Click on the photo to view a slideshow of former Orange County players who now play for San Diego State.
Orange County football fans had four good reasons to notice San Diego State this past Feb. 4.
That was the day the Aztecs’ football program made its biggest recruiting splash in the county in recent memory.
On National Signing Day, newly-hired Coach Brady Hoke inked first-team All-County picks Ronnie Hillman of La Habra and Preston King of Tesoro, along with tight end Gavin Escobar of Santa Margarita and defensive back Gabe Lemon of Orange Lutheran.
King was The Register’s defensive player of the year while Hillman dazzled with his speed at running back. It was hard not to notice what college they picked.
“We’re very happy about that,” said San Diego State assistant coach Jeff Hecklinski, also the Aztecs’ recruiting coordinator.
“One of the things we looked at when we came in was we wanted to really step up the (recruiting) efforts in all of Southern California.”
While San Diego State hopes to draw UCLA’s attention today in the teams’ season opener at the Rose Bowl, the Aztecs don’t hide the fact that they are rebuilding.
The plan involves a strong recruiting push in Orange County.
Veteran La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta has already seen the change.
“We’ve seen some San Diego State coaches come around (before),” he said. “But not like now.”
The Aztecs have made a strong connection with La Habra, who has captured consecutive CIF-SS titles. In addition to Hillman, San Diego State already has an early commitment from La Habra senior lineman/tight end John Ghandour (6-3, 265).
The Aztecs also have offered scholarships to other top seniors in the county. The list includes La Habra first-team All-County running back Josh Quezada, Fountain Valley running back Kyle Middlebrooks (second-team All-County) and Orange Lutheran two-way standout lineman Sean McEvilly.
San Diego State is among six schools that have offered Middlebrooks but the speedster said the Aztecs are recruiting him the hardest.
“I think they’re doing a lot more (recruiting),” said Middlebrooks, who placed second in the state in the 100-meter dash (10.57 seconds) in the spring.
“I think their recruiting is super important (to them). They’re trying to build up their program again.”
The Aztecs’ 2010 recruiting class also includes a verbal commitment from touted quarterback Tyler Bray (6-6, 187) of Kingsburg.
After finishing 2-10 in 2008, the Aztecs fired Chuck Long and hired Hoke away from Ball State. Prior to Ball State, Hoke was an assistant at Michigan and recruited Southern California for eight years.
The Aztecs’ two coordinators, Al Borges, and, Rocky Long, also have strong Southern California ties. Both are former UCLA coordinators.
But Hecklinski said San Diego State’s recruiting strategy is different than USC and UCLA. While those programs sign almost exclusively blue-chip recruits, he believes the Aztecs need to cast wider nets into Southern California’s talent pools.
“We’re not USC and we’re not UCLA,” he said.
“We’ve got make sure we’re identifying every kid (who) is what we’re looking to put into this program. Those are kids who want to get a degree … are competitive and tough and want to help us change this program around.”
Hoke is pleased with his county foursome and said there is a chance some might play this season. Wide out Dylan Denso (Dana Hills) is another freshman on the Aztecs’ roster.
San Diego also is bringing its program to the recruits. In June, the Aztecs held a traveling camp at Santa Ana College.
Not surprisingly, La Habra was among the teams that attended.
“Our goals are that if it’s not USC and it’s not UCLA, San Diego State is the choice,” Hecklinski said.
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