Recently in Arby Fields Category

Here is the complete breakdown of Division I-A and Division I-AA signees per high school and per college.

By High School:
1. Upland 4; 2 tie. Cajon 3; Colony 3; 4 tie. Arroyo Valley 2; Diamond Ranch 2; Etiwanda 2; Los Osos 2; Rancho Cucamonga 2; Redlands 2; Redlands East Valley 2; 11 tie. Aquinas 1; Ayala 1; Bloomington 1; Colton 1; Diamond Bar 1; Eisenhower 1; Kaiser 1; Norco 1; Pomona 1; Roosevelt 1; San Bernardino 1; San Dimas 1; Yucaipa 1.

Obviously Upland was the big winner individually, especially since they had two Pac-10 guys (Josh Nunes and Osahon Irabor) and a Big Ten guy (Davion Fleming). But the city of San Bernardino had seven players (Aarein Booker, Chris Bradford, Daron Griffin, Walter Kazee, Michael Philipp, Marlon Pollard and J.P. Ragan) sign, with Colton's Nat Berhe giving the SAL another signee.

By University
1. UCLA 5; 2 tie. Oregon State 3; San Diego State 3; 4 tie. Fresno State 2; Idaho 2; New Mexico State 2; Northwestern 2; 8 tie. Air Force 1; Arizona State 1; Cal Poly SLO 1; Colorado State 1; Columbia 1; Louisville 1; Montana 1; Navy 1; New Mexico 1; Northern Arizona 1; South Florida 1; Southern Utah 1; Stanford 1; SUNY Stony Brook 1; UNLV 1; Utah 1; UTEP 1; Washington State 1.

A couple things stand out to me. The first one is the dominance of UCLA. Rick Neuheisel seems to recognize the growth of the Inland Empire and made great efforts out here, signing Marlon Pollard, Jayson Allmond, Richard Brehaut, Jared Koster and Brandon Sermons. San Diego State, who "hasn't been out here in years" according to Cajon coach Kim Battin seems to be making an IE effort under new coach Brady Hoke. Oregon State had a big year, while Fresno State continues its steady haul of local talent.

A couple of oddities exist as you go further. One is Northwestern, which picked off Fleming and Arby Fields from the Baseline League despite its location in suburban Chicago. Another is SUNY Stony Brook, who signed Taj Johnson from Upland this year, took Dominick Reyes from Hesperia last year and was in on Daron Griffin. Seems like this Long Island school is a player.

Also, look out for New Mexico State and Eastern Michigan in the future. The Aggies are now coached by former UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker - who is well-versed in the area - while Eastern Michigan is now being coached by Ganesha graduate Ron English. English recruited Southern California well for Michigan while on Lloyd Carr's staff and pulled Titus Teague from Pomona for Louisville while serving as defensive coordinator there this past season. Don't be surprised if the Eagles start coming up in conversation among 2010 recruits.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I covered the Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic last night, a game that didn't go too well for the San Bernardino boys, who fell 38-7 to Riverside.

The San Bernardino team, coached by Los Osos' Tom Martinez, didn't have the full arsenal that Riverside had, as several highly-touted, Division I-committed players who were scheduled to play during the week dropped out. Among those were Arroyo Valley offensive lineman Michael Philipp - the No. 1 guard in the nation according to Rivals.com, Los Osos QB Richard Brehaut, Cajon CB Marlon Pollard, Upland CB Osahon Irabor and Upland CB Taj Johnson. Upland QB Josh Nunes also didn't play, as a hand injury suffered in the Central Division title game with Rancho Cucamonga hasn't fully healed.

Got some changes in the San Bernardino roster for Saturday's game. If history is any precedence, these won't be the last.

Los Osos QB Richard Brehaut, a UCLA commit who played with Upland QB Josh Nunes (Stanford) in Sunday's Under Armour All-Star Game in Orlando, is out and will by replaced by Hesperia's Ian Harriman. Harriman has efficiently led Hesperia to 20 wins and a Mojave River League championship during the last two years.

Arroyo Valley offensive lineman Michael Philipp, who played Saturday in the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio, also dropped out. Philipp, a four-star recruit and the best guard in the nation according to Rivals.com, is considering schools such as Oregon, Cal, Stanford, UCLA and Oregon State. He'll be replaced by Colony's Joshua Andrews, a first-team all-County and all-Inland Valley selection. Andrews has verbally committed to Oregon State.

A couple of Upland guys dropped out as well, as cornerback Osahon Irabor, an Arizona State commit, and cornerback Taj Johnson, another D-I caliber recruit, are out. They'll be replaced by Miller's Trayvon Ralph - a first-team all-County and all-Inland Valley selection - and Eisenhower receiver Taijuan Martin.

Other players on the original roster that won't play are Twentynine Palms wide receiver Montreal Harris, Etiwanda wide receiver Willie Mebane and Chino kicker Jared Taylor. Replacing them are Los Osos RB Arby Fields, a Northwestern commit, Aquinas fullback J.P. Ragan and Los Osos kicker Josh Repp.

Los Osos RB Arby Fields, a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, committed to Northwestern over the weekend, becoming the second Baseline League player to verbally commit to the Big 10 school during the past month, as Upland RB Davion Fleming pledged with the Wildcats last week.

Fields' commitment came after officially visiting the Northwestern campus this week for the Wildcats' 45-10 loss to Ohio State. While the Wildcats got drubbed, Fields liked what he saw according to the Rivals.com article about his commitment.

"They run the same offense as my high school - I mean exactly the same," explained Fields. "They do a lot of the same stuff we do, so I'm going into an offense I'm very familiar with."

Fields has rushed for 614 yards and 14 touchdowns on 123 carries while catching 31 passes for 508 yards and another three touchdowns for the 7-2 Grizzlies.