Recently in Marlon Pollard 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.

Cajon defensive back Marlon Pollard verbally committed to UCLA after visiting the school on Jan. 10, decommitting from Notre Dame in the process. But that hasn't stopped the Fighting Irish from pursuing Pollard, a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Corwin Brown stopped by the Pollard household last Wednesday to meet with the 6-foot-1, 170-pound all-CIF and all-County first-team selection and will have an in-home with the Pollard family Wednesday night according to Marlon's mother, Rachael Pollard.

"We have a great deal of respect for Corwin and a great deal of appreciation for how Notre Dame has approached their recruitment of Marlon," Pollard said. "We believe in not closing doors and getting all the information possible. Corwin has been up front with Marlon throughout this entire process and wants to put all the information he has out on the table."

Rachael Pollard reiteriated that her son is 100 percent committed to UCLA, with whom Marlon committed to prior to his junior year at Valencia before decommitting after Karl Dorrell's firing for Notre Dame, citing the bond Marlon had with the players and UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel.

"Marlon has a bond with the UCLA players and really wants to stay home and play in front of his family and friends," Rachael said. "That's the reason why we moved back to the Inland Empire to begin with. Our family is out here and Marlon was born in Pomona and played youth football in Rancho Cucamonga. He wanted to come back to where he was from.

"He wants to play in Southern California for coach Neuheisel. (Neuheisel) was very upfront about mistakes he made in his past and very honest about it, which is something we appreciate."

Marlon Pollard had already decided that he was going to come back to UCLA, with whom he had originally verbally committed to before decommitting to Notre Dame, during his official visit on Saturday.

But before the Cajon senior cornerback officially announced that, he had another comeback to take care of first.

"I was playing pool with (UCLA freshman defensive back) Rahim Moore and the stakes were that if I lost, I had to commit right away," Pollard said. "I didn't make any off the break and then he sunk five balls in a row. I thought I was going to lose for sure."

Pollard ended up making the miraculous billiards comeback, allowing him to keep his intentions quiet. But that's not something that Pollard could do for along as Bruin players, recruits, coaches and parents gathered together at head coach Rick Neuheisel's house.

"One of the other guys, I forgot his name, got up and announced his commitment 15 or 20 minutes later and I was like 'What about me, coach? What about me?'" Pollard said. "The coaches let me announce the commitment and everyone was happy."

Most importantly, Pollard is happy with being a Bruin, ending a nearly two-year recruiting saga. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound defensive back committed to UCLA coach Karl Dorrell before his junior year, only to decommit after Dorrell was fired. He then committed to Notre Dame over the summer, but UCLA kept up their pursuit. Stanford also joined in late.

"UCLA has been recruiting Marlon for over two years," said Marlon's mother, Rachael Pollard. "He was the youngest player ever to commit to UCLA. We just felt really comfortable with the players and coaches. We felt it was one big family. I'm very thankful to Stanford and Notre Dame for the interest they showed in Marlon."

Rachael Pollard also cited the job security, or lack thereof, of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis as a factor. But ultimately, it was where Marlon felt comfortable that won out in her mind.

"It definitely helped that coach Neuheisel is going to be there 3-4 years at the very least," Pollard said. "But if there's one thing I've learned in this process, it's that at the end of the day, it's his decision. As a parent, you have your opinions, but it's needs to be his decision. And Marlon is really happy about UCLA and I'm happy for him. It's a comfortable, family environment with great education opportunities."

With Pollard, UCLA has a big Inland Empire contingent, as he joins Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut, Bloomington fullback Jayson Allmond and Diamond Ranch cornerback Brandon Sermons as Bruin committs. That connection, plus bonds he made with other players in the class, was important.

"Richard and I talk a lot," Pollard said. "I also have a pretty good relationship with (Carson TE) Morrell Presley and (La Puente Bishop Amat CB) Sheldon Price. I can't wait to play with all those guys."

After talking to UCLA commit Jayson Allmond at the conclusion of the Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic, I learned that Cajon cornerback Marlon Pollard has switched his commitment back from Notre Dame to UCLA. A corresponding story has gone up on Rivals.com which can be read here.

"I just heard tonight," said Allmond after San Bernardino's 38-7 loss to Riverside County at Los Osos High School. "It's great to have him as a Bruin."

Pollard is on his official visit to UCLA this weekend, which is why he didn't take part in the all-star game. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound cornerback transferred to Cajon from Valencia last winter. He had verbally committed to UCLA in the summer of 2007 but decommitted over this past summer after Karl Dorrell was fired and Rick Neuheisel was hired. He committed to Notre Dame in July and said his commitment was solid when Charlie Weis visited the Cajon campus in early December, but concerns over Weis' job security and Neuheisel's persistence seems to have won out.

Pollard joins an Inland Empire-heavy Bruin recruiting class which includes Allmond, Los Osos QB Richard Brehaut and Diamond Ranch CB Brandon Sermons. I'll have a more in-depth account with Pollard himself up tomorrow.

Upland cornerback/wide receiver Osahon Irabor, a verbal commitment to Arizona State, cracked the Rivals250 Thursday, moving up to No. 248. In the process, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior was upgraded from a three-star recruit to four stars.

Other local players ranked in the Rivals250 are Arroyo Valley offensive lineman Michael Philipp (No. 38), Los Osos quarterback Richard Brehaut (No. 56) and Cajon cornerback/wide receiver Marlon Pollard (No. 148). Brehaut is committed to UCLA while Pollard is committed to Notre Dame.

Just outside the top 250 is Upland QB Josh Nunes (Stanford) and Diamond Ranch CB Brandon Sermons (UCLA).

Cajon High School got a surprise visit Wednesday, as Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis stopped by campus to talk to Cajon senior cornerback Marlon Pollard, who verbally committed to the Fighting Irish over the summer.

According to Cowboys coach Kim Battin, Weis' visit was part of a West Coast recruiting swing the Notre Dame coach was undertaking after his team's 38-3 loss to USC at the Coliseum on Saturday.

Weis met with Pollard and the Pollard family, spending time on campus and going out to lunch with the Pollards.

"It was cool," Marlon Pollard said. "We've been talking a bit but this week was the first week he could really come out and visit. It was cool to come out and talk about some things."

One thing that wasn't discussed too much was Weis' job security at Notre Dame, which had come under fire after the 6-6 Irish had lost four of their five games. But despite the rampant media speculation, which was quelled Wednesday when Notre Dame announced that Weis was going to be back next season, Pollard wasn't worried. He says he's solid with Notre Dame and isn't planning on taking any visits.

"Coaches still call me, but I don't think I'm going anywhere," Pollard said. "I wasn't really that worried about Coach. My mom knows some people at Notre Dame and if something was about to happen, she would have known about it right away. We weren't hearing anything so we figured everything was all right."

Along with meeting with Pollard, Weis spent a little time talking with the rest of the Cajon team, something that senior defensive back Jeffrey Cooper enjoyed.

"I've never met a major coach like that," Cooper said. "It was pretty cool. He was giving us advice, telling us to keep working hard and play the way we are capable of."