Skip to content
  • Mater Dei punter Ryan Stonehouse has received two scholarship offers...

    Mater Dei punter Ryan Stonehouse has received two scholarship offers and he could end up with a few more after he plays in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl on Jan. 21 in Oakland. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

  • Santa Margarita lineman Brett Neilon will play for the West...

    Santa Margarita lineman Brett Neilon will play for the West in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday in San Antonio. The game airs live on KNBC/4 at 10 a.m.(Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

  • Mater Dei's Austin Faoliu has recently been offered by Texas,...

    Mater Dei's Austin Faoliu has recently been offered by Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Baylor, Virginia and Michigan State. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

  • Mission Viejo junior receiver Austin Osborne says Washington is at...

    Mission Viejo junior receiver Austin Osborne says Washington is at the top of his list of potential colleges. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

  • Buena Park's Cedric Dashiell II plans to make a recruiting...

    Buena Park's Cedric Dashiell II plans to make a recruiting trip to Yale next weekend and Harvard on Jan. 20-22. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

of

Expand
Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

The ability to launch punts seemingly toward the stratosphere runs in Ryan Stonehouse’s family.

His father, Paul, boomed punts for Stanford. His uncle, John, sent punts flying at a record-setting clip for USC. Another uncle, Jeff Banks, punted at Washington State and is now an assistant coach at Texas A&M.

“It’s kind of in the family,” said Stonehouse, an All-County punter at Mater Dei this fall.

If Stonehouse gets his wish, he will soon follow those footprints into college football.

The senior and Costa Mesa resident has recently been offered scholarships by Wyoming and FCS power Eastern Washington.

He also has received a financial aid package offer from Cal, preferred walk-on invitations from Utah State and Colorado State and essentially a reserved spot at Cornell.

CLASS OF 2017: O.C. COMMITMENTS

CLASS OF 2017: UNCOMMITTED LIST 

The interest doesn’t end there. Tennessee, Iowa, Illinois, Army, Portland State and New Mexico also are recruiting Stonehouse.

To have two scholarship offers 3 1/2 weeks before National Signing Day on Feb. 1 shows how well-regarded Stonehouse (5-foot-10, 175) is in recruiting circles.

Brad Bohn of West Coast Kicking, who has trained Stonehouse and many others, estimates only 25 to 35 Division 1-A programs sign a punter each year. Most schools bring in a recruited walk-on who can earn a scholarship by winning the starting job, Bohn added.

“It’s been exciting,” Stonehouse said of his recruiting. “There’s a lot of decisions that I have to make between myself and my family, but as of right now, it’s just trying to see what schools are going to come in and what’s going to happen in these next couple of weeks. … I’m wide open.”

Stonehouse plans to make an official visit to Wyoming on Jan. 27.

His profile could receive a boost in two weeks when he punts in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl on Jan. 21 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Stonehouse averaged 44.1 yards per punt last season. Because Mater Dei scored an Orange County-record 747 points, Stonehouse punted only 24 times in 14 games. But thanks to the impressive hang-time on his punts – topping out at five seconds in 2016 – opponents recorded only 8 return yards.

“Best on the West Coast,” Bohn said of Stonehouse. “Top-five nationally.”

Stonehouse started punting his freshman year under the tutelage of his father, who later operated a kicking camp with his brother, John. One of their students was Bohn, a former standout kicker at Laguna Beach and Utah State.

Stonehouse also has trained with former USC punter Mike MacGillivray and former Iowa kicker Jamie Kohl, who runs kicking camps.

Stonehouse’s passion for punting runs so deep, he is now coaching other youths in his specialty – free of charge.

“At first, I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m ready (to coach),’” he said. “(But) I’m probably going to be a college coach when I do graduate … because I like coaching so much.”

Yes, teaching and punting run in the family.

NEILON AT U.S. ARMY GAME

All-County center Brett Neilon of Santa Margarita will play for the West in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The senior, a USC commit, will wear jersey No. 62. The game airs live on KNBC/4 at 10 a.m.

Edison junior quarterback Griffin O’Connor was scheduled to participate in the game’s national combine.

FAOLIU STACKING OFFERS

All-County defensive tackle Austin Faoliu (6-4, 295) of Mater Dei is the hottest recruit in the county. The Arizona commit has recently been offered by Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Baylor, Virginia and Michigan State, among others.

DASHIELL SETS VISITS

All-County defensive end Cedric Dashiell II (6-0, 230) of Buena Park has been offered by Harvard, Yale and Brown. The senior, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, plans to make a recruiting trip to Yale next weekend and Harvard on Jan. 20-22.

Dashiell used his speed and strength to rack up a county-leading 22.5 sacks. He also plays power forward on the school’s basketball team.

Montana State also has shown interest in Dashiell.

GATES CHECKS OUT PAC-12 SCHOOLS

Speedy Buena Park cornerback Elijah Gates (5-11, 175) has made official visits to UCLA and Oregon, and he has interest in Colorado and Washington State, former Coyotes coach Anthony White said.

OSBORNE NAMES LEADER

Junior wide receiver Austin Osborne of Mission Viejo said Washington is his No. 1 school.

“I love that school,” said Osborne, a two-time, first-team All-County selection who plans to make an unofficial trip to Washington on Feb. 10.

He also is interested in Cal and North Carolina.

Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com