The Good Son : USC-Bound DeMars Pays Heed to His Mom, Schoolwork and All Who Come His Way as Westlake’s Middle Linebacker

Only one person has the guts to call 6-foot-4, 238-pound Westlake High middle linebacker Bobby DeMars a mama’s boy.

DeMars.

“She’s real important, I care what she thinks, so I guess I am a mama’s boy,” said the senior, who has accepted a scholarship from USC for his ability to flatten anyone carrying a football.

Quiet, well-behaved and an honors student, DeMars might also be called a nerd. But nobody has that much guts.

“It’s funny in class because every question the teacher asks, Bobby knows the answer,” said Bret Young, a Warrior defensive back. “It’s amazing all the stuff he knows.”

Enough to score 1,310 on the SAT and maintain a 3.9 grade-point average. He plans to major in business and minor in drama at USC.

DeMars also knows a studious demeanor won’t cut it when he’s staring down a quarterback. During games, he steps into a dramatic role and gets down to business.

“I change my whole way of thinking,” he said. “I’m like Jekyll and Hyde. My eyes are big, I’m sweating and bleeding.

“I compare drama to a football game. Practicing or rehearsing, I’m not nervous. When it’s time to perform, I see all the people and freak out at first. But once it starts, it flows naturally.”

DeMars and Westlake are flowing in the right direction. The Warriors (2-0) are top ranked in The Times’ regional poll heading into a nonleague game against No. 4 Hart (1-1) on Friday night at Westlake.

DeMars made a team-high 130 tackles as a junior, and after adding more than 20 pounds during the off-season while working with a personal trainer he is off to a strong start this year. He is the latest in a string of excellent Westlake middle linebackers that includes Eric Guenther, who plays for Illinois, and Vince Bruno, who plays for Western Illinois.

“Bobby might be quiet, but on the field he is in the same mold as his predecessors,” Coach Jim Benkert said. “He is real eager to learn and he is very physical.”

DeMars took punishment as a sophomore playing varsity at El Camino Real. With only 170 pounds on his 6-3 frame, he was fodder at a variety of positions.

“I was skinny and not fast, and I got whupped all over the field,” he said. “It was unbelievable. I played linebacker, offensive tackle, fullback and tight end. But I never touched the ball one time, not even in practice.”

El Camino Real struggled through a 1-9 season, but that didn’t prompt DeMars’ transfer to Westlake.

“I was as responsible for the losing as anybody,” he said.

DeMars moved from his father’s home in Woodland Hills to his mother’s home in Newbury Park after his sophomore year, and by the time he reported for practice at Westlake he had gained 45 pounds.

He chose to attend Westlake under open enrollment because it was between Woodland Hills and Newbury Park and he could spend time with both parents.

Some of his new teammates knew DeMars in grade school when his family lived in Thousand Oaks. The change in him was shocking.

“In elementary school he wasn’t the guy you would pick first in the playground,” Young said. “When he came back I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ I didn’t recognize him. He was knocking the . . . out of people.”

Nevertheless, DeMars started slowly as a junior. It wasn’t until midseason that he made a strong impact. “By the time the playoffs started he was the Rock of Gibraltar,” Benkert said.

Recruiters, impressed by his size and intelligence, began a heavy push. USC held an advantage on several fronts.

DeMars’ cousins, Steve and Eric Pfahler, are 30-year-old USC graduates who have taken Bobby to many Trojan games. Two years ago, USC recruited Westlake wide receiver Billy Miller, now a starter. Benkert’s close friend, Joe Hubbard, is Coach John Robinson’s administrative assistant.

Last May, Benkert took DeMars to a USC spring practice and Robinson took the young player aside.

“I was, ‘Whoa, Coach Robinson is having a conversation with me,’ ” DeMars said. “I looked behind me to see if he was talking to someone else. He told me he hoped I’d come to USC and that there would be a spot for me.”

DeMars, ever the student, made a chart of the schools interested in him, listing their attributes and drawbacks.

“USC came out way ahead on all my matrices,” he said. “Everything pointed to USC.”

At the Trojans’ game against Oregon State at the Coliseum a earlier this season, DeMars got his first taste of Trojan life. He ate lunch with two assistant coaches, then went on the field during warmups.

“It was breathtaking just being on the grass,” he said. “It was intense watching the team come out of the tunnel. The band was awesome. I could picture myself there.”

Already he has come a long way from the little boy whose mom carried him around until he was 8 because of foot and leg cramps.

“Bobby is the sweetest, kindest boy,” said Vickey Moseid, his mother. “He is not a typical jock.”

DeMars is only momentarily embarrassed by the description.

“During games, she believes that if she concentrates hard enough, I’ll get an interception,” he said. “Against Buena, I got one, so who knows? I never say anything against my mom.”