Aztec Football Program Has a Red-Letter Day

It usually takes a couple of years before the results of a football recruiting season are realized.

In the San Diego State football building Wednesday, the first day high school players could sign national letters-of-intent, there were enough smiles to last at least that long.

As the Aztec shopping list was revealed, SDSU Coach Al Luginbill talked of his third recruiting class and of its future. He smiled often.

“I would describe this class as having more numbers of quality players than the previous two,” he said. “Time will tell on that. . . . The keys to this class are size, speed and quickness.”

The other keys are San Diego and numbers.

The Aztecs signed 12 San Diego County players, the second-most ever by SDSU. Only in 1987, when then-Coach Denny Stolz signed 13 local players--in a class headed by Parade All-Americans Patrick Rowe and Tommy Booker--has SDSU signed as many.

“We felt this was an exceptional year in the county and throughout the state of California,” Luginbill said.

The list of local players signed Wednesday is topped by Kearny wide receiver/safety Darnay Scott, who caught 36 passes for 785 yards and nine touchdowns last fall. He chose SDSU over Ohio State and Arizona State. The Aztecs will use Scott at wide receiver.

“The word we got from some veteran (San Diego) coaches was that they felt he was the best athlete to play high school football since Marcus Allen,” Luginbill said.

The most unusual thing about this year’s recruiting class is sheer quantity. It is large--30 players, including two community college transfers signed last December. According to NCAA rules, Division I schools can offer as many as 25 scholarships a year. Subtract the two community college transfers--they count toward last year’s list--and add Darrell Lewis and Ty Morrison, transfers from Ohio State, and John McCartney, who didn’t meet academic qualifications for the fall but who should be eligible by this fall, and SDSU will have 31 athletes looking for scholarships in the fall. Six of those players--Luginbill said he will decide in August--will be “pushed back” and not receive scholarships until next January.

Luginbill said the reason for this year’s large recruiting class is that he wanted to stay ahead of NCAA reforms, which will reduce the number of scholarships a program can offer to 92--from 95--by August 1992. Luginbill’s goal is to get up to 95 scholarships before the cut so a few extra players can get in an extra session of spring football. Luginbill said 86 or 87 players are on scholarship at SDSU.

As for particular positions, the Aztecs targeted linebacker (seven signed Wednesday), the offensive line (five), tight end (four) and defensive back (four). There will be a need for running backs after next season when Booker, T.C. Wright and Curtis Butts will have completed their eligibility. And in SDSU’s scheme, Luginbill likes to have four tight ends available.

Alex Semenik, a transfer tight end from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College who picked SDSU over Purdue, could see action next year, but Luginbill would like to redshirt him if an experiment to move offensive lineman Judd Rachow to tight end is successful.

SDSU signed three all-state players from Louisiana--Marshall Faulk, a running back from Carver High School in New Orleans; Fred Harris, a two-time all-state linebacker from Woodlawn High in Shreveport; and Ray Peterson, a wide receiver from Walker High in New Orleans.

All three players were on the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s list of the state’s top 16 players.

Another notable recruit is quarterback Brian Kalk, from Hesperia High School. Luginbill called him the “best all-around athlete” at quarterback SDSU has recruited during Luginbill’s time.

Luginbill said his biggest disappointment this winter was losing Chula Vista linebacker Donnie Edwards, who signed with UCLA. Still, with its second-largest local class ever, SDSU made a statement this recruiting season.

“No longer is it a gimme when (a Pac 10 school) comes in,” Luginbill said. “It’s a dogfight--and we’re winning our share.”

Aztec Notes

In addition to nickel back Derrick Williams, who was told not to return to the team, Luginbill said redshirt freshman tight end Garrett Ford and true freshman defensive back Michael Wynn have elected not to return to the team . . . Freshman linebacker Jamal Duff has mononucleosis and will not be able to work out for four to six weeks.

SAN DIEGO STATE FOOTBALL SIGNINGS

Player School Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Home town Joe Abdullah St. Mary’s RB/DB 6-0 200 Stockton Joe Allen Kearny OL 6-7 270 San Diego Fred Aliipule Rancho Buena Vista LB 6-3 240 Vista Roger Blake Hoover LB 6-4 225 San Diego Mike Burns Esperanza LB 6-3 230 Anaheim Curt Collins Bakersfield TE 6-4 205 Bakersfield Craig Crosby Dobson DB 5-11 170 Mesa, Az. Thad Culpepper Muir DB 5-9 170 Pasadena Marshall Faulk Carver RB 5-10 180 New Orleans Chris Finch Ramona OL/DL 6-6 270 Riverside Julian Ford Trabuco Hills TE 6-2 220 Mission Viejo Tony Giacolone Mira Mesa OL/DL 6-5 250 San Diego Darcel Glover Point Loma DE/LB 6-2 230 San Diego Brian Greeley La Sierra DL/OL 6-4 270 Riverside Marvin Green Lincoln DB 6-1 185 San Diego Fred Harris Woodlawn LB 6-3 215 Shreveport, La. Brian Kalk Hesperia QB 6-2 210 Hesperia Marlon Manassa Point Loma RB 5-9 170 San Diego DeAndre Maxwell Bullard WR 6-2 195 Fresno Aaron Mertens Kearny OL/DL 6-6 230 San Diego Zach Patterson Cabrillo LB 6-3 210 Lompoc Eric Peterson Norwalk DL 6-2 230 Norwalk Ray Peterson Walker WR 5-8 165 New Orleans Wayne Pittman Mira Mesa RB/LB 5-11 195 San Diego Darnay Scott Kearny WR 6-3 185 San Diego Zach Smith St. Augustine TE 6-4 210 San Diego Doug Tom Kamehameha LB 6-4 215 Honolulu Duke Uperesa El Capitan OL 6-4 270 Lakeside Alex Semenik Scottsdale JC TE 6-3 240 Scottsdale Scott Catlin Southwestern JC CB 5-10 185 San Diego