RECRUITING / JEFF FELLENZER : Pat Barnes Suddenly Finds Brother’s Footsteps Harder to Follow

Pat Barnes has come full circle.

When his older brother, John, was a star quarterback at Trabuco Hills High in Mission Viejo, and later at Saddleback College, Pat was known only as “John Barnes’ brother.”

Then John took off on his well-chronicled football odyssey, with stops at Western Oregon State, an NAIA Division II school in Monmouth, Ore., and UC Santa Barbara, which dropped the sport after the 1991 season. He finally talked the coaches at UCLA into letting him join the team this season as a senior walk-on.

Meanwhile, back in Mission Viejo, Pat Barnes was quickly forging his own identity at Trabuco Hills as one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. Football powers from coast to coast know his name. The Western Oregon States of the world need not apply.

John Barnes had officially become “Pat Barnes’ brother.”

Then came Nov. 21, 1992. It was on that evening that John Barnes stunned a Rose Bowl crowd of 80,000-plus, a national TV audience and, no doubt, a few of his own teammates and coaches with an electrifying 385-yard, three-touchdown passing performance to lead UCLA to a 38-37 upset victory over USC.

For John Barnes, it was instant fame and a guaranteed legacy in Bruin football lore. Suddenly, Pat Barnes had again become “John Barnes’ brother.”

“It was such a thrill to see my brother have a game like that,” Pat said. “I was there with two of my friends, and Terry Donahue’s brother was sitting right behind me. After the game, we were all hugging each other. What a great game.”

Friday night, as his brother watched from the Trabuco Hills sideline, Pat Barnes’ season ended with a 35-21 loss to host La Mirada in the Southern Section Division VIII playoffs, even though he threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards--all this despite a heavily wrapped left hand to protect a broken finger. Barnes finished his high school career in fourth place on Orange County’s all-time passing yardage list with 6,430.

Now another “season” begins in earnest: recruiting. Barnes, who stands 6 feet 3 and weighs 200 pounds, is scheduled to visit Cal this weekend, followed by January trips to Arizona State, Notre Dame and Miami. Among those he is considering for his fifth and final official visit are Washington State, Brigham Young, San Diego State and Colorado. An assistant coach from the University of Texas was also at last week’s game to watch Barnes.

“UCLA is still in my mind too,” Barnes said, “but they haven’t pursued me as much as some of the other schools.”

Barnes had planned to visit Stanford but reconsidered when Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Carey gave Stanford Coach Bill Walsh an unwritten commitment two weeks ago. Cardinal coaches told Barnes that they would like to recruit at least two freshman quarterbacks.

Barnes, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg before his family moved to Mission Viejo when he was 11, admits that his father, John, is a lifelong Notre Dame fan. Barnes toured the campus with his parents last summer and met Irish Coach Lou Holtz.

“I think my dad was more excited than I was,” Barnes said with a laugh.

Even so, Barnes said his parents aren’t pushing Notre Dame.

“They think it would be a great school, but they also want me to see the good and bad of every school, including Notre Dame.”

College coaches and scouts are calling this the “year of the quarterback” in California, with an abundance of solid prospects throughout the state. Depending on who you talk to, but based on recent conversations with talent evaluators, the three best, in no particular order, may be Carey, Barnes and Tom Krug (6-5, 205) of Los Gatos.

Krug, who has an exceptionally strong arm, also plays free safety on defense. He could even end up as a tight end in college.

Krug has visits scheduled to Notre Dame and Arizona State this month, and Colorado, Stanford and UCLA in January.

Although Palo Alto is only about a 30-minute drive from his house, and though he attended the Stanford football camp last summer and most of the Cardinal home games this season, Krug claims Stanford is “just one of the five right now.”

In fact, Krug, who also plays basketball and baseball, says his best friend is a freshman at Notre Dame and that the school “has always been kind of a dream to me.”

“The first book I read, in the third grade, was an autobiography of Knute Rockne,” Krug said. “And Joe Montana is a hero of mine.”

Notes

Early football returns: USC has received an unwritten commitment from free safety/running back Ryan Tyiska (6-2, 180) of Clovis, Calif., near Fresno. However, according to Tyiska’s high school coach at Clovis West, Randy Blankenship, “Nothing is etched in stone.” Most of the Pac-10 schools, plus Nebraska and Fresno State, are recruiting Tyiska, who has a brother living in Southern California. . . . Michigan, which has recruited impressively in the state of Ohio throughout John Cooper’s stormy five-year reign as Ohio State coach, is at it again. The Wolverines have already received unwritten commitments from the consensus top quarterback prospect in Ohio, Scott Loeffler (6-3, 195) of Barberton; a teammate of Loeffler, Joe Ries (6-3, 270), who is rated by some scouts as the state’s best offensive lineman, and Mike Elston (6-4, 220), an outstanding linebacker-tight end from St. Marys, Ohio. In addition, punter-placekicker Nate DeLong of Wyandotte, Mich., has committed to Michigan. . . . Another highly recruited Midwest quarterback, Jeff Hecklinski (6-4, 205) of Palatine, Ill., has given an unwritten commitment to Illinois. Tom Lemming of Schaumburg, Ill., who publishes Prep Football Report, ranks Hecklinski behind only Ron Powlus (6-4, 210) of Berwick, Pa., USA Today’s top-rated player, among the nation’s quarterback prospects. Powlus, who will not take recruiting calls from college coaches until his season is over, is thought to be one of Notre Dame’s top two quarterback priorities, along with Scott Frost (6-3, 205) of Wood River, Neb. According to sources, Powlus’ high school coach, George Curry, would like his star quarterback to attend Pittsburgh, which recently named Sal Sunseri as interim head coach, replacing Paul Hackett. Notre Dame, Miami, Pitt and Penn State are considered the leaders for Powlus. Frost, a great athlete with Rick Mirer-like running ability, is being heavily recruited by Notre Dame, Stanford and Colorado. How good is Frost? So good that Bill Walsh is personally recruiting him for Stanford. . . . The top quarterback prospect in the talent-rich state of Florida, Thad Busby (6-3, 200) of Pace, has given an unwritten commitment to Florida State. High school players can sign football letters of intent beginning Feb. 3. . . . Game of the week, from a recruiter’s perspective: Anaheim Esperanza, led by All-America defensive lineman Travis Kirschke and fellow lineman Brian Werner, trying to contain the explosive running attack of Pasadena Muir, led by standout running back Saladin McCullough and quarterback Andy Colbert. Friday, 7:30 p.m., Valencia High, Placentia. . . . Hoop talk: USC Coach George Raveling on his top recruit, 6-4 basketball/football star Stais Boseman of Morningside Inglewood: “Our football coaches told me that Stais might be able to start for them next year at any one of three positions--safety, wide receiver or running back.” According to NCAA rules, by signing a basketball letter of intent, Boseman is not allowed to play football for two seasons. The rule is designed to keep football programs from saving scholarships by stashing players in other sports. . . . Face in the crowd: Among those sitting near court side at Madison Square Garden for UCLA’s National Invitation Tournament semifinal game against Seton Hall recently was Felipe Lopez, a 6-5 swingman from Rice High in New York City who is rated by some observers as the top junior prospect in the country. The Bruins would love to get an official visit next year from Lopez, who is from the Dominican Republic.