Scott's choice to highlight signing day
By Derry Eads Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Darrell Scott may not be the only Ventura County athlete making a late commitment to a college football program. Rated as the No. 1 high school running back in the nation, the St. Bonaventure High senior is expected to announced his choice of schools — either Texas or Colorado — during a nationally televised broadcast today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on ESPNU from the ESPN Zone in Anaheim (noon-2:30 on ESPN2). The NCAA's national letter of intent signing period begins today. Scott rushed for more than 7,500 yards and scored 98 touchdowns in his career and helped lead two programs — St. Bonaventure and Moorpark — to three consecutive CIF championship game appearances.
More than a dozen area players will gather today at the Clarion Palm Garden Hotel in Thousand Oaks for the Ventura County Football Coaches Association's signing day luncheon. Several high school seniors, most notably Simi Valley running back Langston Jackson and St. Bonaventure linebacker Ryan Panapa, were on waiting lists of a number of schools as late as Tuesday.
Westlake and Oaks Christian have three players with verbal commitments. All-state kicker Jordan Mannisto of Westlake has committed to Houston. Teammates Cooper Shockley and Tommy Doupe are expected to sign with Navy and Cornell, respectively. Christopher Potter (Boise State), Trace Biskin (Arizona) and Chris Owusu (Stanford) of Oaks Christian aligned with their colleges early in the recruiting process. Biskin won't be the only area football player headed to Arizona. The Pacific-10 school has also received a commitment from St. Bonaventure offensive lineman Vaughn Dotsy. After making a verbal commitment to Arizona, Oak Park's Sean Westgate switched to UCLA last month.
Others expected to sign today are: Moorpark quarterback Adam Barry (Wyoming); Pacifica linebacker Masi Tuitama (Brigham Young); Rio Mesa fullback Ina Liaina (San Jose State); Moorpark defensive lineman Casey Blum (Tulane); Agoura quarterback Doug Shumway and Rio Mesa linebacker Quentin Greenlaw (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo); and Oak Park lineman Dustin Geyer (San Diego).