Headlined by a quintet of players from the two-time state champion Oceanside Pirates, Brady Hoke announced a class of 27 recruits yesterday on National Signing Day.  The largest Aztecs recruiting class since 2005 is the latest sign of Hoke’s attempt to cleanse the program of its losing ways.

“All programs have a blueprint of what they want to be,” said Hoke at a Montezuma Mesa press conference (video below), “The biggest thing for us is to recruit guys who have character.  We want to recruit guys who come from winning programs.”

In that case, reaching out to John Carroll and Oceanside High is a natural start.  The six-time defending CIF champions and two-time state champs are coming off a 13-0 season.  The late addition of speedy cornerback/slotback Jerry Whittaker (who decommited from Arizona) to a group that already included linebacker Rene Siluano, cornerback King Holder, linebacker Jake Fely, and defensive lineman Kenneth Galea’i gives Hoke his first clear win in local recruiting.

Yes, the biggest fish in what might have been the best year for prep talent in San Diego history still left the pond.  There are no obvious superstars like Tony Jefferson, Ricky Seale or Thomas Molesi in Hoke’s class.  But you’ve got to start somewhere, and the class of 2010 for SDSU reflects months of hard work reconnecting with local prep coaches who had backed away in the Craft/Long era.

Watch video of Hoke’s press conference, an interview with Rocky Long and more after the jump:

24 of the 27 recruits in this year’s class come from California.  The high school players come from teams with a combined record of 194-57, a .773 winning percentage.  Those wins don’t transfer like AP credits onto the college transcripts, but Hoke believes that by recruiting players who have established the routine of winning, they will be more likely to pick up on his mantra at the next level.

Brady Hoke’s Opening Statement on Signing Day:

It’s no surprise that Hoke and his staff saw last year’s team as lacking in toughness.  They won’t say that, but the recruiting of six defensive lineman and five offensive lineman is a ringing bell.  The Aztecs needed to get more physical, more relentless…more Pirate-like.

The most immediate beneficiary should be defensive coordinator Rocky Long.  Coach Long joined 619 Sports after the Hoke press conference for a 1-on-1 interview:

The class includes one quarterback, Adam Dingwell, and if you’re going to go looking for QBs, Texas is a good place to go.  Dingwell comes from Rockwall, Texas and could be a heir to Lindley’s throne down the line.  In the interim, the Aztecs will return excellent experience in the passing game, with DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown both coming back as targets for Lindley.  They will be joined at wideout by athletic speedster Ezell Ruffin from Long Beach Wilson High School, and Madison High product David Lamar.

Watch Hoke answer questions from the San Diego sports media:

In his first year, Brady Hoke instilled a new attitude in the Aztecs football program, but for a lot of the kids, it didn’t completely take.  After some promising moments SDSU fell flat at season’s end.  Now, Hoke is bringing in his type of players to match his commitment to winning.

He’ll never be able to throw a fence around San Diego county, but one day he’s gonna rope one of the faster horses.  For now, Hoke will have to settle for a pirate’s ship full of young talent.

Mala Lemay (Hawaii), Tim Zier (SDSU), Ricky Seale (Stanford) and Joe Morton (Wyoming) hold up the banners of their schools of choice on Signing Day (619 Sports photo)

The San Diego Section’s all-time rushing leader will be heading to the Bay Area to play football.  Escondido’s Ricky Seale signed his letter of intent to attend Stanford University in the fall, and to play for coach Jim Harbaugh on the football team.  Seale’s signing, which took place today at the Escondido High School Learning Center, capped months of speculation as to where Seale would land.

“Thank God, it’s finally all over,” said Seale after putting ink to paper.

Seale was one of four Escondido athletes signing letters of intent on Wednesday, a banner day for the North County school.  Tim Zier signed a baseball scholarship with SDSU, while Joe Morton signed to play basketball at Wyoming, and Mala Lemay accepted a softball scholarship from Hawaii.

How close did the Aztecs come to landing Seale?

“It was a 50-50 deal all the way,” said Seale, “but Stanford was always my first choice.”

After the jump, watch video of Seale and Tim Zier answering questions on Signing Day:

Seale didn’t know for sure if he would be admitted into Stanford until late last night, when Harbaugh called his house.

“I was just, Oh My God,” said Seale, “I was actually surprised I got in, but I’ve been working so hard for it so I was really happy it all worked out.”

