When Prospects Keep Programs on a String : Junior college football: Uncertainty over player commitments gives rise to talk of letters of intent, paid tuition for athletes.

For a while, one junior college coach thought he had landed a heralded high school quarterback. His counterpart a few miles to the west hoped differently.

Since the end of last season, Valley College Coach Jim Fenwick and Pierce Coach Bill Norton have courted former Hart High standout Davis Delmatoff, who passed for 3,196 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading the Indians to the 1992 Foothill League title and the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division II playoffs.

Despite those numbers, Delmatoff, 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, did not receive much interest from major college recruiters and opted for junior college. Two of them, in fact. At one point, Delmatoff was enrolled simultaneously at Valley and Pierce.

“We thought we were going to get Davis,” Fenwick said. “He decided last week he couldn’t play here, that he would go over to Pierce.”

Delmatoff made his decision official when he took the field with the Brahmas when two-a-day practice sessions started Monday. The tug of war for his services, however, illustrates one of the obstacles that plague junior college recruiters: When can they be sure a player will be on their team?

Although Division I and Division II colleges avoid the chaos by signing student athletes to letters of intent that bind a recruit to a specific school for at least one year, junior colleges have no such system. Until the first official day of practice in August, players can shop around all spring and summer, jumping from one school to another. And many do.

Their commitment to a junior college doesn’t start until they participate in practice once two-a-days begin. Once committed, a player is bound to that school for one season.

Many junior college coaches favor an NCAA-like letter of intent, and Walt Rilliet, state junior college athletic commissioner, agrees. The idea, he says, is not new.

“Believe me, it’s not just football, but all sports,” Rilliet said. “There have been proposals in the past to structure something along the NCAA guidelines. . . . I have prototypes of letters of intent in my files.”

Rilliet said the problem lies not with the letter of intent itself but with what it represents. When an athlete signs with a four-year college, he gets a scholarship and, possibly, national exposure in return. California junior colleges, which cannot offer scholarships to student-athletes, have extremely limited drawing power. The athletes, in turn, don’t feel an urgency to settle on a school until absolutely necessary.

“It’s never worked out (securing commitments) and I’m not sure it ever will unless we end up (giving) scholarships,” Rilliet said. “I don’t think that’s feasible.”

Feasible or not, John Cicuto, Glendale College coach, speaks for others when he calls for a rules change.

“Every junior college coach I’ve talked to would agree that a letter of intent would make it so much easier for all the coaches,” Cicuto said. “It would help the programs and the kids. You can really work with the kids on academics, with classes and counseling. The kids who make the decisions too late, it’s hard to get the classes (they want).”

Said Norton: “I don’t see why we can’t offer a kid tuition, especially the way the economy is going. I would like to have a voluntary (junior college) signing day when kids could sign and not be bugged by other coaches. It doesn’t have to be in February or anything but maybe more like June or July.”

Delmatoff, however, says the idea doesn’t appeal to him as a player.

“I think it would be great for coaches, but I don’t think it would matter to the players because they could still practice with a team up to a certain date and see what their chances of playing are,” he said. “If they don’t like it, they can move on.”

Another dissenting opinion is voiced by Brent Carder, the Antelope Valley College football coach the past 23 seasons, who says he has few worries about losing local players to other programs because the school is “a little bit remote.” He sympathizes with coaches who have to compete more feverishly for personnel but doesn’t think a letter of intent would be the answer at the junior college level.

“Practically speaking, the letter of intent at four-year schools is tied to scholarships,” Carder said. “Without offering a scholarship, I would question the legality of having a kid locked to a program. I don’t think it’s workable in the California community colleges because of the scholarship issue.”

Norton, like the other coaches, can rest a little easier now. There were a few defections, players he thought would go to Pierce, but he still landed Delmatoff and his share of other good high school recruits at practice Monday.

Among them were running back Coron Lewis, wide receiver Jibri Hodge and defensive back Marcelo Garcia.

Lewis, an All-West Valley League selection at Cleveland, rushed for 854 yards and nine touchdowns. Hodge had 44 receptions for 753 yards and five touchdowns at Saugus. Garcia from San Fernando was an All-Northwest Valley Conference pick.

At Glendale, Cicuto has attracted several strongmen. This season, the Vaquero offensive and defensive lines will feature freshmen Tai Takapu, a 6-2, 280-pounder from North Hollywood; Lonnie Neuhaus, 6-6 and 300 pounds, from Poly; and Brandon Gabriel, a 6-4, 220-pound defensive end from Notre Dame who was recruited by Pacific 10 Conference schools until he suffered a knee injury early last season and underwent surgery.

Fenwick would have been happier had Delmatoff stayed, but but he says he has a good replacement in Sean Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, 6 feet 5 and 211 pounds from Agoura High, redshirted at Idaho State two seasons ago and played on special teams last season. In his senior season at Agoura, Fitzgerald passed for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Monarchs also landed John Buckley, a linebacker from Reseda and the defensive co-player of the year in the West Valley League last season, and Roy Rodriguez, who rushed for 366 yards and three touchdowns at Grant but who will move to defensive back at Valley.