RECRUITING ROUNDUP : Rempel Takes Walk-On Bid From UCLA

Jason Rempel twice was named first-team All-Valley by The Times. In 1993 he was named first-team all-state by Cal-Hi Sports, but all he got from college recruiters was the cold shoulder.

Many schools have expressed interest in Rempel but none offered the 6-foot-4, 255-pound tackle from Calabasas High a scholarship until this week. And when the only offer came from San Jose State, Rempel gave the Spartans the cold shoulder and chose to walk on at UCLA.

“I was discouraged last week I wasn’t hearing from anybody,” said Rempel, named the co-most valuable player in the Frontier League. “But then I got a call from UCLA on Wednesday. They said they didn’t have a scholarship for me, but I asked them this week if I could walk on. They said yes and they got me into the school.”

Not that Rempel wouldn’t have been accepted anyway. He carries a 3.0 grade-point average and scored 1,050 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The Bruins told him they were investing most of their scholarships on defensive players and they had only one full ride for an offensive lineman. It went to Terry Williams of El Dorado High in Placentia.

“(San Jose State) was all right, but I had a better feel for UCLA,” he said. “I’ve wanted to go there since I was in seventh grade. It’s been a dream, and now I have a chance. I’m getting all the benefits of the athletes; tutoring, first crack at registration. . . . I get everything but the money.”

UCLA told Rempel he could earn a scholarship within the next two years with ample progress.

“I don’t consider it a risk (turning down San Jose State),” Rempel said. “Football is one thing, but it’s not the end-all. Maybe I’d be able to play next year at San Jose State. But UCLA is a great school and, who knows, maybe I’ll be playing there in a couple of years.”

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Kennedy linebacker Vincent Carthron became the third member of his team to commit to play at San Jose State.

Carthron (6-1, 150) was a standout outside linebacker who missed several games last fall after undergoing surgery on his left knee. Carthron has not scored the required 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, but San Jose State has agreed to accept him as a Proposition 48 player if necessary, Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said.

Tailback Donte Scarbrough and receiver Shaun Dudra already have committed to San Jose State.

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Missouri Coach Larry Smith might have a trio of Glendale College football players on his roster next season.

Running backs Jerome Casey and Pathon Rucker could end up with the Tigers if they get their Associate in Arts degrees before next fall. And Miguel Gonzalez, a 6-3, 225-pound tight end, signed a letter of intent to play at Missouri next season.

Glendale Coach John Cicuto said Casey has orally committed to attend Missouri and Rucker has an offer from the same university.

Casey, a former All-City player at Sylmar High, would be used at defensive back by the Tigers, Cicuto said. Casey was hampered by ankle problems last season and rushed for 487 yards in seven games for Glendale.

Rucker was second in the state in rushing with 1,684 yards, scored 14 touchdowns and finished as the career rushing leader at Glendale with 2,900 yards.

Gonzalez, a former Grant High standout, had 21 receptions for 237 yards last season.

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Chaminade High’s Katy Bloodgood signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Georgetown. The 5-7 setter was an All-Mission League selection. Bloodgood was also an all-league guard for the Eagles’ basketball team.

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Thousand Oaks soccer player Shannon Thomas has committed to play at UCLA. The senior midfielder has nine goals and six assists this season.

Staff writers Kennedy Cosgrove, Fernando Dominguez, Steve Elling and Dana Haddad contributed to this story.