Crenshaw Makes Its Mark With 4 Division I Signees

Crenshaw High’s hopes for an unbeaten football season ended with a loss in the City Section semifinals last November.

However, those in and around the Cougar program were euphoric Wednesday as four players signed national letters of intent with Division I universities.

Terrence Whitehead, a multipurpose back and receiver who was named City player of the year by section coaches, signed with Oregon. Quarterback Devin Hollins signed with Wisconsin. Defensive back Jacob Elimimian and defensive lineman Kenneth Jones signed with San Diego State.

“This says there are kids in the inner city who want to go places, and that Crenshaw is not just a basketball school,” said Hollins, who passed for 2,111 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. “It was a long, hard drive, but I got where I wanted to go. All the hard work paid off.”

Robert Garrett, football coach at Crenshaw for 15 seasons, said he could not recall the school having as many as four players sign or commit to Division I schools on the same day.

“I hope it inspires those kids that are here and others in the community that you don’t have to go to other areas to get recognition or to get the opportunity to get to Division I,” Garrett said. “If you take care of your business in the classroom, the athletics business will take care of itself.”

Crenshaw had more Division I signees Wednesday than any City Section school.

Palisades had three players sign: quarterback David Koral (Vanderbilt) and receivers Jacques Lazarus (UCLA) and Charles Ealy (Fresno State).

San Pedro defensive back Alex Teems and linebacker Justin Andrews signed with Washington State and Oregon, respectively. City Section champion Wilmington Banning also is sending a player to the Pacific 10 Conference--lineman Thomas Stevens, who signed with Arizona.

Carson, which lost to Banning in the championship game, had two players sign. Justin Cooper, who played quarterback and defensive back, signed with Nevada Las Vegas. Receiver Avantae Arrington signed with Idaho State.

Dorsey linebacker Steven Thompson signed with Utah, Westchester defensive lineman Mark Fenton with Colorado.