West Recruiting Notebook
USC and Arizona State add commitments, while Stanford loses one, Oregon State loses a 2007 signee and one Pac-10 school could be adding another prospect from 2008 in this week's West Recruiting Notebook...
USC's recruiting train continues to pick up steam, with another elite prospect picking the Trojans.
Orange (Calif.) Lutheran tight end Blake Ayles (6-4, 235) made his college announcement on Tuesday at his school, committing to the Trojans, where he will join his former Lancer teammates Aaron Corp and Mike Reardon in the fall of 2008.
The commitment from Ayles gives USC their 11th verbal in the class of 2008, and their fifth from a player ranked in the top four at his position.
Last season, Ayles earned all-state honors after he had 43 catches for 616 yards and scored three touchdowns. As a sophomore, he had 34 receptions for 417 yards and six touchdowns.
Ayles is the #3 tight end in the country by Scout.com, the #9 player in California and the #69 player nationally.
Stanford's first commitment in the class of 2008, Sacramento (Calif.) Kennedy athlete Steven Christian is now reopening his recruitment.
"I'm still keeping my options open for any school. I'm still open for anything," Christian told TheBootleg.com. "It's not final until Signing Day. I'm still open for any school to recruit me."
A solid student, Christian still needed to take care of a few things to ensure admission into Stanford, so he's decided to keep those options open to other possible schools.
"They've (Stanford) told me to keep in contact with everybody," said Christian. "I'm still sending tapes out to schools. I'm still talking to the Cal coach. I've still had communication with San Diego State and Wyoming. I haven't talked to the TCU coach in a while."
Christian is currently a three-star prospect by Scout.com and is ranked as the #47 cornerback in the country.
Elk Grove (Calif.) Pleasant Grove defensive tackle Armond Armstead, a three-star prospect who has had an outstanding camp and combine season, will announce his college decision on Monday night.
"I really want to get it over with and my birthday is on August 3, so I thought this would be a good way to celebrate it," Armstead said. "I plan to call the coaches on Sunday to let them know and then I'll make my announcement public on Monday," Armstead told Scout.com.
USC is the favorite for Armstead and he talked glowingly about the Trojans.
I really like the coaching staff at USC," he said. "They are really intense, but cool. They haven't lied to me and I feel like they are all really trustworthy. My recruiting coach is Rocky Seto and we have a great relationship. He's a Christian guy like me and we have a lot in common. I don't feel pressured by them at all and I think I'd be able to fit in well there. They are recruiting me for defensive end."
Armstead is also still considering Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, Texas A&M and Oregon.
Arizona State added their fourth commitment in the class of 2008, and their first in the trenches when Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton tackle Patrick Jamison gave the Sun Devils his verbal.
I just sat and thought about it. I went and told the coaches recently and said I was probably going to do it. They said they would keep it quiet. But I am going to go in and make it official tomorrow. I know a lot of people of people at ASU either on the team or from seeing them on the weekend. It will not be a totally new experience for me,” says Jamison.
Jamison is the first offensive lineman to commit to the Sun Devils and is the third prospect from the Phoenix area to choose Arizona State.
The coaching staff and early playing time were both enticements for him to pick the Sun Devils.
"I like the coaching staff. I know the offensive coordinator. They were not pushy. They have five senior starters and I could play as a true freshman.”
Los Angeles (Calif.) Verbum Dei receiver Reggie Dunn, a four-star prospect in the class of 2007 who signed with Oregon State, will not be heading to Corvallis this fall, instead, he will attend a junior college.
"It is official, Reggie is going to a JC this fall," said Verbum Dei head coach Kendric Knox. "He's enrolled at El Camino College."
Dunn just missed qualifying, but he will now play at least two years of junior college football.
One of the most explosive players in the class of 2007, Dunn was the crown jewel on the offensive side of the ball for the Beavers.
Taylor Embree (6-4, 190) will enroll at UCLA in January, coming in as a greyshirt scholarship player. He'll count against the class of 2008.
Karl Dorrell's first hire as a head coach was Taylor's father, Jon Embree, who came to UCLA from Colorado to coach the receivers and be the assistant head coach. He was a part of Dorrell's staff from 2003-2005.
The elder Embree left UCLA after the 2005 season to become the tight ends coach with Herman Edwards and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The move to the Midwest took Taylor from Newhall (Calif.) Hart, where he played his first three seasons to Blue Valley West HS in Overland Park, Kansas, where he played his final prep season.
Embree was an all-state honorable mention selection as a WR for Blue Valley West. As a junior at Hart, he had 28 catches for 372 yards and four touchdowns, earning all-Foothill League honors as the Indians advanced to the CIF Division II title game.
He also was a part of their 6A State Championship basketball squad in 2007
[More at http://recruiting.scout.com ]
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