Saraf Is Waiting to Receive College Offers : Prep football: He had big numbers at Beverly Hills, but the phone has been quiet recently.

Wide receiver David Saraf of Beverly Hills High hardly thought about playing college football until recruiters started filling his mailbox last fall.

Then, under the impression that he would have his pick of schools on national signing day, Feb. 5, Saraf began daydreaming of making the big catch in front of thousands of screaming fans.

But as quickly as he became an object of interest by colleges, Saraf has, apparently, become a non-prospect who spends his evenings waiting for a recruiter to call with an offer.

“Everybody seemed to want me a couple of months ago,” said Saraf, who led the Southern Section last season with 90 receptions for 1,730 yards and 22 touchdowns in 13 games. “Now, nobody is calling. I really don’t understand why. I’m still the same guy I was in October. I try not to get upset, however, since I already went out and did my part.”

Recruiting coordinators such as USC’s Jack Himebauch are familiar with such cases. When sizing up potential, Himebauch said, he sends out thousands of letters to high school players. Those who respond with interest receive follow-up mail. But because most Division I schools sign only about 20 players a year, many are left without scholarships.

Saraf never played the recruiting game until last summer, when his coaches and teammates tried to warn him about the rush of attention he was about to receive.

Coach Carter Paysinger already had one Division I prospect, quarterback Ziv Gottlieb, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior. Gottlieb had passed for 2,639 yards and 20 touchdowns in his junior season.

With college coaches requesting game film on Gottlieb, Paysinger figured that Saraf deserved some attention, too. Although Saraf had not been mentioned in any preseason recruiting publications, Paysinger believed that his receiver had the talent to make it in college.

“David has been an impact player here for three years, and his abilities have never been in doubt,” said Paysinger, whose team finished 10-3 in 1991, losing to Temecula Valley in the Division VIII semifinals. “I’ve been around football a long time, and he can certainly play at a big-time football school.”

Saraf, 18, was born in Iran and moved to Israel before settling in Southern California in 1979. He started his football career by tossing the ball with neighborhood kids while growing up in Beverly Hills.

He got his first experience on an organized team in ninth grade on the Normans’ freshman squad. He wanted to play quarterback that season, but with Gottlieb firmly entrenched as the starter, Saraf moved to fullback.

During his sophomore season, he found a home at wide receiver. Gottlieb and Saraf were on the varsity as sophomores and got considerable playing time, although a teachers’ strike shortened the season by two games.

Paysinger, a Beverly Hills alumnus, took over as coach in 1990, but it took him most of the season to mend damage caused by the strike. Gottlieb, who had considered transferring, had a productive year. Saraf was his main target, with 53 receptions for 969 yards and nine touchdowns. The Normans finished 6-6.

Although Saraf finished among the top 10 receivers in the Southern Section his junior season, he did not draw the interest of recruiters. At 5-10 and 160, he is a bit small. He is fast, though.

Saraf emerged among the top receivers last fall, averaging 19.2 yards per catch. He helped Beverly Hills open the season on a winning note with two touchdown receptions in a 20-16 victory over Santa Monica. Two weeks later, against Inglewood, he had six receptions for 157 yards and three touchdowns.

Saraf started receiving the attention his coach had promised. Sportswriters requested interviews, and recruiters were ringing his phone off the hook.

Postseason awards also poured in. Saraf was voted to the All-Ocean League team and to the All-Southern Section team. He is expected to be selected for the Shrine game this summer.

Dick Lascola, a national recruiting scout based in Southern California, has watched Saraf and gives him high marks on ability. Lascola said he had many requests for film on Saraf and does not know why college coaches have shied away.

“He has a good set of hands and proved he can get open,” Lascola said. “In recruiting, it’s always hard to say what will happen. Here’s a guy who should be getting some offers.”

Saraf is also a two-year starter in soccer and a sprinter on the track team. He has a 3.4 grade-point average and said academics will come first after high school.

But he yearns for a chance to continue his football career. He has received offers from Dartmouth and UC Davis but is looking for a bigger school on the West Coast, such as UCLA or USC.

Paysinger said he is confident Saraf will get more attention as the national signing date nears. He said Hawaii coaches called recently and said they were interested.

“I think when it is all said and done, David will get picked up by a good school,” Paysinger said. “I can’t explain what has happened, and I know this can be a difficult thing for young players. David will find a place for himself.”

Saraf said if he does not receive an offer to his liking, he will walk on somewhere.

“The scholarship is not as important to me as getting the chance to prove myself,” he said. “If someone will just give me a shot, that will be a reward all in itself. I know I can prove my ability on the field.

“I just have to be given the opportunity.”