Mater Dei’s Sualua Picks Ohio State

Mater Dei fullback Nicky Sualua said Wednesday he has committed to play football at Ohio State because he was “looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Big Eight.”

Right school. Wrong conference.

Sualua will be playing in the Big Ten next season after choosing the Buckeyes over UCLA, Oregon and Kansas.

“Mainly, I felt comfortable at Ohio State,” he said. “I talked it over with Coach (Bruce) Rollinson and my parents, and we decided that’s where I should go.”

Mater Dei defensive back Brian Barajas also committed Wednesday, choosing Villanova over Santa Clara.

Sualua, 5 feet 11 and 240 pounds, visited Oregon and UCLA before taking a trip to Ohio State last weekend. He canceled a trip to Kansas this weekend.

Sualua rushed for 562 yards and nine touchdowns last season despite missing five games because of a sprained ankle he suffered in the season opener against Servite. He was named the MVP of the South Coast League.

Sualua said he plans to sign with the Buckeyes on Feb. 3. He said he’s planning to take his college entrance exams “sometime in the summer.”

Barajas, a second-team all-county player, committed after a weekend trip to Villanova. He had scheduled a trip this weekend to UCLA, but the school canceled it.

Barajas, 5-11 and 175 pounds, is the second county player to commit to the Wildcats this season, joining Newport Harbor defensive end Beau Ralphs.

“I chose it (Villanova) because it was the only one who offered,” he said. “It was nice out in Philadelphia, and I liked the school a lot.”

Recruiting Notes

San Jose State revoked its football scholarship offer to Irvine running back Scott Seal, who has planned a baseball recruiting trip to UCLA next week. Seal said Cal also is interested in him for baseball. . . . Rancho Alamitos running back Jeff Byrd, who set the county single-season rushing record this past season, said Hawaii coaches have contacted him about a possible recruiting trip in the near future. Byrd sent the coaches game films last week. He’s also considering Yale and Dartmouth.