Seale was receiving pressure from inside his own school and to the west as well.  Over at Oceanside, the five Pirates who are coming as a group to play under Brady Hoke were reaching out to Zier, asking him to help recruit Seale to SDSU.  Meanwhile, the Pirates were trying to keep mammoth defensive tackle Thomas Molesi in town as well; Molesi said he came “this close” to switching, but instead honored his commitment to Oregon State.

Watch Ricky Seale and Tim Zier answer questions from 619 Sports and the assembled media in Escondido:

(two apologies, first for the video being a bit blurry, second for having to shift angles thanks to a cameraman jumping into my shot twice!)

Seale finished his prep career with 6,694 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.  He will compete for playing time in the Cardinal backfield with another San Diego prep phenom, the former section rushing leader (and state player of the year) Tyler Gaffney.

Zier, meanwhile, is excited to begin a baseball career under Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, but admitted that “football is always in the back of my mind.”  Zier teamed with Seale to form a lethal combination the past two years in the Cougars’ backfield.

Ricky Seale is headed to Stanford.  The San Diego section all-time rushing leader will sign his letter of intent in moments at Escondido High School.  Seale chose between Stanford and SDSU.  We will have coverage of Ricky’s press conference, Tim Zier’s signing to come play baseball at San Diego State and more coming up on 619Sports.Net.

Foothills Christian guard Troy Leaf broke the all-time boys’ basketball scoring record for the San Diego Section. Leaf broke the record in a 74-71 OT loss to Hoover this past Monday, scoring 21 points on the night and bringing his total to 2,982 points.  The record of 2,961 points was previously held by current SDSU guard Tyrone Shelley.

Leaf has been averaging 29.5 points per, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals per game on the season. Once an early verbal commit to SDSU, Leaf is now committed to UC Santa Barbara. Leaf is currently out with a separated shoulder, suffered in the fourth quarter of the Hoover game.  As soon as he gets healthy, he is within grasp on becoming one of only six players in the state to break the 3,000 point mark.

Watch the Sports Force video of Troy Leaf in action after the jump!

Scouting report and highlight video courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com
To view Troy’s complete SportsForce profile click here –

2009.  Did you love this year?  Unless you are a Park View Little Leaguer or a foreclosure specialist, the answer is probably no.  But 2009 was memorable in more ways than one, and in the world of San Diego sports, there were enough great/important moments to fill a pair of Top 10 lists.  That’s what we’ve done, as the creators of 619Sports.Net, Craig Elsten and Chris Ello, have laid down their Top 10 San Diego sports moments from 2009.

After the jump, Chris and Craig share their memories of the year, and each of their Top 10 lists for San Diego sports in 2009.  Please, take some time and click through each of the links…you’ll find some of our best stories, podcasts and interviews from the year.

We also talked…a lot.  Enjoy this podcast, as both of us break down our Top 10 and rehash the biggest stories of the year that was:

Download audio file (123109-top-ten.mp3)

Craig Elsten: This didn’t start as a good sports year, for me or for San Diego.  20 days into 2009, the Chargers were out of the playoffs and I was out of a job.  The economy wasn’t any good, and neither were the Padres.

The old bromide goes like this: necessity is the mother of invention.  I didn’t begin 2009 with the intent of inventing 619Sports.Net.  But as 2010 begins, I’m not sure what else I’d rather be doing.

We started 619Sports.Net because San Diego sports media was shrinking.  There are plenty of stories in this town beyond the Chargers and the Padres.  A six-page sports section isn’t going to give this city the coverage it deserves.

Hopefully you agree that in 2009, 619 Sports helped bring you closer to San Diego sports, and helped show that this is a great sports town, no matter what the East Coasters might think.

Elsten’s Top 10 San Diego sports moments of 2009:

1. Park View Little League wins the LLWS
2. Jake Peavy traded to the White Sox
3. Chargers win 10 straight to close out ‘09
4. A magical season for Stephen Strasburg
5. Kevin Towers fired as Padres GM
6. Postseason tournament success for SDSU men’s and women’s basketball
7. Chargers win OT thriller over Indy in the playoffs
8. Jimmie Johnson, Meb Keflezighi share their national achievements with their hometown
9. Oceanside Pirates win 2nd State Bowl championship, 6th straight section title
10. UCSD baseball reaches the D-II College World Series

Chris Ello: Craig and I were sitting in, of all places, a buffet sushi bar in Fort Worth, Texas, having lunch with San Diego State’s assistant baseball coach Anthony Johnson.

