Southland Connections

If you’re an L.A.-area college football fan, it can be said that there is no such thing as rooting for the home team on a given Saturday during the fall. There isn’t a team in the Pacific 10 Conference that doesn’t depend on products from Southland schools. Not including those from UCLA or USC, here’s a list of players listed first or second at their position on their team’s depth chart:

ARIZONA

* Antoine Cason (Sr., CB, Los Alamitos HS) -- Was overshadowed somewhat by Randy Estes in his high school secondary, but Cason has emerged as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. He made 62 tackles last season and had three interceptions, including the game-winner in a 24-20 upset of California.

* Conan Amituanai, Fr., G, Long Beach Poly; Colin Baxter, Fr., C, Peninsula; Eben Britton, So., OT, Burbank Burroughs; Jovon Hayes, Fr., G, Dorsey; Michael Klyce, Jr., S, Locke; Adrian McCovy, Jr., LB, Lakewood; D’Aundre Reed, Fr., DE, Rancho Verde; Devin Ross, So., CB, Rancho Cucamonga; Johnathan Turner, Jr., DE, Corona.

ARIZONA STATE

* Rudy Carpenter (Jr., QB, Westlake HS) -- Has passed for 4,796 yards and 40 touchdowns since winning the starting job midway through his freshman season. Carpenter was a three-sport star at Newbury Park High before transferring to Westlake, where he guided the Warriors to a 14-0 season and a Southern Section Division IV championship as a senior.

* Omar Bolden, Fr., CB, Colony; Rudy Burgess, Sr., WR, Desert; Rodney Cox, Jr., FS, Cathedral; Rodney Glass, Fr., WR, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; Jeff Gray, Sr., WR, North Torrance; Robert Gustavis, Sr., G, North Torrance; Jonathan Johnson, Sr., P, Grace Brethren; Littrele Jones, Sr., CB, Taft; Nate Kimbrough, Jr., WR, Santa Fe; Ryan McFoy, So., LB, Chino; Troy Nolan, Jr., SS, El Camino Real; Jeremy Payton, Jr., SS, South Hills; Justin Tryon, Sr., CB, Taft; Thomas Weber, Fr., K/P, Loyola.

CALIFORNIA

* DeSean Jackson (Jr., WR/KR, Long Beach Poly HS) -- Among the most exciting players in the country, he’s a breakaway threat at receiver and kick returner. He had 1,060 yards and nine touchdowns last season as a receiver and also returned four punts for touchdowns. As a senior at Long Beach Poly, Jackson scored 15 touchdowns -- eight covering 60 yards or more -- and won the Glenn Davis Award as The Times’ Player of the Year in 2004.

* Bryan Anger, Fr., P, Camarillo; Chris Conte, Fr., CB, Loyola; Rulon Davis, Jr., DE, Charter Oak; Brian De La Puente, Sr., G, San Clemente; Mark Gray, Sr., G, Loyola; Darian Hagan, Fr., CB, Crenshaw; Brian Holley, So., FB, Diamond Ranch; Jordan Kay, Jr., K, Peninsula; Andrew Larson, Sr., P, Laguna Hills; Nate Longshore, Jr., QB, Canyon Country Canyon; Alex Mack, Jr., C, San Marcos; Matt Malele, Sr., DT, Carson; Noris Malele, Jr., G, Carson; Cameron Morrah, So., TE, Claremont; Craig Stevens, Sr., TE, Peninsula; Mike Tepper, Jr., OT, Garden Grove Pacifica; Brandon Hampton, Sr., CB, Westchester.

OREGON

* Walter Thurmond (So., CB, West Covina HS) -- Started 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman, making 67 tackles and receiving honorable mention All Pac-10 honors. He also competes in track, twice qualifying for the conference meet in the 110 hurdles. Thurmond led West Covina to a Southern Section Division VII championship. A double threat, he accounted for more than 1,100 all-purpose yards, made 85 tackles and had five interceptions.

* Jerome Boyd, Jr., LB, Dorsey; Patrick Chung, Jr., ROV, Rancho Cucamonga; Andre Crenshaw, So., RB, Antelope Valley; Ed Dickson, So., TE, Bellflower; Kevin Garrett, So., LB, Narbonne; Jacob Hucko, Jr., OT, Cerritos; Talmadge Jackson, Fr., CB, Chaparral; Jeremiah Johnson, Jr., RB, Dorsey; Marvin Johnson, Fr., ROV, Dominguez; Derrick Jones, So., WR, Long Beach Poly; Mark Lewis, Jr., G, Arroyo Grande; Casey Matthews, Fr., LB, Oaks Christian; Daniel Padilla, Fr., K, Corona; Brian Paysinger, Sr., WR, Long Beach Wilson; Nick Reed, Jr., DE, Mission Viejo; Geoff Schwartz, Sr., OT, Palisades; Michael Speed, Jr., DT, Los Angeles University; A.J. Tuitele, Sr., LB, Wilmington Banning; Jaison Williams, Jr., WR, Culver City.

