Abdul McCullough Finally Commits--to UCLA

The recruiting saga of El Camino linebacker Abdul McCullough began more than a month ago with McCullough saying he will attend UCLA. It finally ended early Monday, three trips and four oral commitments later, with McCullough deciding on UCLA for the fifth and final time.

McCullough, a two-time Avocado League defensive player of the year and Times All-County selection, said he will sign a letter of intent to UCLA Wednesday morning.

El Camino Coach Herb Meyer said he might be more relieved than McCullough.

“I didn’t know what the heck was going on,” he said. “I got sick of telling reporters where he was going. It probably took more twists than most recruiting processes.”

The twist began in late December, a day after McCullough read in the newspaper that he had chosen UCLA over Duke and Kansas. McCullough immediately had second thoughts and said he wanted to consider other schools.

“I got kind of nervous,” he said. “I wanted to look at other things and make sure.”

He eventually took trips to Washington, Washington State and Arizona.

“Actually there was a point where I wasn’t going to UCLA,” McCullough said. “A lot of schools said things that sounded good to me. It got kind of outrageous.”

McCullough said he and his mother took about six hours Sunday night to make his final decision. He devised a point system that weighed each school’s strength and weaknesses.

“There were almost 50 things on the list we put together,” McCullough said.

“We even had things like proximity to Disneyland, if my parents could get to the games and if my girlfriend could go to a junior college in the area.”

At 2 a.m., UCLA was declared the winner, with Arizona a close second.

“If (Arizona) had more time, I’d probably be a Wildcat,” McCullough said.

McCullough said he will play strong safety at UCLA and he expects to compete for the starting job next year.

“They really have a safety-oriented defense,” McCullough said. “They have a great tradition with their safeties with people like Kenny Easley, Eric Turner and Matt Darby. I like that a lot.”

Noel Prefontaine, McCullough’s teammate, announced he will play football for Cal State Fullerton. Prefontaine, a second team Times All-County selection, was El Camino’s punter, kicker and quarterback. He was recruited by Fullerton as a kicker and punter.