There are two reasons Christian Powell never could have imagined his current set of circumstances.

The Upland High School graduate was not only verbally committed to UCLA days before signing his national letter of intent last February, he was committed to being a fullback. When Powell suits up for Saturday’s UCLA game in Boulder, Colo., it will be as a tailback for Colorado.

The 6-foot, 235-pound true freshman switched his commitment to Colorado in the 11th hour, but he has to be pleased with the way it played out. Powell not only has been converted to a tailback, he is the Buffaloes’ primary ball carrier. Used almost exclusively as a blocking back when he wasn’t playing defensive end at Upland, Powell erupted in his second collegiate game for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in a two-point loss to Sacramento State.
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Playing high school football in Texas wasn’t the most intense part of Justin Strong’s sophomore year.

That distinction goes to the daily workouts with his brother, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Victor Butler.

“I would work out at school with the football team and then come home and do my brother’s workout with him,” Strong said. “It was hard, but it has stuck with me. I know what it’s like to work harder now.”

Strong returned to his native California prior to the 2011 season after one year in the Dallas suburb of Coppell and will begin his second season at Summit High School as one of the most feared safeties in the area.
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Rancho Cucamonga High School defensive backs Chris Hawkins and Tahaan Goodman along with Upland defensive end Joe Mathis are among 150 of the nation’s top high school football players who were invited to The Opening, a high profile camp held at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. today through Sunday.

Hawkins, rivals.com’s seventh-rated cornerback in the country, committed to USC April 1, but Goodman and Mathis are two of the top uncommitted recruits in Southern California. At The Opening, all three will face what is likely the highest level of competition they’ve seen to date. Of course, the trio of four-star prospects themselves represent some of the highest caliber competiton in the country.

Goodman is the top-ranked uncommitted safety in the country, according to rivals.com. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound senior has over 40 scholarship offers but hasn’t much begun to narrow his list. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Mathis is rivals.com’s second-rated strong side defensive end in the country not yet verbally committed. With over 50 scholarship offers, Mathis is running out of schools to impress but the opposition at The Opening presents him the opportunity for his most imppressive performance of the summer.

Charles Okonkwo has long since infiltrated the WAC and Mountain West conferences. On Saturday he hopes to begin his foray into the Pac-12.

The Summit cornerback with eight scholarship offers, seven of which are from the WAC or Mountain West, has reason to believe he can begin the domino effect in the Pac-12. There is no larger domino than USC, whose camp Okonkwo will attend this weekend.

“USC is pretty close to offering,” Summit head coach Cesar Villalobos said. “They’ve seen him on film but the defensive coordinator and the coaches just want to see him in person. Once that first offer comes in, they’ll all start coming in. He would probably get three of four more from the Pac-12.”

Army’s offer last week was the 6-foot-1, 175-pound defensive back’s first outside the WAC or Mountain West. The other offers for the senior-to-be consist of Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Nevada, Utah State, New Mexico and New Mexico State. Okonkwo’s current favorite is Boise State, which he has already visited unofficially in addition to receiving an earful from former Summit teammate and future Boise State freshman Donte Deayon.

“Boise State is just real business like and I like that,” Okonkwo said. “But at this point I’m open to anything. USC would be nice. They’re doing big things.”

Led by the defensive back duo from Rancho Cucamonga High School of Chris Hawkins and Tahaan Goodman, four football recruits from the Inland Valley are included in the debut of the ESPN 300 released today. Hawkins, a cornerback committed to USC, is rated the No. 71 recruit in the country, Goodman, a 6-foot-, 185-pound safety with 25 scholarship offers, is rated No. 95.

Another member of the Baseline League, Upland’s 6-4, 254-pound defensive end Joe Mathis, is rated the No. 236 recruit in the country. Mathis committed to Washington Oct. 24 but de-committed three months later and currently sports a healthy 41 scholarship offers.

Rounding out the local ESPN 300 members at No. 258 is Colony’s Samajie Grant, an athlete who played receiver and defensive back but is also coveted for his kick return ability. Grant has offers from Arizona, UCLA, Utah and Washington State.

Joe Mathis is taking it as slow as he can, but that task gets more difficult by the day. The Upland High School four-star junior defensive end has received 11 scholarship offers in the last two weeks alone.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Mathis figured he’d be a target on the West Coast, but what surprised him was when his status went national. It was Oklahoma and Oklahoma State offering last week, Michigan and Michigan State this week. Nebraska offered the same day as Oklahoma, joining names on his list more familiar to Mathis like USC, UCLA, Washington and Arizona State.

“I really didn’t see that coming, all the national offers,” Mathis said. “But I’m open to anybody. I’ll go anywhere as long as I fit in.”