It was late May and we’d been at this 619Sports.net thing for a couple of months. We didn’t yet know where this project was headed, but we were about to find out.

On the table sat one of those walkie-talkie phone devices belonging to Johnson – and suddenly a voice squawked through loud and (mostly) clear. “Anthony just got traded to the Padres!”

The squawking voice belonged to the Aztecs’ head baseball coach, the legendary Tony Gwynn. The Anthony of which he spoke was his son, apparently about to become the new starting center fielder for his hometown team.

Nobody anywhere knew this — not even as it turned out, Anthony Gwynn. “I haven’t even told him yet,” Tony announced.

Craig and I glanced at each other and dropped our chopsticks. We had just become privy to our first breaking story. Up to our hotel room we raced, and within a matter of minutes, we had posted the news on the web page that you now read.

Within a half-hour our little start-up contribution to the information super highway had become the center of the baseball universe. The word quickly spread to Milwaukee, from where the younger Gwynn had just been dealt. Major League Baseball rumor sites and national sports web pages were reporting the story — and giving us all the credit.

Our number of page views quadrupled in 30 minutes time. We looked at each other and said, “We may have something here.”

Three months later, we were sure of it. I did an interview with Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman shortly after his controversial dalliance with the reality TV star Tila Tequila broke into the news.

Less than 12 hours later, Tequila herself had passed the interview around to her celebrity friends, and so many people attacked 619Sports.net for more insight, the page crashed. Tequila apologized to us.

We were thrilled. 619Sports.net was on the map. And all of you have helped keep it there. For us, 2009 has been a year of conquering uncharted territory, learning and entertaining. It has been exhilarating, presenting something new and exciting to the San Diego sports fan.

But, of course, we would have nothing if it weren’t for the sports events themselves, the ones which shaped 2009 in America’s Finest City.

Ello’s Top 10 San Diego sports moments of 2009:

1. Park View Little League

2. Chargers win 10 straight

3. Jimmy Johnson 4-time NASCAR champ

4. Aztecs’ March Madness in hoops

5. Kevin Towers fired by Padres

6. Strasburg no-hits Air Force

7. Sproles, Bolts beat Colts in Wild Card

8. Jeff Schemmel resigns in shame at SDSU

9. Merriman vs. Tequila

10. Oceanside High’s 6th-straight title

It came down to the final day.  In the final day, it came down to the last game.  But when the dust had settled and all ten results were in from the pro and college games we asked you to pick for our 619 Sports Holiday Bowl Pick’em Contest, there were two winners standing alone.

Congrats to Chuck D and TruAztec, the winners of our pick’em contest!  Chuck made the bold move to split away from the pack on Tuesday and pick UCLA and Wisconsin, taking a shot at solo glory over the chance to be pulled from a tiebreaker random drawing.  The gamble worked, and Chuck finished in a clear first place with a 7-3 record.

TruAztec finished 6-4, and nobody else who participated managed to fashion a better-than-.500 record.  I guess I chose some tough games to predict!  In particular, UCLA dumping Temple was a major shift in the game.

Guys, the tickets are waiting for you tonight at will call…enjoy the Holiday Bowl, courtesy of your prognosticating ability, the good people in the Holiday Bowl front office, and 619Sports.Net!

When circumstances change, contests change.

Last week’s Poinsettia Bowl Pick’em contest was a great success with 50 tickets overall distributed to 619 Sports readers & listeners.  We were all set to roll the contest forward…then we found out that we have just FOUR tickets to give away to the SOLD OUT Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 30th.

Hey, that’s still two pairs of tickets to see the AP College Football Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh and the 22nd ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers against the 20th ranked Arizona Wildcats at Qualcomm Stadium on Wednesday night!

Want to get in on the action?  You’re going to need to visit 619Sports.Net each of the next four days, and you’re going to need to show some prognosticating savvy picking college and pro football games!

Starting with two of today’s three college football bowl games, and continuing through Tuesday night, 619 Sports will present you with 10 different opportunities to pick games.  The two people who come up with the highest number of correct picks will be going to the Holiday Bowl!  In case of a tie I will randomly select the winners from the available pool of contestants with the same number of correct picks.

After the jump, take a look at the 10 games you’ll be picking!

