Football Recruit Fred Harris Admitted to School Under EOP

It will be another year before Fred Harris can wear football pads again, but at least he will be carrying some books this fall at San Diego State.

Harris, considered the prize of a 1991 recruiting class that included Marshall Faulk, was accepted Friday by SDSU under its Equal Opportunity Program, Coach Al Luginbill said.

The Aztecs won a bitter recruiting war to get Harris, a 6-foot-3, 219-pound linebacker out of Woodlawn High in Shreveport, La., but in the 1 1/2 years since, he has never participated in an Aztec practice. He did not attend school last year because he didn’t score high enough on two standardized tests that satisfy NCAA eligibility requirements.

Last February, Harris was found to have dyslexia. Though the discovery came too late for him to be eligible for football this fall, it did make Harris a candidate for enrollment in the EOP.

“We’re extremely happy for him,” Luginbill said of Harris, the 1990 Louisiana player of the year who spent the 1991-92 school year working for a San Diego construction company. “He gets the opportunity to be a student. That’s all I think we can ask for.”

Waiting for SDSU’s decision proved slightly less suspenseful than the recruiting of Harris, a three-time all-state player. Curtis Johnson, his recruiter, received death threats by some who did not want Harris to leave the South. Since his EOP status was revealed, Luginbill has answered inquiries about the player every day since the first fall practice.

“I’m glad the university gave him an opportunity he deserved,” Luginbill said. “Sometimes universities and bureaucracies forget about the humanitarian side of it.”

NCAA rules, at this point, forbid the football staff from helping Harris. Should he become eligible for the 1993 season, he will have three years of eligibility.

“I know I can make it,” Harris told the Times two weeks ago. “I’m not a failure in life. I’ll never quit.

“When you’re by yourself with your problems, though, it’s tough. But I keep going.”

Glover in, Blanton out: As many as six true freshman were being considered for varsity assignments before Thursday’s final scrimmage. But Luginbill decided to redshirt all but three of the 17 Friday. Former Point Loma High standout La’Roi Glover, battling Turaj Smith to back up Sebastian Glaze at nose tackle, will suit up, as will defensive backs Freddie Edwards and Leonard Jones.

Quarterback Billy Blanton, a first-team all-state pick by Cal-Hi Sports, was redshirted. Luginbill said Blanton will travel with the Aztecs as a possible emergency replacement behind David Lowery and Tim Gutierrez.

Said Glover of the quick promotion, “I didn’t expect it, kind of. I’ve had the jitters. It’s been tough; the guys here are a lot quicker. But I’ve been picking things up.”

Tack on five: Luginbill was second-guessed for touting Scott Oatsvall as his No. 1 punter after Jason Savorn reportedly kicked him out of the stadium in Thursday’s scrimmage. Savorn averaged 41 yards per punt, Oatsvall 34. But after finding a statistician’s addition error, Aztec publicist John Rosenthal said Oatsvall was actually four for 157, with an average of 39.25.

Training room update: Nose tackle Turaj Smith and tight end Marc Ziegler practiced at half speed and continued to recover from pulled groin muscles. Nose tackle Sebastian Glaze (bruised quadriceps) also practiced. Defensive end Ty Morrison again sat out with bronchitis. Defensive back Robert Griffith, who sprained an ankle Thursday, was sidelined, the extent of the injury still believed to be minor.