Scott has arrived at signature moment

All that remains is for Darrell Scott to sign his name.

Scott, a star running back at Ventura St. Bonaventure High, is among the nation’s top football prospects. He will sign a national letter of intent today, ending a college recruiting process that was understated by Internet-age standards.

Unlike most top high school players who answer as many phone calls from information-hungry recruiting experts as they do from college coaches, Scott has mostly been mum. But even so, the 6-foot, 200-pound senior has been the subject of seemingly endless message-board discussion.

“I don’t like all the attention and everything,” Scott said. “I just sit back and relax and watch everything develop. That’s just me. That’s how I am. Quiet.”

Allen Wallace, national recruiting editor for Scout.com and publisher of SuperPrep magazine, said Scott’s delaying his decision until the final day is not all that unusual for players regarded among the best at their positions.

“We always come down to letter-of-intent day with big-timers we’re waiting on,” Wallace said.

Scott, who helped St. Bonaventure win the state Division III championship bowl game, took only two recruiting trips: to Colorado, where his uncle, Josh Smith, plays receiver, and to Texas, where running back Jamaal Charles recently left after his junior season to turn pro.

Those schools and possibly Louisiana State, he said recently, were favorites in the race to secure his services. He is scheduled to announce his choice at 10 this morning on ESPNU.

“I’ve got my mind set on probably where I want to go and I’m going to stick with it,” Scott said.

College coaches were trying to sway him even in the last few days.

While Scott was being interviewed in the St. Bonaventure locker room, UCLA assistant DeWyane Walker strode past and entered a nearby room. Scott later joined Walker, who also made a return trip to St. Bonaventure with new head Coach Rick Neuheisel and another assistant in tow.

St. Bonaventure Coach Todd Therrien has witnessed similar parades. He was a Seraphs assistant when running back Lorenzo Booker signed with Florida State in 2002 and when receiver/running back Whitney Lewis signed with USC in 2003. Scott’s recruitment, the coach said, mirrors Booker’s -- with one obvious difference.

“Lorenzo kind of loved it and he pushed himself to it,” Therrien said. “He was a natural where Darrell’s been, well, you’ve got to kind of pull him out and bring him into the spotlight.”

Scott’s size, speed and powerful running style vaulted him into the media glare and onto the national recruiting radar in 2005, when he was a Moorpark High sophomore.

Scott rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 19 touchdowns for a team that advanced to the Southern Section Division IV championship game against St. Bonaventure.

As a junior, he ran for nearly 3,200 yards and scored 46 touchdowns.

But in January 2007, Scott left Moorpark, which was losing its entire starting offensive line to graduation, and transferred to St. Bonaventure, a parochial school that had won seven Southern Section football titles.

“That was [difficult] because I was leaving people I knew,” Scott said. “That was a big deal but, I don’t know, things weren’t stable there and I just didn’t like it anymore so I had to go. And I think I made a good decision.”

Said Moorpark Coach Tim Lins: “Unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it, it’s part of high school sports now.”

Scott was no stranger to Therrien.

As the Seraphs’ defensive coordinator in 2005, Therrien devised a scheme that slowed Scott in the division title game, limiting him to 93 yards in 22 carries as St Bonaventure won.

Shortly after Scott transferred to St. Bonaventure, Therrien became the head coach.

“The first day he came out here for spring training, he busted his butt -- he was one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen,” Therrien said of Scott. “He did everything we asked of him.”

Scott impressed teammates as well.

“He didn’t come in and expect everyone to hand him anything, he came in and worked hard,” quarterback Casey Serna said.

Last season, Scott ran for 2,433 yards and 34 touchdowns, and once the season ended, the recruiting ramped up.

Scott carried two cellphones -- one for his personal life, another for recruiting -- to handle the onslaught of inquiries from coaches and reporters.

USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian came calling but Scott recognized a logjam when he saw one.

“They have way too much,” he said of the Trojans’ depth at running back. “I’m not about to sit three years and then play one year.”

Before UCLA visited twice in less than a week, he said, “They’re not a big factor.”

Alabama and Clemson -- “I don’t even know you,” Scott recalled thinking -- were among the late-in-the-game suitors that recently made pitches to talk with him.

As he spoke of his impending announcement, Scott seemed neither beaten down nor overly excited.

“The main thing is, I don’t let this consume me at all,” Scott said. “I just have fun. If I want to play [a video game] today after school, I’m going to play it. I’m not going to let that go. I have fun. That’s what I’m all about.”

Scott is looking forward to the end of recruiting, but he said he learned valuable lessons.

Asked what advice he would give other similarly sought-after players who will follow, Scott did not hesitate.

“Take control of the process because it can be a nightmare or it can be a paradise,” he said. “Mine was a paradise.”

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gary.klein@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The state’s best

Four California players are among the top 25 in the nation, according to Rivals.com:

Darrell Scott, RB...Rank: 6

H.S.: Ventura St. Bonaventure

College: Uncommitted

Matt Kalil, OL...Rank: 11

H.S.: Anaheim Servite

College: USC

Tyron Smith, OL...Rank: 15

H.S.: Moreno Valley Rancho Verde

College: USC

Dayne Crist, QB...Rank: 25

H.S.: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

College: Notre Dame