Mathis has solidified three of his eventual official recruiting trips, none of which are on the West Coast. He’ll visit Michigan, Oklahoma and Nebraska with two trips yet to be determined.
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*** Updated***

BASEBALL
Bryan Conant, Alta Loma, Cal State Fullerton
Cortland Cox, Alta Loma, Cal Baptist
Daniel Robertson, Upland, UCLA
Tyler Rowe, Los Osos, University of New Mexico

BASKETBALL
Jillian Alleyne, Summit, Oregon
Sophie Bhasin, Cajon, Long Island University
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Donta Abron, RB, Upland — Colorado
Jacob Ardron, LB, Diamond Ranch — Columbia
Zach Beard, OL/DL, Los Osos — Nebraska Kearney (Division II)
Blake Benjamin, OL, Diamond Ranch — Navy
Donte Deayon, DB, Summit — Boise State
Austin DeCoud, QB, Redlands East Valley — Idaho
Jamal Ellis, DB, Redlands East Valley — Fresno State
Nick Enriquez, OL, Chino Hills — Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Edmond Faimaalo, OL, Redlands East Valley, Sacramento State (FCS)
Andrew Fischer, ATH, Diamond Ranch — Harvard
Kevin Gabigan, OL, Redlands — UC Davis
Brandon Greene, OL, Redlands East Valley — Air Force
Aiseah Hanson, OL, Kaiser – Nevada
Bryan Harper, ATH, Colony — Arizona
Ezekiel Herndon, WR/DB, Bloomington — S. Dakota St.
Reshawn Hooker, LB, Miller — Utah
Kenyatta Johnson, OL, Upland — Texas Southern (FCS)
Damontae Kazee, DB, Cajon — San Diego State
Gerrad Kough, OL, Pomona — Colorado
Dylan La Frentz, OL, Los Osos — Northern Arizona
Koa LaBonta, DB, Los Osos — Army
Eddie Martinez, LB, Colony — Western New Mexico (Division II)
Chris Miller, DB, Diamond Ranch — Oregon State
Marques Mosley, DB, Upland — Colorado
Brandon Mosley, TE, Summit — Colorado St. Pueblo (Division II)
Christian Powell, FB, Upland — Colorado
Metuisela Unga, TE, Rancho Cucamonga — Fresno State
Robert Wagner, LB, Colony — New Mexico State
Jamaal Williams, LB, Summit — BYU
Junior Colleges
Travis Coons, K, Mt. San Antonio (Alta Loma HS) — Washington
Perris Scoggins, TE, Mt. San Jacinto (Summit HS) — New Mexico State
Bryan Oldenkamp, OL, Chaffey College (Hesperia HS) — New Mexico
Blake Loncar, QB, Citrus College (Los Osos HS) — Indiana State

There are a few local players yet to decide with whom they’ll sign on Wednesday, National Signing Day, but most have made verbal commitments and all that’s left is to ink their name on a letter of intent. The Colony duo of athlete Bryan Harper and linebacker Robert Wagner have yet to settle on their plans. On Fox Sports West tomorrow, Harper will reveal his decision between Oregon, UCLA and Arizona. Wagner, who after losing his two Pac-12 offers due to coaching changes is weighing offers from New Mexico State and Idaho, will likely not sign tomorrow. Upland receiver Kenny Lawler, who has narrowed his list to Cal and Oregon State, will also announce on Fox Sports West.

Here is a list of those already committed:
Donta Abron, RB, Upland — Colorado
Jacob Ardron, LB, Diamond Ranch — Columbia
Blake Benjamin, OL, Diamond Ranch — Navy
Donte Deayon, DB, Summit — Boise St.
Austin DeCoud, QB, Redlands East Valley — Idaho
Jamal Ellis, DB, Redlands East Valley — Fresno State
Nick Enriquez, OL, Chino Hills — Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Edmonmd Faimaalo, OL, Redlands East Valley, Sacramento State
Andrew Fischer, ATH, Diamond Ranch — Harvard
Kevin Gabigan, OL, Redlands — UC Davis
Brandon Greene, OL, Redlands East Valley — Air Force
Reshawn Hooker, LB, Miller — Utah
Damontae Kazee, DB, Cajon — San Diego St.
Gerrad Kough, OL, Pomona — Colorado
Dylan La Frentz, OL, Los Osos — Northern Arizona
Koa LaBonta, DB, Los Osos — Army
Chris Miller, DB, Diamond Ranch — Oregon State
Marques Mosley, DB, Upland — Colorado
Christian Powell, FB, Upland — UCLA
Jamaal Williams, LB, Summit — BYU