Recently in Alejandro Maldonado Category

Would have done this by yesterday, but a nasty cold threw me for a loss. I'm ready to go again though. With that, here's a complete breakdown of local Division I FBS (I-A) and FCS (I-AA) signees.

By school
1. Redlands 4; 2 tie. Colony 3, Colton 3, Los Osos 3, Rancho Cucamonga 3, Redlands East Valley 3; 7 tie. Arroyo Valley 2, Don Lugo 2, Hesperia 2, Kaiser 2, Serrano 2, Upland 2; 13 tie. Aquinas 1, Cajon 1, Chaffey 1, Granite Hills 1, Miller 1, Sultana 1.

Redlands was the surprising winner in this category, as three Terriers - OL Justin Corrales (Bryant University), LB Cole Gridley (Valparaiso) and K/P Shaun McClain (Weber State) were able to parlay strong senior seasons into FCS scholarships. LB Jordan Thomas (San Diego State) was the only FBS scholarship to Redlands, but the Terriers get props for getting their successful kids scholarships.

The teams with three scholarship players are among the usual suspects when it comes to getting kids to Division I scholarships, as REV, Colton, Colony, Rancho Cucamonga and Los Osos have seen an army of players get to the next level recently. REV, Colton and Los Osos all sent their players to FBS school, with each having at least one kid sign with a Pac-10 school. Rancho also had a Pac-10 kid in TE Randall Telfer (USC), while Colony had a Big 12 kid in DB Jered Bell (Colorado).

No real shocks in the 2 and 1 scholarship crowd except maybe Serrano, which had two FBS kids. The Diamondbacks are known for doing more with less, so its no shock that they made a CIF final with two FBS seniors on the roster.

By college:
1. San Diego State 4. 2 tie. Fresno State 3, Oregon 3, USC 3; 5 tie. Montana State 2, Sacramento State 2, San Jose State 2, UNLV 2, Utah 2, UTEP 2; 11 tie. Army 1, Bryant 1, Colorado 1, Iowa State 1, Kansas State 1, Nevada 1, Portland State 1, Prairie View A&M 1, San Diego 1, UCLA 1, Valparaiso 1, Washington 1, Washington State 1, Weber State 1.

On the non-BCS level, San Diego State and Fresno State continue to do work in the county. When Aztecs coach Brady Hoke was hired last year, he told recruits that he was going to put an emphasis on Inland Empire athletes. He's done exactly that, signing 3 SAL kids last year and four county kids this year in Thomas, Serrano DE Everett Beed, Hesperia WR Jay Waddell and Granite Hills TE Bryce Quigley. A fifth, Serrano RB Dionza Bradford, verbally committed to San Diego State before backing out and going with UNLV. So Hoke is getting things done.

Pat Hill has consistently brought local talent into the fold and this year is no different, with Los Osos WR Sean Alston, Arroyo Valley LB Ofa Fifita and Rancho Cucamonga QB Greg Watson all inking with the Bulldogs. Montana State also was a big player in the FCS ranks, getting guys with FBS interest in Don Lugo DB Steve Bethley and Miller RB David Dash.

As far as the Pac-10 goes, 2010 saw a reversal from 2009. Last year, it was UCLA and Oregon State that cleaned up, while this year saw their rivals have success. The Trojans, despite a coaching change, got Kaiser RB/DB Anthony Brown, Telfer and the county's highest-ranked recruit, Don Lugo DT George Uko, to sign. Only an 11th-hour stunner by Kaiser LB Josh Shirley kept UCLA from being swept out of the county.

As for the Oregon schools, the Ducks got two extremely productive defensive players in Los Osos DE Tony Washington and Colton DB Derrick Malone and stole Colton K Alejandro Maldonado from Washington on the last weekend. Last year, it was Oregon State that did damage, with Freshman All-American OL Michael Philipp from Arroyo Valley being the crown jewel.

As far as out-of-region teams, I guess the big winner would be the Big 12 North. Colorado (Colony DB Jered Bell), Iowa State (Hesperia/Chaffey College TE Ricky Howard) and Kansas State (Sultana/Mt. SAC OL Manase Foketi) all signed area players while Nebraska courted several local players as well.

