Trojan Recruit’s Friends Sort Out Their Emotions

Doug DuBois watched Drean Rucker mature from overweight boy to muscular young man, marveling at the way the soft-spoken teenager developed into a leader on and off the football field.

“The way he held himself and the way he conducted himself, you don’t find that today,” said DuBois, who coached Rucker at Moreno Valley Canyon Springs High. “He was the complete football player. It made you say, ‘Wow.’ ”

DuBois was among a tightknit circle of friends and relatives struggling to accept that they may never see Rucker again. The USC-bound linebacker was presumed drowned in a swimming accident off Huntington State Beach late Monday.

Family members continued a vigil Wednesday near the beach where Rucker, 18, was last seen. Search crews have shifted from rescue to recovery mode, waiting for the ocean to return Rucker’s body to shore.

Lifeguard supervisor Mike Brousard said there is no typical timetable for a drowning victim to wash ashore, that it could be days or months before the body is found.

“The reality of the situation is, it’s a dynamic environment out there,” Brousard said. “The water is constantly moving. [Rucker] could be anywhere.”

Brousard said three lifeguards are assigned to search the shoreline from 6 to 9 this morning before assuming their normal shifts.

Rucker’s family, still hopeful that Rucker would be found alive, declined to answer questions, including whether Rucker could swim. He entered the water with a friend shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, when there were no lifeguards on duty.

Several of Rucker’s former Canyon Springs teammates were among those pacing the sand and scanning the horizon for any trace of their friend. DuBois joined the group for several hours Tuesday, after learning of Rucker’s accident while vacationing with his family in Oceanside.

“It eats my heart,” said DuBois, who stepped down as Canyon Springs coach after last season to become an assistant at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif.

DuBois, 28, described the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Rucker as an exceptional player who combined great physical skills with a humble, respectful manner.

“He was definitely the complete package,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll find another player like him. I was blessed.”

DuBois said Rucker weighed about 270 pounds as a sophomore before molding a chiseled body through regular weight workouts. He said Rucker could power-clean 350 pounds as a senior.

“Pound for pound, he’s the strongest kid I’ve ever seen,” DuBois said.

“He lost all of his baby fat and all of a sudden grew into his body. There wasn’t even a flake of fat on his body now.”

Switching from the defensive line, Rucker last season became the No. 1 linebacker prospect in Southern California and was heavily recruited before signing with USC in February. He led Canyon Springs with 153 tackles, helping the Cougars to a 10-2-1 record and a semifinal appearance in the Southern Section Division V playoffs.

DuBois said Rucker’s dynamic presence on the field was matched by the wise choices he made away from football.

“You see so many things now -- drugs, alcohol, kids doing whatever,” he said. “This kid wasn’t into any of that. He led by example. Kids wanted to be like Drean. That’s what’s so special about him.”

Former schoolmates held a candlelight vigil in Rucker’s honor at Canyon Springs on Tuesday.

“My heart and my prayers are with Drean’s family,” Principal Tammy Guzzetta said.

USC football Coach Pete Carroll released a statement Tuesday offering sympathy to Rucker’s family, but the school is withholding further comment while the search for the player’s body continues. Rucker was scheduled to report to USC on Aug. 5.

DuBois said he has had a difficult time accepting the apparent tragedy.

“I still don’t believe it,” he said. “It hasn’t hit, and I don’t want it to hit. I want to find him and have him come home.”