RECRUITING / JEFF FELLENZER : UCLA, in Search of Quarterback Help, Looks to the East

UCLA, with two freshman quarterbacks on its roster, has offered a scholarship to only one quarterback in this recruiting class: Matt Hasselbeck of Xavierian Brothers High in--appropriately enough--Westwood, Mass., a Boston suburb.

Hasselbeck, who is 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, is the son of former NFL and Colorado tight end Don Hasselbeck. College coaches and scouts like his strong arm, good touch and athleticism. He’s a starting forward on the basketball team.

Playing in an offense that produced two 1,000-yard rushers last season, including Stanford-bound Greg Comella, Hasselbeck completed 68 of 128 passes (53%) for 1,195 yards and seven touchdowns, and also rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He led Xavierian Brothers to the championship game of the large schools division in eastern Massachusetts, where it was beaten by Brockton, 18-17. Hasselbeck intercepted a pass in that game.

Hasselbeck, who lived in Redondo Beach when his father played for the Raiders, said he had a “great visit” to UCLA recently. Bruin offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Homer Smith visited Hasselbeck in his home Tuesday night.

“I have so much respect for Homer Smith, and I really hit it off with Coach (Terry) Donahue,” Hasselbeck said. “I fell in love with the school and the area.”

He has canceled trips to Washington and Tulane, and is expected to decide between UCLA and Boston College. He also visited Duke.

“It’s almost impossible to say no to Boston College and (Coach) Tom Coughlin,” said Hasselbeck, who said he was impressed with the commitment the school had made to its football program.

If he signs with UCLA, Hasselbeck would join current freshmen Ryan Fien and Scott Fitterer to give the Bruins a stable of young quarterbacks.

High school football players can begin signing letters of intent on Feb. 3.

Notes

USC’s loss was UCLA’s gain this week when highly regarded tackle Andy Meyers (6-6, 280) of Fontana, who had earlier given an unwritten commitment to the Trojans, changed his mind and committed to UCLA. Meyers had made his original commitment to USC before John Robinson replaced Larry Smith as coach. His other visits were to Notre Dame, Washington and Arizona. Tom Lemming of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Prep Football Report ranks Meyers as the top offensive line prospect in California this year. UCLA also received commitments in the past week from center Shawn Stuart (6-4, 285) of Saugus, inside linebacker Jeff Ruckman (6-2, 220) of Porterville and tackle Chad Overhauser (6-6, 275) of Sacramento Rio Americano. Stuart made his decision after returning home from a weekend visit to Washington. He also took a trip to Cal, and passed up chances to visit Notre Dame and Miami. Ruckman, who was described in one scouting report as “intense” and a “strong hitter,” chose UCLA over USC. His father and brother both played football for Cal State Long Beach. Overhauser will probably spend next fall rehabilitating an injured knee, then enroll at UCLA as a walk-on. . . . Add UCLA: Linebacker Ron Merkerson (6-3, 235) of Las Vegas Clark will visit Westwood this weekend. He has also been to Colorado, USC and Washington, and is scheduled to visit Hawaii.

More Pac-10 news: Highly regarded tackle Mostafa Sobhi (6-5, 275) of Hawthorne has made a commitment to attend Washington. Sobhi, a native of Egypt who only began playing football in high school, also visited UCLA, Arizona State and Cal. But the Huskies lost out to Kansas for Lynwood tackle Derrick Chandler (6-8, 308). Chandler was at Washington last weekend. He also considered Cal and Colorado State.

Among recruits scheduled to visit USC this weekend are defensive line prospect Chris Brymer (6-3, 272) of Apple Valley, who is also considering Washington and Colorado, and La Puente Nogales defensive back Kevin Devine (5-11, 175), who is considering Kansas and Brigham Young.

Arizona State, which had recruited and lost several good quarterbacks in the current recruiting class, including Tom Krug of Los Gatos, Calif., who committed to Notre Dame this week, and Pat Barnes of Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills (Cal), has received a commitment from Parade magazine All-America quarterback Jake Plummer (6-3, 175) of Boise, Ida. Once Drew Bledsoe opted for the NFL draft instead of returning for his senior season at Washington State, most observers figured Plummer would stay in the Pacific Northwest and commit to the Cougars. Besides Arizona State, Plummer also visited Stanford and Colorado. Having lost Plummer, Washington State will now try to sign the best quarterback prospect in Washington, Shane Fortney (6-3, 195) of Everett. Fortney will decide between Washington State, Washington and Oregon. He was one of 11 players chosen as “blue chips” by the Seattle Times in an annual survey of Washington’s top college football prospects. Another quarterback still considering Washington State is San Diego Lincoln’s Akili Smith (6-3, 186), a superb athlete. He’ll be in Pullman, Wash., this weekend after earlier visits to Oklahoma, Oregon State and Nevada Las Vegas.

