California Coach Not Ready to Give His Blessing to Boller

Jack, Queen, King, Ace, Messiah?

Coach Tom Holmoe of California is keeping his cards close to his vest. He insists that Kyle Boller, dubbed “Jesus in cleats” by the Daily Californian student newspaper, is just another guy competing for the starting quarterback position.

“We can’t ordain him,” Holmoe said. “He has to earn it. But Kyle will be thrown into the mix, no question.”

Boller, who threw for 59 touchdowns and a state single-season record 4,841 yards at Hart High in his only season as a starter, lacks experience. Yet so do sophomore Samuel Clemons, senior Wesley Dalton and freshman Ryan Sorahan from Los Gatos High.

Clemons, listed No. 1 on the depth chart, completed two of 12 passes last season as a backup to senior Justin Vedder. Clemons is an intense leader with a strong arm who attended Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills.

Dalton is a walk-on destined for backup duty, but Sorahan is a legitimate contender who was recruited by several other Pacific 10 Conference schools.

“Opening up the competition in training camp is the only obvious thing to do,” Holmoe said. “Maybe the starter will emerge before the first game, and maybe it will take a few games to decide.”

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Sixty Pac-10 players are from high schools or junior colleges in the region, including five quarterbacks in addition to Boller.

Four played in the Marmonte League. Arizona senior Keith Smith, who set conference records for passing efficiency and completion percentage last season, is the dean of the group. Smith led Newbury Park to a Southern Section title in 1993.

Joe Borchard, a Stanford junior who took Camarillo to a Southern Section championship in 1996, is a reserve who has made his primary impact on the baseball field as an all-conference outfielder.

Scott McEwan, a redshirt sophomore from Thousand Oaks, and Ryan McCann, a redshirt freshman from Agoura, are battling Drew Bennett and Cory Paus for the starting job at UCLA.

Sophomore J.K. Scott from Burroughs is the backup to Marques Tuiasosopo at Washington.

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Rick Neuheisel, the new coach at Washington, is still in the get-acquainted stage and is busily evaluating players. One he already likes is 6-foot-5 receiver Dajuan Hawkins.

The late-blooming redshirt junior from Newbury Park is poised to make an impact, Neuheisel believes. Hawkins made a strong impression during spring drills.

“He reminds me of [San Francisco 49er receiver] J.J. Stokes,” Neuheisel said. “I’m hoping he has a breakthrough season.”

Hawkins will begin the season behind sophomore Chris Juergens and junior Gerald Harris. But the third receiver in Neuheisel’s offense should get plenty of opportunities.

“Now we have to get him to play like J.J. Stokes,” Neuheisel said.

Hawkins hasn’t played much.

He didn’t start at Newbury Park until his senior year in 1995, when he caught 58 passes for 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns. He redshirted at Washington in 1996, did not play in ’97 and made only one appearance last season.

“I can’t worry too much about lack of experience,” Neuheisel said. “He has to play to get experience and it’s time for him to do that.”

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Hawkins’ cousin, Patrick Reddick, was a better receiver at Newbury Park and followed Hawkins to Washington in 1997. But he continues to be hampered by injuries.

Reddick had four catches as a freshman before redshirting last season after undergoing surgery to remove cysts on his knee. He still hasn’t recovered.

“He isn’t well,” Neuheisel said. “The knee is bothering him.”

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Two receivers from the region will start in the Pac-10. Senior Leaford Hackett (Poly High, Valley College) is coming off a 54-reception season at Washington State and Malosi Leonard (Palmdale High) has fought his way into the lineup of No. 5-ranked Arizona.

Hackett, a 5-9, 174-pound overachiever, ranked fourth in the conference in receptions and had a season-high 11 catches for 97 yards against Oregon.

However, Washington State is picked by coaches to finish last in the conference and senior quarterback Steve Birnbaum, who completed only 48.5% of his passes last season, does not exactly evoke images of previous Cougar greats Ryan Leaf, Drew Bledsoe, Timm Rosenbach and Mark Rypien.

“Our offensive situation is unsettled, but I think we can put together a strong passing game,” Coach Mike Price said.

Leonard won a starting spot at Arizona during the spring by repeatedly hooking up with Smith on big plays. He played mostly on special teams last season after redshirting in 1997.

“Malosi stayed in Tucson this summer and improved tremendously,” said Smith, who worked out every day with his receivers. “We got our timing down. I think he will really step up.”

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Healthy and hungry, Jerry Brown faces his last chance to make an impact at Oregon.

A relative of former USC Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, Brown set City Section rushing records at Taft High and as an Oregon freshman impressed coaches with his speed and explosiveness.

Brown’s promise diminished the last two seasons because of recurring ankle injuries. He did not play in 1997 and had 21 carries for 32 yards in limited action late last season.

He is finally healthy, but sits a distant fourth on the depth chart. Senior Reuben Droughns, who rushed for 824 yards in five games last season, is the starter, and senior Derien Latimer and sophomore Herman Ho-Ching also are ahead of Brown.

DaShon Polk, Arizona’s star linebacker and Brown’s former Taft teammate, spent last weekend with Brown in Las Vegas and believes Brown is ready.

“He’s in the best shape of his life and he knows this is his last chance,” Polk said. “There are great players in front of him, but they just need to let him on the field and show what he can do.”

Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti realizes Brown can contribute.

“I want him to get his hands on the ball,” Bellotti said. “He will have a chance to return kicks. And with his great speed, if he proves he is worthy of getting the ball in specific situations, we’ll do that.”