Prior to making the death march down the 10 to LA, I was at Colton, where Colton High School put on an assembly honoring DB Derrick Malone (Oregon), K Alejandro Maldonado (Oregon), DB Jonathan Mack (UNLV), DE Michael Newton (Arizona Western Junior College) and LB Ma'alona Kiliona (University of Redlands), along with softball players April Vasquez and Jessica Lemus.

Several hundred students showed up to honor the athletes, who added to Colton's rich tradition of sending players to college.

"It's something we take a lot of pride in," Colton athletic director Harold Strauss said. "When these kids come into this program, I tell them that if they give me their all in the classroom and on the field, we'll give them our all in getting their college paid for."

Both Malone and Maldonado will be Ducks, with Malone deciding for Oregon in November and Maldonado deciding over the weekend, switching his commitment from Washington.

"It was hard to tell Washington no, but I had to go with what was in my heart," Maldonado said. "When I visited Oregon, I knew that was where I had to be. Washington was nice, but Oregon was perfect."

Malone chose the Ducks over several colleges, including most of the Pac-10 and Nebraska. While he made his decision well before Maldonado made his and was pumped about Oregon already, having his teammate with him made it that much sweeter.

"It's awesome," Malone said. "I've been going to school with (Maldonado) since middle school. Middle school, then high school, and now college together. It's going to be fun and I can't wait."

Mack might have been the happiest of the Division I signees. As of Monday, Mack was unsure if he would sign today, but he secured his ride with the Rebels Tuesday night and was all smiles when he signed his letter of intent today.

"My mom was really nervous, but I had faith that it was all going to work out," Mack said. "I'm really happy right now and it's a big relief."

Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado, verbally committed to Washington since the summer, decommitted Sunday to Oregon after officially visiting the campus according to Colton athletic director Harold Strauss. The Seattle Times also wrote a story about it, which can be read here.

"He cancelled a trip three weeks ago and was just going to stay with Washington, but we told him that you need to see (Oregon) and make a decision from that," Strauss said. "He went up for a visit this weekend, loved it, and now he's going to Oregon."

Maldonado will be joining teammate Derrick Malone, a safety who committed to the Ducks in November, in Eugene. They'll be signing their letters of intent in Colton's auditorium during second period Wednesday at roughly 8:30 a.m., hopefully joined by cornerback Jonathan Mack.

Mack, who has been offered by Nebraska, Iowa State, UNLV and Utah State, is in limbo right now, as schools who have previously offered may have filled their available slots in Strauss' opinion.

"He went up for an official visit with Derrick to Nebraska in October and everything seemed good, but we haven't heard from (Nebraska coach Bo) Pelini in a while," Strauss said. "We told Jonathan that sometimes its better to reserve a spot because things fill up, but he wanted to concentrate on the season. Things are happening for him all at once right now and hopefully it will work out."

First of all, I apologize for the extended break between posts. Between vacations and the general slow nature of the summer, I haven't been on here in a while. But with football season coming up, I plan to make up for that a bit with some team previews.

I'll first start off with Colton because, quite frankly, Harold Strauss was the first coach I was able to get in contact with today. Strauss, as you guys probably know by now, will be coaching his final season with the Yellowjackets, as he has been named to replace David Drake as Colton's athletic director.

There is a lot going on in the world of football recruiting, as the May evaluation period is underway. According to Rivals.com, Colton kicker Alejandro Maldonado has verbally committed to Washington while teammates Derrick Malone and Jonathan Mack are receiving intersst from schools such as Nebraska.

Maldonado verbally committed to the Huskies after they saw him practice Wednesday, which he accepted. This is what Maldonado told Rivals:

"I accepted it right away," he said. "It feels really good. It was my first one. I told my mom and dad about it, and everybody is really excited. I would say I'm a soft commitment, but I was told that I could come in there right and be their starting kicker right away."

Malone, a safety, is up to five scholarship offers (Arizona State, Nebraska, Nevada, UTEP and Washington) while Mack, a cornerback, has an offer from the Cornhuskers.