Ponciano Sounds Alarm for Northridge Players

Here’s what Coach Ron Ponciano’s first meeting next season with the Cal State Northridge football team might sound like:

“OK, fellows, make sure to pick up your helmets, pads, shoes, uniforms and alarm clocks on the way out.”

Alarm clocks?

Oh, yes. The Matadors will need them.

Ponciano plans to switch practices from afternoons to 7 a.m., starting with training camp in late summer, following the lead of Coach Mike Riley at Oregon State.

“We can get them out [on the field] at their peak time,” Ponciano said. “Mike Riley says that’s the smartest thing he’s ever done.

“It gives [the players] more opportunities to go to afternoon classes. It could end up being a very wise decision or the butt of all jokes.”

Jason Mageo, a senior defensive end who recently transferred to Northridge from Oregon State, said the early morning workouts have their advantages.

“I liked it,” said Mageo, whose younger brother, Jacob, is a nose guard with the Matadors. “When you go through camp, you have morning practices anyway.”

For those who forget to set their alarms, word is the coaches are thinking of keeping a rooster at the dorm.

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The Matadors are in the middle of spring practice, but are not slowing down in the weight room.

“We’re attacking it like a power phase instead of maintenance,” Ponciano said. “We’re having great workouts. About a 99% success rate of the kids turning out for weight training.”

Ponciano, heading into his second season as Northridge coach, said the offense has been sharp in drills.

“Our running back situation looks really good,” Ponciano said.

Northridge has senior Jaumal Bradley, an All-Big Sky Conference selection at fullback last season; DeJuan Gilmore, a senior transfer from Washington State; junior Marcus Bivines and redshirt freshman Alan Taylor.

The four quarterbacks on the team last season--starter Marcus Brady and backups Josh Fiske, David Lins and Mitch Ryerson--are in spring camp and Ponciano said Fiske has not practiced at wide receiver, where Northridge coaches had said he might see some action next season.

“He certainly hasn’t volunteered to do it and I don’t want to force anyone to do anything they don’t want,” Ponciano said.

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That 800 phone number David Banuelos, new Pierce College football coach, has at his Chatsworth home is working out just fine.

Banuelos mentioned the number when he was hired in February to take over the Brahmas, hoping to hear from potential recruits.

He did.

“There was a lot of response to it,” Banuelos said. “Some crank calls, but nothing bad. Some players did call.”

Banuelos, a former assistant at Moorpark College, said he also got an earful from another coach in the region.

“I guess it was illegal to print the number,” Banuelos said. “He let me know for sure.”

Banuelos said his defensive staff is nearly complete with Don Neal as coordinator, Jeff Lujan coaching inside linebackers, Ron Upshaw tutoring outside linebackers and Ennis Howard with the secondary.

Neal comes from West L.A. and Upshaw is the only holdover assistant.

Lujan was an All-Western State Conference linebacker at Moorpark and Howard was an all-state pick at Glendale College before playing safety at Northridge in 1993-94.

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Although it isn’t likely, cousins and former Bell-Jeff High teammates Jaclyn Johnson and Stacy Cobb could play in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals.

Johnson is a sophomore forward for Kansas and Cobb is a redshirt freshman at Grambling.

No. 9-seeded Kansas, which opens against Marquette, would have to beat top-seeded Purdue in the second round.

No. 12 Grambling would need upsets over fifth-seeded Alabama and No. 4 North Carolina.

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Other players from the region competing in the NCAA women’s tournament include: Nicole Greathouse (Buena), Tawnee Cooper (Simi Valley) and Melissa Harrison (Hart) of UC Santa Barbara; Edniesha Curry (Palmdale) of Northridge; Michelle Greco (Crescenta Valley) and Carly Funicello (Alemany) of UCLA.

Pam Walker, former Hart and Van Nuys coach, is an assistant at UCLA.

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Staff writer Fernando Dominguez and correspondent Dave Desmond contributed to this notebook.