By Aram Tolegian
Bishop Amat defensive tackle Aaron Maldonado ended the suspense (for now) and gave an early commit to UCLA over the weekend.
Maldonado is considered to be one of the top defensive line recruits on the West Coast and recently saw his list of suitors explode to include Boise State, Cal, New Mexico and even Ivy League member Dartmouth.
Maldonado, in a live video while surrounded by friends and family that was a posted to social media, gave a commit to UCLA.Maldonado was the Mission League’s Defensive MVP last season and is Amat’s top returning starter as his senior seasons approaches.
MARC PARAMO LEAVES ROSEMEAD
Another of the area’s top football coaching jobs is open. Marc Paramo announced Tuesday that he has resigned as Rosemead High School football coach after five seasons.
Paramo took over for Matt Koffler in 2012 and won a Mission Valley League championship in 2014. The Panthers made the playoffs in three of Paramo’s five seasons and were 26-28 during that time. Prior to that, Paramo was a top assistant under Koffler.
“I’m 40 years old and I don’t want to do it by myself anymore,” Paramo said. “I’ve been coaching for 21 years, 17 of it at Rosemead and the last five as head coach. I just want some professional life, too. I started my administrative credential in 2008 and we went on our playoff run that year, so I stopped. “I’m already seven weeks into my course at APU, so I went back.”
Paramo said he’s considering coaching elsewhere as an assistant this season, but also may take a year off to get recharged.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind coaching under someone else and learning,” Paramo said. “I wouldn’t mind being a position coach somewhere and just getting to learn how someone else does it and how they work with parents and staff members. I just don’t want to deal with the head coaching headache.”
Rosemead now joins Los Altos and South Pasadena in looking for a new head coach. Earlier this offseason, West Covina and La Mirada also had coaching vacancies to fill.
ARROYO BEEFS UP STAFF
As if Jim Singiser’s coaching staff at Arroyo could get any better, the veteran Knights coach announced late last week that former Monrovia High standout Ellis McCarthy has been hired as the program’s new defensive line coach.
McCarthy was a local standout and one of the nation’s top recruits, winning two CIF championships while at Monrovia before playing at UCLA. Following the 2014 season, McCarthy declared for the NFL Draft but did not get drafted.
McCarthy joins former Monrovia teammate Nick Bueno, a standout quarterback at Monrovia during his high school days. This will be Bueno’s second season on staff at Arroyo.
The Knights won the CIF Southern Section Division 12 championship last season and have a strong group of returning starters, led by junior-to-be quarterback Ernesto Camacho.