FOOTBALL RECRUITING : El Modena’s Holmes Sides With Fresno State

Fresno State’s 24-7 victory over USC in the Freedom Bowl had more than just a mild impact on El Modena linebacker Ryan Holmes, who was being recruited by both schools.

“I was considering USC,” said Holmes, who announced Tuesday that he has committed to Fresno State. “But I went to the game and watched Fresno’s offensive line bury USC’s defense. I decided I didn’t want to live in a coffin.”

Holmes is the fourth Orange County player who plans to sign with the Bulldogs on Feb. 3. USC hasn’t received a commitment from a county player so far.

Holmes, 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds, chose Fresno State over Washington State, Arizona State, Colorado, USC and Nebraska. He said Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney made the difference in his decision.

“I really like Sweeney,” Holmes said. “He told me I looked a lot like Dick Butkus. What more does he need to say?”

Fresno State also has commitments from Rancho Alamitos quarterback-defensive back Marshall Brown, and defensive back A.J. Gass and offensive tackle Jeff Malone, both of Servite. No other college has received as many commitments as Fresno State has from county players.

Although Holmes committed to Fresno State, he agreed to make a final recruiting visit to Colorado this weekend. Los Alamitos wide receiver George Sagen also plans to visit the Boulder, Colo., campus this weekend.

“I told them I had committed,” Holmes said, “but they told me to make the trip, anyway.”

Mission Viejo running back-defensive back Erick Fielding said he is “leaning toward” Santa Clara, where he hopes to play football and baseball.

Santa Clara plays in Division I for baseball and Division I-AA for football. Fielding, who’s also considering Pennsylvania, would likely be a center fielder and a defensive back in college.

Notes

Esperanza offensive lineman Travis Pulliam said he is favoring Princeton, but is also strongly considering Yale. He has been accepted academically to Yale and is awaiting acceptance to Princeton, where he’s visiting this weekend. . . . Esperanza linebacker Travis McCullough visited Utah and Northern Arizona and also is considering Weber State. “I might go to a junior college,” he said. “I made the decision to go that route if I didn’t get exactly what I wanted out of a (Division I) school.” . . . Corona del Mar linebacker Tom Hess received interest from California, Arizona State, Army and Columbia early in the season, but is now considering community colleges. “I didn’t have a great year,” he said. “I played both ways (defensive back and wingback) and I only played about half the time on defense.”