Add Washington State: The Cougars recently received commitments from safety Ray Jackson (6-2, 195) of Santa Ana Mater Dei, who chose Washington State over Oregon; running back Shon Lewis (5-10, 175) of San Jose Wilcox, and cornerback-running back Ashanti Hayes (5-11, 180) of Lodi, Calif., who picked Washington State over Arizona State.

Escondido Orange Glen’s Brady Batten (6-2, 205), one of the top quarterbacks in the so-called “year of the quarterback” in California, has chosen Arizona over Washington. The Wildcats also received commitments from El Camino College cornerback Shawn Parnell (5-9, 165) and offensive lineman Aaron Brechtel (6-5, 240) of Englewood, Colo.

Another quarterback with good credentials, Aaron Buckner (6-5, 180) of San Diego St. Augustine, has made a commitment to Oregon. He had also been interested in San Diego State, Northwestern and Tulsa, among others. Oregon also received a commitment from Glendale High linebacker-defensive back Jaiya Figueras (6-2, 195), who chose the Ducks over Washington State.

One of Southern California’s top running back prospects, Tarik Smith (5-10, 185) of Agoura Oak Park, has made a commitment to Cal. Smith had been scheduled to visit UCLA last weekend, but canceled the trip. His only other official visit was to Colorado. Smith gained 746 yards and scored 10 touchdowns last season, despite playing in only five games because of injuries and personal problems. As a junior, he rushed for 1,776 yards and 21 touchdowns. Other Cal commitments: offensive lineman Brian Shields (6-6, 255) of San Diego Rancho Bernardo, the son of former San Diego Charger guard Billy Shields; linebacker/strong safety Andre Rhodes (6-1, 215) of Fairfax, and Sepulveda Monroe wide receiver/defensive back Jeff Nadeau (6-0, 175), who picked the Bears after visiting Oregon State. He canceled trips to Washington, Arizona and Northern Arizona.

Stanford has received a commitment from standout linebacker-fullback Adam Salina (6-3, 240) of Berlin, Conn. Salina, who has been timed in 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had been recruited by Penn State, Michigan, Boston College and Syracuse, among others. Stanford continues to add depth at running back, a position severely depleted by graduation. Besides All-America Mike Mitchell (6-1, 205) of Phoenix, considered by most scouts to be the best running back prospect in the West, the Cardinal also has commitments from Quincy Jacobs (5-11, 195) of Thousand Oaks, Rob Morris (6-2, 225) of Nampa, Ida., Justin Strand (6-1, 205) of Spokane Gonzaga Prep and Greg Comella (6-1, 215) of Xavierian Brothers High in Westwood, Mass. Strand, who chose Stanford over Cal and Washington, joined Fortney on the state of Washington’s “blue chip” list. Comella chose Stanford over Notre Dame, Boston College, Syracuse and Ohio State. In addition, one of the top running back prospects in California, Van Nuys Montclair Prep’s Eliel Swinton (5-10, 185), visited Stanford last weekend. Swinton, whose older brother Rich played at Washington State, has also visited UCLA, Notre Dame and Oregon. His final trip will be to Colorado this weekend. Stanford also remains hopeful of signing yet another consensus All-America running back, Randy Kinder (6-1, 195) of East Lansing, Mich. Kinder will visit Boston College this weekend. He is also considering Michigan State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Nationally, Notre Dame had the nation’s top quarterback prospect, Ron Powlus (6-3, 210) of Berwick, Pa., in for a campus visit last weekend. He was at Pittsburgh earlier this week, and will take a trip to Penn State this weekend. Powlus is also considering Miami. Notre Dame did get a commitment from one of the country’s best fullback prospects, Marc Edwards (6-1, 215) of Cincinnati, who chose the Irish over Penn State, Ohio State and Vanderbilt. . . . Another top fullback, Jon Ritchie (6-3, 230) of Mechanicsburg, Pa., committed to Michigan. He had also been considering UCLA, Stanford and Penn State.