TODAY

• Meineke Car Care Bowl: #17 Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
• Emerald Bowl: USC (8-4) vs. Boston College (8-4)

SUNDAY

• Music City Bowl: Clemson (8-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5)
• NFL: Houston (7-7) at Miami (7-7)
• NFL: Baltimore (8-6) at Pittsburgh (7-7)
• NFL: Denver (8-6) at Philadelphia (10-4)

MONDAY

• Independence Bowl: Georgia (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (6-6)
• NFL: Minnesota (11-3) at Chicago (5-9)

TUESDAY

• Eagle Bank Bowl: UCLA (6-6) vs. Temple (9-3)
• Champs Sports Bowl: #15 Miami (9-3) vs. #25 Wisconsin (9-3)

IMPORTANT!  IMPORTANT! Each day, you must submit your picks in the comments section of that day’s contest post, which will always be on the front page of 619Sports.Net.  If you put all 10 picks in this comments section below, ONLY TODAY’S WILL COUNT! Got it?  Yes, we are trying to train you to visit the site every day!

Any pick submitted after the kickoff of a given game will be invalid.

MAKE SURE when you sign up for our comments section that you use a VALID e-mail address, as that is the way we will contact our winners.  On the day of the Holiday Bowl, winners will need to arrange to physically pick up the tickets from Craig Elsten.

OK, that’s it for rules.  Today’s games are just hours away from kicking off as I publish, so get to it and GOOD LUCK from 619Sports.Net!

In a year filled with deserving candidates, Mission Bay superstar Dillon Baxter took home the hardware.  The Buccaneers QB and future USC Trojan was announced as the 11th winner of the KUSI Silver Pigskin, awarded each year to the top high school football player in San Diego Section.

Baxter led Mission Bay to a 13-0 record and a D-IV San Diego Section championship, setting the all-time section single-season rushing record in the process.  Baxter carried 261 times for 2,974 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns, while throwing for 1,922 yards and 25 more touchdowns.

Baxter beat out Escondido’s Ricky Seale, LCC’s Kenny Stills, Eastlake’s Tony Jefferson, Scripps Ranch’s Brennan Clay, and Valhalla’s Pete Thomas for the yearly honor (all pictured above).

After the announcement, Baxter spoke with 619 Sports about the honor, his future at USC, and the challenge of potentially matching up with Oklahoma and their three new San Diego stars in the future:

Download audio file (121809-dillon-baxter.mp3)

Maybe someday Brady Hoke will throw that proverbial “fence around the county” and get the top prospects in San Diego County to come to SDSU.  Before he builds that fence, though, Hoke will need to first interrupt the pipeline.

You know, the one Bob Stoops has built between San Diego and Norman, Oklahoma.

Stoops, looking to restore Oklahoma to national title contention in 2010, will do so with the help of a trio of San Diego talents.  All-time San Diego section receiving leader Kenny Stills and hard-hitting Eastlake star Tony Jefferson both announced on Friday night that they will attend the University of Oklahoma next year, joining Scripps Ranch star Brennan Clay.  The threesome made their announcements at the KUSI Prep Pigskin Gala at the Hall of Champions.

Clay, who had committed months before to the Sooners, was thrilled to have his two talented Silver Pigskin finalists (Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter won the trophy) join him in Norman:

Download audio file (121809-clay-3commits.mp3)

Hear from all three of the newest Sooners after the jump:

Brennan Clay was the first to commit to Oklahoma.  He joined 619 Sports immediately after the announcement of the Silver Pigskin award to talk about the honor of the evening and the process of luring Jefferson and Stills to join him in Norman:

Download audio file (121809-brennan-clay.mp3)

Kenny Stills had been heavily recruited by USC but wound up narrowing his choices to Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma.  In the end, Stills told 619 Sports the chance to team up with Jefferson and Clay, and to participate in the Sooners’ vaunted passing attack, was too much to pass up:

Download audio file (121809-kenny-stills.mp3)

Tony Jefferson angered the Arroyo Seco when he first committed to UCLA, only to show up at the UCLA-USC game wearing Trojans garb.  After hearing the barbs from the Bruins, Jefferson withdrew his commitment to the Bruins and took a campus trip to Norman.  The rest was history, as he told 619 Sports:

Download audio file (121809-tony-jefferson.mp3)

With Jefferson in the secondary and Clay and Stills in the OU backfield, Boomer Sooner is picking up speed heading into 2010.

Their quarterback is being recruited to play in the Ivy League. They have only four seniors on the entire roster. But as Coach John Morrison tells 619Sports.net, Francis Parker High is ready to bring home the Small Schools State Championship. The Lancers meet Modesto Christian for the title Friday at 4 p.m. at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Download audio file (121609-Parker.mp3)