Recently in Ofa Fifita 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.

Got off the phone with Redlands athletic director Ken Morse a couple minutes ago and he indicated that the Terriers will hold their Signing Day ceremony at 12:30 p.m. today. Expected to sign are LB Jordan Thomas (San Diego State), LB Cole Gridley (Valparaiso), K Shaun McClain (Montana State) and OL Justin Corrales (Bryant University). Morse wasn't 100 percent on Corrales' school of choice though.

Also, Arroyo Valley will hold its signing ceremony as part of a senior assembly at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. The signees, LB Ofa Fifita (Fresno State) and WR Damon Ogburn (San Jose State), will send in their letters of intent today.

Got a text message from Arroyo Valley head coach Marcus Soward this morning confirming the commitment of linebacker Ofa Fifita to Fresno State. Fifita, a three-star prospect according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com, chose the Bulldogs over Nevada, Colorado State, Hawaii and UNLV.

"This feels awesome right now," Soward said. "Ofa actually committed last night. Pat Hill came by the school a couple of days ago and was really impressive. He was a great guy who capitivated everyone - he was joking around with the secretaries and really made a good presentation.

"Fresno State is a very good program that goes to bowls and plays the upper-echelon teams and more importantly, they graduate players. That's what I really enjoyed about what he said."

Fifita visited Fresno State last weekend and was scheduled to go to Hawaii this weekend before pulling the trigger. His commitment marks the third straight year that the Hawks have had a player commit to a Division I FBS school, joining defensive end Keenan Brown (San Jose State) and quarterback Robert Fuller (Utah State) from two years ago and freshman All-American offensive lineman Michael Philipp (Oregon State) from last year.

"When I came here two years ago, my goal was to give kids the opportunity to go to college and hopefully, get them to graduate from college," Soward said. "If they do well and make it to the pros that's great, but getting them a college degree is what I want. There's plenty of talent around here and recruiters are picking up on it. If we hit the books a little harder around here this will continue."

Another Hawk, wide receiver Damon Ogburn, has also received Division I interest and could sign Wednesday. He is down to Idaho State, an FCS school that he is taking an official visit to this weekend, and San Jose State, where he has already visited. Soward expects to know Ogburn's decision Sunday when he comes back from Idaho State.

Fifita's commitment is also the third from a county player to Fresno State, joining Rancho Cucamonga quarterback Greg Watson and Los Osos wide receiver Sean Alston.

The recruiting for Arroyo Valley linebacker Ofa Fifita and Arroyo Valley wide receiver Damon Ogburn is picking up steam, as both players have received offers recently according to Hawks coach Marcus Soward.

Soward said that Fifita has just been offered by Fresno State while Ogburn, a fast-riser after a dominant senior season, was offered by UNLV. Ogburn will be on the San Bernardino County all-star team in tonight's Inland Empire All-Star Football Classic at Corona High School.

Both players will be taking an official visit to San Jose State next week, part of a busy January. Two weeks from now, Fifita will head to Fresno State while Ogburn will be at UNLV, while the weekend of Jan. 29 will see Fifita visiting Hawaii and Ogburn visiting Idaho State.

The 2007 season was a pretty darn good one for Arroyo Valley High School. The Hawks, led by smooth quarterback Robert Fuller and a bevy of quick, talented receivers, passed their way to a 7-3-1 record and advanced to the second round of the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs.

After a 4-6 hiccup with a young team a year ago, second-year Hawks coach Marcus Soward sees a lot of parallels between his 2009 squad and the team that was setting school records left and right two years before. And he's pretty sure that the end result will be just as good, if not better, than what the 2007 Hawks authored.