham, 6-6 and 255, will go through Plebe training this summer, then start practicing with the team in the fall. While at the academy, Wakeham can be activated for duty in the Gulf only during the summer months, he said.

USC and Washington State signed the most county high school players with four each. Washington State, which didn’t sign a county player last season, was one of the biggest surprises, landing running back Derek Sparks and receiver Leland Sparks of Mater Dei, Rancho Alamitos tight end Eric Moore and Santiago linebacker Noa Pua.

Fullerton High linebacker D.C. Olsen announced two weeks ago that he was going to play football and baseball at Louisiana State. But according to his father, Don, Olsen didn’t signed a letter of intent Wednesday because LSU didn’t offer a scholarship. Brigham Young, another school Olsen was considering, also didn’t offer a scholarship.

“We’re concentrating on baseball right now,” Don Olsen said.

Go figure: Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton can’t understand why Cougar wide receiver Dave Poltl hasn’t signed with a Division I school. Poltl, the county’s career reception leader with 175, has drawn little interest from recruiters.

“There’s no doubt he has the stats,” Patton said. “And take a look at him on film, how he makes the catches, his speed (4.6 in the 40-yard dash). Granted, he’s not a USC- or UCLA-type receiver, but I think he can play somewhere in Division I.”

Poltl said his size (5-9, 160) has convinced some recruiters that he might be too small to play Division I. He has been contacted by UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Chico.

“He has had a couple of nibbles,” Patton said. “But it has been like going on a fishing trip and coming up empty.”

Laguna Hills quarterback Casey Sullivan is still weighing his options, but he said he will likely attend a junior college this fall. Sullivan, 6-3 and 190, had been recruited by several Division I schools, including Oregon, Fresno State and San Diego State.

“I had eight schools interested in me, but they said it would be hard for me to get in because of a bad (grade) transcript I had a couple of years ago,” said Sullivan, who passed for 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season. “I’m still looking at Northern Colorado and New Mexico, and then I’ll try one of the junior colleges, El Camino or Saddleback.

“Recruiters told me I couldn’t get into a Division I school if I had a jet rocket tied on me. I could go to a junior college for a couple of years, then go big-time.”

Signing Notes

UCLA landed two of the county’s two biggest linemen in Fountain Valley’s Karl Schroller (6-7, 280) and Servite’s James Christensen (6-4, 300). . . . Oregon and Nebraska each signed four Orange County players last year, but only Oregon signed one this year--Cristin McLemore of Marina, the nephew of former Angel Mark McLemore. . . . The national signing date for volleyball and several other sports is next Wednesday. The signing date for basketball is April 10.

COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SIGNINGS

Player School Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Jeremy Brion Capistrano Valley DB 6-1 200 Mike Burns Esperanza LB 6-3 230 Tyler Cashman Los Alamitos TE 6-4 205 James Christensen Servite OL 6-3 300 Mike Cunningham Edison WR 6-0 175 Bill Denny Mission Viejo DB 6-1 200 Julian Ford Trabuco Hills LB 6-2 215 Adam Garcia El Modena RB 5-9 170 Jeff Grenier Fullerton RB 6-2 225 Brian Haas El Toro LB 6-2 215 Jeremy Hogue El Toro OL 6-4 255 Julian Johnson Woodbridge WR 5-8 170 Rob Johnson El Toro QB 6-4 210 Scott Jones Servite QB 6-2 180 Keith McDonald Esperanza QB 6-2 205 Jamal McKenzie Sunny Hills QB 6-3 195 Cristin McLemore Marina QB 6-0 175 Eric Moore Rancho Alamitos TE 6-5 210 Ryan Mummert Santa Margarita OL 6-4 235 David Phillips Costa Mesa LB 6-3 210 Noa Pua Santiago LB 6-2 212 Mike Riley Fountain Valley OL 6-6 250 Karl Schroller Fountain Valley OL 6-7 280 Chris Singletary Rancho Alamitos LB 6-1 225 Tony Solliday Capistrano Valley QB 6-0 175 Derek Sparks Mater Dei RB 6-0 210 Leland Sparks Mater Dei WR 5-10 170 Brad Stammer Irvine LB 6-3 215 Dean Wakeham Irvine OL 6-6 255

Player College Jeremy Brion California Mike Burns San Diego State Tyler Cashman USC James Christensen UCLA Mike Cunningham Weber State Bill Denny Pacific Julian Ford San Diego State Adam Garcia Cal Poly SLO Jeff Grenier Colorado State Brian Haas USC Jeremy Hogue USC Julian Johnson Memphis State Rob Johnson USC Scott Jones Wyoming Keith McDonald Utah Jamal McKenzie West Virginia Cristin McLemore Oregon Eric Moore Washington State Ryan Mummert New Mexico David Phillips Cal State Long Beach Noa Pua Washington State Mike Riley California Karl Schroller UCLA Chris Singletary New Mexico Tony Solliday Navy Derek Sparks Washington State Leland Sparks Washington State Brad Stammer Pacific Dean Wakeham Navy