Room to Grow : Royal High’s Ryan Nielsen Has Plenty on His Plate in an Attempt to Beef Up for His Freshman Football Season at USC

For the first time in his high school career, Ryan Nielsen is not playing baseball this spring. Royal High’s three-sport star and Big Man On Campus is far too busy eating.

“Huge meals,” he said. “My mom packs me big lunches.”

Two sandwiches, four pieces of fruit, two drinks, a bag of cookies (usually Fig Newtons) and a fruit roll.

Plus a big breakfast and dinner.

Plus big snacks.

All of this gorging is because USC football coaches say Nielsen may get significant playing time at defensive end when he moves to Division I football next fall. Nielsen recalls a few months ago, when USC Coach John Robinson paid a recruiting visit and they sat in the living room watching Florida State play Florida in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.

The Seminoles and their beefy offensive line--including 6-foot-8, 300-pound Tra Thomas and 6-8, 255-pound Ross Brannon at tackles--will come to the Coliseum on Sept. 6 for USC’s 1997 season opener.

“Ryan is fixing to go from a Chevy to a Cadillac in terms of what he’s playing against,” said Jeff McInerney, USC’s defensive line coach. “For his position, he needs to be physically strong.”

The 6-5, 237-pound Nielsen said: “I’m eating everything I can.”

Such is the gap between high school and major college football. Nielsen, 18, is entering the domain of older, more physically mature players. As one college assistant coach said: “When you bring a kid into this level . . . you never know what to expect.”

Yet Nielsen established himself as a prospect from the moment he began playing in high school.

“Within the first week we had him, we knew he would be a Division I athlete,” said Royal Coach Gene Uebelhardt. “He was able to compete with kids who were four years older than him as soon as he stepped on campus as a ninth-grader.”

His size and natural ability translated to other sports, as well.

In baseball, Nielsen pitched and played outfield. On the basketball court, he was the Marmonte League most valuable player in 1996. This season, after missing early games because of football recruiting trips and flu, he averaged 17.3 points and 11.2 rebounds at center, making The Times’ All-Ventura County second team.

But it was in football that he truly excelled.

The defensive end began showing up on all-star teams as a sophomore. As a senior, he recorded 129 tackles, 19 sacks, seven forced fumbles and two interceptions. Those numbers were more impressive because he played for a 2-8 team.

“There’s not a kid in the county who can kick his butt,” Uebelhardt said.

The list of 1996 postseason accolades was as long as it was distinguished: Prep Star All-American, Super Prep All Farwest, Cal-Hi Sports All-State. Nielsen was The Times’ Ventura County defensive player of the year.

There was also the matter of his schoolwork.

“He’s a very good student,” said Dan Shuster, who teaches a pre-calculus class at Royal. “A good worker with a good head on his shoulders.”

That made him even more attractive to recruiters, dozens of whom came calling. After considering Arizona State, Texas and Stanford, Nielsen narrowed his choices to Miami and USC.

“I’m going to live in Southern California my entire life,” Nielsen said. “I’m going to major in business and with all the ‘SC alumni out here, it’s a good way to get a job when you get out of school.”

Before joining the work force, however, Nielsen has his sights trained on a successful college football career.

Both he and Bobby DeMars, a highly recruited defensive player at Westlake, expected to use redshirt seasons as USC freshmen. But when 6-4, 305-pound Darrell Russell decided to leave school after his junior season for the NFL, the Trojans found themselves thin on the defensive line.

That’s when McInerney told Nielsen to get ready.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” the Trojan assistant said. “But Ryan’s a very physical player. He’s very talented. Hopefully he can develop into a starting player here.”

McInerney is counting on Nielsen’s work ethic to help smooth the transition.

For now, Nielsen is working hard at the dinner table. The Trojans want their prized recruit to reach 250 pounds by the start of summer practice in August.

“I think I could pass rush pretty well,” said Nielsen, who watched several practices at USC this spring. “The thing I’ll have to work on is stopping the run. I’ll have to gain at least 15 more pounds.”

He augments all that digestion with daily visits to a neighborhood health club.

If the workouts become monotonous, if the food becomes too much to stomach, Nielsen need only think back to Jan. 2, when he and Robinson sat watching television.

“Coach Rob said, ‘You’re going to be playing these guys next year,’ ” Nielsen recalled. “That’s when it really hit me.”

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Big Shoes to Fill

Royal’s Ryan Nielsen could be on the field when USC opens te season Sept. 6 against Florida State. A comparison:

Ryan Nielsen

Future USC defensive end

Height: 6-5, Weight: 237

Bench Press: 330 Lbs.

Who he’s replacing

USC defensive end, 1996

Height: 6-4, Weight: 305

Bench Press: 420 Lbs.

Who he’ll be facing

Tra Thomas

Florida State lineman

Height: 6-8, Weight: 300

Bench Press: 500 Lbs.