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From Staff Writer Ed Castro's story earlier this week about REV football standout Kylie Fitts committing to USC

By Ed Castro Staff Writer
REDLANDS -- Redlands East Valley football player Kylie Fitts had every intention of waiting a bit longer before deciding where he would play college football.
Then came Saturday when he spent the day at USC.
That was all it took as Fitts, a defensive lineman who has been sifting through NCAA Division 1 scholarship offers for the past several months, accepted an offer from USC on the Trojans' final day of spring practices.

Interesting tidbit from my interview Saturday with Terrell Thomas, the New York Giants cornerback who is an alum of Rancho Cucamonga High School and USC. Not sure if it will make the print story, but felt it was interesting enough to put on here.

Another thing that Thomas had to deal with in the offseason was the punishment given to his alma mater by the BCS. USC was stripped of its 2004 national championship by the BCS due to its use of Reggie Bush, the focal point of USC's current probation.

"Maybe you could have something where a player gets a percentage of every jersey of theirs that is sold. A guy like Reggie Bush can get a percent of all of his jersey sales given to him with a check. Maybe wait until he leaves school to give him that check, but I think it's a problem when guys make a school millions of dollars and don't get a cent of that. That's why these players go out and do stuff like Terrelle Pryor did."

Miller sprinter Davonte Stewart will sign a letter of intent to run at USC at Friday at noon at Miller High School after committing to the Trojans last week according to Miller athletic director John Romagnoli. Stewart burst onto the scene during the track postseason last spring, winning both the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the CIF-SS championships and finishing second at the state meet in the 200.

Miller also saw quarterback Eric Shufford sign with Weber State last week. Shufford ran and passed for over 1,000 yards this past season in helping the Rebels tie for second place in the Citrus Belt League.

According to Rivals.com, Chino wide receiver Quinton Pedroza has switched his commitment to the University of Utah from Arizona State and has faxed in his letter of intent to the Utes. According to colleague Clay Fowler, Pedroza was mulling over a late offer from USC along with offers from Utah, where he visited two weekends ago, and Arizona State, which he committed to on Jan. 13 after a visit.

Either this blog or Fowler's blog will have the latest.

Straying over into Clay Fowler's territory a bit with this post, but Damien sophomore pitcher/outfielder Christopher Kohler verbally committed to USC yesterday according to his parents, Michelle and Richard Kohler. Kohler, who is a lefthanded pitcher and a centerfielder, gave his commitment after a visit to USC.

"Christopher has been a huge Trojan fan all of his life, so this wasn't a hard decision," Richard Kohler said. "Because of his age they can't do anything but send us mail and questionnaires. We visited there a couple of times, they offered and we accepted."

Kohler, who doesn't turn 16 until May 4, is one of the top Southern California prospects in the class of 2013, getting USC's attention during a showcase this past summer at the Dodgers' spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz. While USC was his first scholarship offer, Kohler was getting attention from almost every notable baseball school on the West Coast, most notably UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State.

The search for Colton's next football coach is close to reaching its next stage according to Yellowjackets athletic director Harold Strauss. The job, which opened at the end of January, will say open until Tuesday, with interviews set to take place shortly after.

"It's going well," Strauss said. "I wasn't sure how much interest we'd get because of the economy, but we have a good list going. We have 2 or 3 out-of-staters -- one from South Carolina and a couple more from the East Coast -- which is surprising."

Along with the coaching position, Strauss indicated that senior cornerback Jonathan Mack will likely take official visits to Southern Miss and South Dakota State. Mack, who committed to UNLV, has not signed yet, as the Rebels are looking to see if scholarship room can be cleared for him. In the interim, Mack is pursuing other options.

Also, junior linebacker Rodney Hardrick is receiving heavy interest from USC, Oregon and Boise State according to Strauss, with the Trojans expected to offer a scholarship at their junior day later this month.

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.

Just arrived at the Los Angeles studios of Fox Sports Prime Ticket, where I, along with several of Josh Shirley's family members and the Press-Enterprise's Mirijam Swanson, are awaiting the Kaiser linebacker's college announcement.

As for Shirley, he's dressed to impress, with snazzy white dress shoes with gold laces with white dress pants and a white button-down shirt with a black t-shirt under it. He is also loaded with envelopes and National Letters of Intent.

"Anxious," said Shirley simply about his mood at this moment. Shirley also indicated that this decision was more nerve-wracking than any football game he has played to to date.

Also in attendance is Rancho Cucamonga running back Michael Boyd, a friend of Shirley who's also looking to sign a letter of intent over the next

So who will Shirley pick of USC, Miami (Fla), Washington and Arizona? He's done a great job of holding his cards tight and he seems to be still debating the decision as we hang out in the hall of Fox Sports Prime Ticket, but my hunch is either USC or Miami, more than likely USC. But I guess we'll see in less than an hour.

According to USC's Rivals.com site, Kaiser linebacker Josh Shirley said that he is going to announce his college choice on Fox Sports for National Signing Day next Wednesday. The article, which can be accessed here with a Rivals.com subscription, also outlined his official visit to USC this weekend and his plans between now and National Signing Day.

Shirley confirmed that he is visiting Miami (Fla) next weekend and also confirmed that he's scheduled an in-home visit with new USC head coach Lane Kiffin for the day before NSD. Shirley also discussed his trip, notably his interactions with USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who showed him tapes of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks.

"It was the whole nine-yards," said Shirley. "Just being compared to (Derrick) Brooks is an honor. I think I'd be comfortable on either side - (SAM or WILL)."

We'll continue to keep you posted on Shirley - the top uncommitted prospect left in the county - as we head closer to Signing Day.

Kaiser linebacker Josh Shirley - a top 150 recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com - has kept his poker face pretty well throughout the recruiting process, as it has been tough to get a read on the 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker's intentions.

"I have a lot of schools I'm looking at right now," Shirley said. "I wouldn't say that there's one school that's my favorite right now."

Shirley has been frugal with his official visits, taking one to Washington in October and another to Arizona in November to go along with several unofficial visits to USC and UCLA. But the next two weekends will see Shirley on the road, as he heads to USC this weekend and out to Miami (Fla.) in the last weekend before National Signing Day on February 2.

With the fall signing period coming up next month, basketball recruiting is starting to pick up. Three county players have made verbal commitments to Division I schools.

Ayala senior Rhema Gardner verbally committed to UCLA earlier this week according to ESPN.com, joining her older sister and former All-Sun first-team selection Rebekah Gardner. The 6-foot-2 Gardner averaged 12.9 points and 11.1 rebounds for the Bulldogs last season.

Chino Hills guard Derek Brown also made his choice according to Scout.com and picked San Jose State after an official visit last month. Brown, a 6-foot-2 senior, won Sierra League MVP honors by averaging 16.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

But it wasn't just seniors who committed this week. Etiwanda junior swingman Byron Wesley, an all-Sun first-team selection at Cajon last year, committed to USC according to Rivals.com. The 6-foot-5 Wesley averaged 18.7 points and 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore.

San Gorgonio junior wide receiver/defensive back Anthony Carradine is going to take an unofficial visit to USC next weekend for its game against Notre Dame, according to a call placed by Carradine's dad. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Carradine and the Spartans will start what they hope to be a long playoff run tonight when they play at Chino Hills in the first-round of the CIF-SS Central Division playoffs.