Simi Valley’s Romines Tops List of 7 CSUN Recruits

The Cal State Northridge football team lost a speedy wide receiver last month when Paul Peters passed up his senior season to play in the Professional Spring Football League.

Today, the Matadors might have a replacement in Times’ All-Ventura County selection Dave Romines of Simi Valley High.

Romines said Tuesday night that he plans to sign a national letter of intent with Northridge today, the first day of the weeklong NCAA signing period.

Times’ All-Valley selections James Woods of San Fernando and Manny Vasquez of Sylmar as well as Times’ All-Ventura County second-team selection Chris Peltonen of Moorpark also said they will sign with Northridge today.

A trio of Burbank players are also headed for Northridge. David Zion, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound offensive tackle will join offensive guard David Kasubowski (6-3, 235) and linebacker Miguel Cerna (6-0, 205) in signing with the Matadors.

Romines caught 48 passes for 1,070 yards and 11 touchdowns and returned kicks and punts for the Pioneers last season. From his strong safety position, he also intercepted 10 passes.

“He’s just an exciting player,” Simi Valley Coach Stan Quina said. “He can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands.”

Romines, whose longest catch was for 85 yards, has reportedly been clocked in 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

“I like the way they treated me,” Romines said of the Northridge coaches. “They want me to play there.”

According to Quina, Romines was not highly recruited because he stands just 5-8 and weighs only 155 pounds.

Woods played tight end, linebacker and strong safety for San Fernando and punted and kicked off in emergency situations.

A former Tiger ball boy, Woods is the fourth member of his family to earn a football scholarship.

Brother Kirk Huff played at Nevada Las Vegas and two other brothers, Brent Huff and Keith Woods, were on the Oregon State team last fall.

Woods is projected to play safety at Northridge.

Vasquez, a 6-1, 265-pound nose guard, forced two fumbles, made six sacks and recovered five fumbles in helping the Spartans advance to the City Section 3-A Division semifinals in 1991.

Peltonen, who played for a team that went 1-9, is believed to be the first male athlete in the 72-year history of Moorpark High to receive an athletic scholarship while in high school.

As a linebacker at Moorpark, he made 110 tackles and as a fullback he ran for 449 yards in 101 carries. Peltonen is expected to play linebacker.

CSUN’s recruiting efforts began last month when the Matadors brought in six junior college players and three players from Division I programs.