Matadors Didn’t Let Hotshots Cool

Hot prospects--at least the ones on Cal State Northridge’s football wish list--are best kept warm.

By any means possible.

For a football program that was without a coach for 25 key recruiting days, that means playing phone tag.

Plenty of it.

“We did a lot of phone recruiting in the month of January,” said Rob Phenicie, Northridge’s offensive coordinator. “We were keeping our No. 1s warm.”

Not to mention everyone else on a list broken down by team needs.

When Jim Fenwick resigned Jan. 5 to become offensive coordinator at New Mexico, the Matadors were left to scramble without a coach during a crucial recruiting period that culminates today, the first signing day for high school seniors.

So until Friday, when the school hired Ron Ponciano to guide the program, Phenicie and other Northridge assistants tried to keep recruits warm to the idea of playing for the Matadors.

They were forced to do it without promising scholarships or what direction the team would take once a new boss took over.

“I don’t know if it was as much chaotic as it was frustrating,” said Jeff Kearin, who Ponciano this week promoted to assistant head coach. “We all kind of hung together and tried to keep up to speed.”

Kearin was particularly busy, his attention divided between chasing recruits and chasing a dream. He was one of three finalists for the Northridge job that went to Ponciano, defensive coordinator at San Jose State last season and at Northridge in 1995-96.

He also was unsure whether he, after three years at Northridge, or the other assistants still would be on the staff under another coach. The uncertainty occupied their thoughts.

For instance, at a Matador baseball game Friday, just before Athletic Director Paul Bubb announced Ponciano’s hiring, Phenicie mentioned he liked the red and black Northridge caps on sale.

But, he quickly noted, there was no sense investing in more Northridge gear until his future with the program was cemented. Ponciano kept him to run the offense, so Phenicie can buy the cap.

Getting recruits to buy into Northridge is a tougher sell. Bubb told the assistants to offer scholarships to the transfers they absolutely needed to get, but not to high school seniors. He wanted the new coach to make that call.

“It wasn’t so much we were running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but we just didn’t have direction [from a coach],” Phenicie said.

Ponciano, who will be introduced as coach at a news conference today, provided some guidance. For a while, anyway.

He drove from San Jose to Northridge, met with some of the assistants Saturday and cleared them to make offers to whoever they wanted badly. He returned north Sunday to tie loose ends and returned to Northridge on Tuesday, in time to join the staff in last-minute calls to recruits.

Since last season, the Matadors signed six transfers and received commitments from four high school players in the last few days. Northridge hopes to sign about 10 players in addition to transfers.

On Tuesday, Todd Hull, Northridge’s outside linebackers coach, cataloged about 200 videotapes of recruits that were strewn in an office.

“Coach Ponce wants everything back in order,” said Hull, a part-time assistant whose future role with the Matadors remains in the air. “We’ve already evaluated all of these players [on the tapes].”

Some top prospects got away.

“I really believe that if [Northridge] had moved quicker, we would have had a great class,” Phenicie said. “But it’s not the administration’s fault. They just went through the process.”

And tried to keep everyone warm.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NEW MATADORS

Here’s a list of football players who have committed to Cal State Northridge. The signing period for high school seniors starts today.

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NAME POSITION SCHOOL Frank Alvarez Offensive tackle Colorado State Jake Ashabraner Offensive tackle Anaheim Esperanza Jaumal Bradley Running back Mt. San Antonio Beau Cherry Center Saugus/Valley/E.Michigan Keith Cincaid Offensive tackle Riverside J.W. North Isaac Gardner Running back-linebacker Monterey Seaside Ryan Hourigan Defensive end Hart/Pierce/Valley Chris Karibee Safety Riverside Pacific Pieter Keus Linebacker Carlsbad Dave Lins Quarterback Crespi/Valley Andre Pepper Linebacker Riverside College

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