Long Beach’s Smigiel Again Shortchanged

Since his last game at Newbury Park High in 1989, football has not been kind to offensive lineman Joe Smigiel.

First, he felt he was betrayed by Arizona State. Then, George Allen, the man who recruited him to Cal State Long Beach, passed away.

A few months later, Smigiel (SMY-gull) tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, forcing him to miss the 1991 season.

Finally, the rug was pulled from under him Tuesday when Long Beach dropped its football program.

Before the final decision was made public, Smigiel heard that the program had been saved by the booster club.

“Then we get there and they announce that they are dropping it,” Smigiel said.

“I felt like when the program died that George Allen died again. There are signs of George everywhere. His words are posted in the locker room, his initials are on our jerseys.

“When (interim Athletic Director) Dave O’Brien said that the program would be dropped even if George Allen were here, that’s a cheap blow. Coach Allen would have found a way. He would have paid out of his own pocket to keep this program.”

Smigiel, an All-Ventura County lineman in 1989, plans to transfer to another Division I school in time to participate in spring drills.

He described the atmosphere around Long Beach on Wednesday as a “meat market” as coaches from more than a dozen colleges met with players.

Smigiel, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound tackle, met with coaches from Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and scheduled visits to those campuses over the next three weeks.

“I want to be enrolled by Jan. 20,” said Smigiel, who has three seasons of eligibility remaining. “I can’t believe these are my last six days at Long Beach. I’m in the middle of final exams. This thing is making everything crazy.”

As a high school senior, Smigiel originally chose Arizona State. He said that during a visit to Tempe in January, 1990, Sun Devil coaches told him that unless he made an oral commitment there would be no scholarship available on signing day in February.

Once Smigiel made the commitment, other schools stopped recruiting him.

But on signing day, Arizona State officials told Smigiel that they were out of scholarships. That night, only Nevada Las Vegas, Long Beach, New Mexico and Eastern Oregon contacted the shell-shocked lineman.

“George Allen visited my home and my mom fell in love with him. He was a living legend,” Smigiel said.

Smigiel redshirted his freshman season, then missed last season because of the knee injury.