OREGON STATE

* Alexis Serna (Sr., K, Fontana A.B. Miller HS) -- Serna is the best kicker in Oregon State history and won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker in 2005. He has made 106 consecutive extra-point tries entering the season and has converted on better than 80% of his field-goal attempts. Serna was A.B. Miller’s Athlete of the Year as a senior, kicking and punting for the Rebels football team and also competing in soccer and track.

* William ‘Akau’ola Vea, Sr., DT, Hawthorne; Anthony Brown, Sr., WR, Dominguez; Victor Butler, Jr., DE, Eisenhower; Tim Clark, So., CB, Cathedral; Isaiah Cook, Jr., LB, Claremont; Howard Croom, So., TE, Long Beach Wilson; Daniel Drayton, Sr., SS, Los Altos; Joey LaRocque, Sr., LB, Agoura; Ryan McCants, Fr., RB, Corona Santiago; Lyle Moevao, So., QB, North Torrance; Shane Morales, Jr., WR, Valencia; Bryan Payton, Jr., FS, South Hills; Gregg Peat, So., OT, Mission Viejo; Brandon Powers, Sr., WR, Franklin; John Reese, So., TE, Upland; Dorian Smith, Sr., DE, Birmingham; Adam Speer, Jr., G, Chaminade.

STANFORD

* Mark Bradford (Sr., WR, Fremont HS) -- Returns for a fifth year after his 2006 season ended because of an injury in the Cardinal’s second game. Started at receiver from 2003 to ’05 and has 118 catches in his career. He also played on Stanford’s 30-2 basketball team in 2003-04. At Fremont, Bradford was a two-time All-City pick in football and basketball.

* Chike Amajoyi, Fr., LB, Aquinas; Josh Catron, So., FB, Torrance; Preston Clover, Sr., G, Laguna Hills; Toby Gerhart, So., RB, Norco; Erik Lorig, So., DE, Peninsula; Evan Moore, Sr., WR, Brea Olinda; Richard Sherman, So., WR, Dominguez.

WASHINGTON

* Roy Lewis (Sr., CB, Narbonne HS) -- A two-year starter at cornerback for the Huskies, for whom he made 66 tackles last season in addition to sharing return duties. Lewis was a two-way star at Narbonne, rushing for 13 touchdowns as a running back and making 108 tackles with seven interceptions as a senior.

* Quintin Daniels, Sr., WR, Loyola; Mesphin Forrester, Sr., SS, Venice; D’Andre Goodwin, So., WR, Antelope Valley; Dan Howell, Sr., LB, Hart; Brandon Johnson, Fr., RB, Dominguez; Robert Lewis, Sr., TE, Montclair Prep; Erick Lobos, Sr., DT, Venice; Marcel Reece, Sr., WR, Hesperia; Morgan Rosborough, Jr., G Long Beach Jordan; Chris Stevens, Jr., LB, Mojave; Jason Wells, Jr., FS, Bonita.

WASHINGTON STATE

* Michael Bumpus (Sr., WR, Culver City HS) -- Honorable mention All-Pac-10 a year ago when he led the Cougars with 60 catches for 558 yards -- including 11 receptions in a narrow loss to USC. Bumpus showed his versatility at Culver City, catching 75 passes for 1,081 yards as a junior, then winning Division X Player of the Year honors while playing quarterback as a senior.

* Husain Abdullah, Sr., FS, Pomona; Jeshua Anderson, Fr., WR, Cleveland; Christian Bass, Sr., SS, Canyon Springs; Darryl Blunt, Jr., P, St. John Bosco; Jed Collins, Sr., TE, Mission Viejo; Charles Dillon, Sr., WR, Hueneme; Jesse Feagin, Jr., DE, Long Beach Jordan; Mike Graise, Jr., DE, Inglewood; Xavier Hicks, So., FS, Fullerton; Kevin McCall, Sr., RB, Carson; Finas Rabb, Sr., WR, El Modena; Dan Rowlands, Jr., G, Los Alamitos; Andrew Roxas, Fr., G, St. Francis; Dwight Tardy, So., RB, St. Paul; Toby Turpin, Fr., DT, Los Alamitos; Benny Ward, Jr., WR, Birmingham.

-- Eric Maddy