Pigskin Pete
'08 Pac10 Recruiting Results
Favor ASU, Oregon, UCLA

     The 2008 Pac10 gridiron recruiting results to date indicate some power balance 
 shifts are inevitable.  The USC dominance has been threatened by its cross-town rival UCLA, 
while Oregon and Arizona State scored very well in enticing prep graduates.  Assessing the
 recruiting scene canpus by campus:

ARIZONA the Wildcats have signed 22 newbies, but none in the 5-star class.  Most
 notable acquisition is California all-state QB Matt Scott

ARIZONA STATE Dennis Erickson's magic wand has waved in 27 signees to date, including
11 prepsters ranked in the nation's top 25 at his position, plus five all-American JC
 transfers expected to contribute immediately.  Included in the haul is QB John Elway, Jr., son
 of the all-pro.  Dennis the Menace also stole a mammoth 6-5, 250 lb. defensive end James Jarrett,
tentativley committed to Oregon and signed running back Ryan Bass rated among the
 nation's top 100 preps.

CALIFORNIA Coach Jeff Tedford's crop of 21 prep signees includes five with
 all-American mentions at WR, OL, RB, DL & TE.  Most interesting recruit is QB Sean
 Sweeney, son of former Fresno St. signal-caller Kevin, whom Tedford coached, and 
grandson of college  hall-of-fame coach (Washington State & Fresno St.) Jim Sweeney.

OREGON the Ducks winning record and superb facilities have lured 16 preps and four
 JC's so far for a class comparing to the best in school history  and including two QB's,
 Darron Thomas &  Chris Harper, boasting outstanding spread offense skills.  Word is still 
out on whether Terrelle Pryor, rated by some as the finest QB in national prep history, will
 choose Oregon  over Penn St., Michigan & Ohio St.   Already in camp is RB LeGarrette 
Blount, rated the best   JC runner in the country this past season.  Oregon's reputation has 
attracted signees from Texas,  Kansas, Mississippi and Arizona in addition to the usual 
California crop.

OREGON STATE a small recruiting class is highlighted by Texas prep RB Jacquizz
 Rodgers, litttle brother of Beaver standout James Rodgers.  Also on board is Simi Kuli,
 best in  the land at his JC position of defensive end.  Prep QB Ryan Katz from Santa 
Monica , recruited by Washington & Oregon, has become a Beaver.

STANFORD No national standouts are included in a small class of 18 prep recruits, but
 the geographic sites of origin are diverse per usual for this school.  

UCLA Rick Neuheisel's coaching debut at his alma mater has been staged with a
 sparkling recruiting class and the appointment of former USC offensive coordinator Norm 
Chow.  A  total of 22 signees with credentials of national note and a JC all-American QB, 
Kevin Craft,  son of  former San Diego St. head coach Tom.  The signal-calling spot will be 
hotly contested  by all-American high schooler Paul Crissman.

USC the mightyTrojans have signed only 17 to date, including no QB prospects, with
 starter Josh Booty and his backup both returning.  Coach Pete Carroll and staff concentrated
 on defensive prospects, where graduation severely depleted the ranks.  The cross-town
 Neuheisel show now presents a challenge for attracting gems from the mother lode of southern
 California prep talent.

WASHINGTON Coach Tyrone Willingham's battle to restore the ruins of Husky football
created by Neuheisel is fueled by the signing of 26 prep recruits, including a sweep
 of the best prospects in the state, undoubtedly inspired by Tyrone's 2007 coup of signing QB 
Jake  Locker.  The signees include stocking receiver and defensive ranks as focal points.

WASHINGTON STATE a new coaching administration led by Paul Wulff signed good numbers
(28), but relied almost soley on Wulff's state of Washington heritage.  The notable
 acquisition is Tacoma all-state QB Cal Schmidtke who garnered some honorable mention 
all-American  credits.   

ROSES & RASPBERRIES a passle of posies to Portland State's dynamic 
coaching duo, Glanville & Davis, for gathering their first recruiting 
class which has the ingredients to propel the Vikings into national 
prominence ... an overwhelming condemnation is due the U.S. Congress 
for wasting legislative time reviewing steroid use in baseball when 
there are far more important issues they should be dealing with it's 
no wonder voter polls show a huge majority of Americans hold the 
current Congress in disfavor ... bouquets are showered upon the PSU 
basketball  program for becoming a serious threat to enter the NCAA 
Big Dance ... condemnation by its league brethren has been earned by 
the UCLA athletic administration for ignoring all NCAA coaching 
standards by hiring Neuheisel, wrecker of two Division I grid programs 
(Colorado & Washington) already with his immoral, unethical activities.