Menlo-Atherton, Serra, SHP players announce football futures

All previous verbal commitments, all the scholarship offers that many high school football players post to their social media during the recruiting process, are all non-binding. Wednesday was the first day recruits could put pen to paper and San Mateo County was well represented, with more than a half dozen players from various schools locking down their college choices.

Serra — which recently completed its first 10-game, undefeated regular season and won its third straight Central Coast Section title — had a trio of players sign with Division I schools. Sacred Heart Prep, reigning Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division champion, had a pair make their commitments official, and a third still weighing offers.

Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton, which has churned out Division I-caliber recruits for the last several years, added two more.

M-A head coach Chris Saunders experienced the spectrum of the college recruiting process. Soane Faasolo — 6-9, 300-pound offensive tackle who helped the Bears rush for more than 1,500 yards this season — verbally committed to University of Washington in July. He spent the next five months holding firm as other big-name schools came at him.

“Nothing is official until [the NLI] is signed. Schools take their best shots (at him), consistently,” Saunders said, adding that schools such as Tennessee, Notre Dame and UCLA tried to flip Faasolo to their schools, but he stood by Washington.

“They just don’t do it publicly. It’s the nature of the (recruiting) game,” Saunders said. “He never really seemed all that interested in anything else. In his heart of hearts, it was the right fit.”

David Tangilanu, a 6-4, 255-pound defensive lineman, finished his senior year with 67 tackles, including 11 for losses. He had several early offers, but was waiting for one from BYU — which he received in October. He quickly gave his commitment.

“He went to their camp in the summer and was lineman MVP. [BYU] was definitely it for him,” Saunders said, adding Tangilanu was set on taking his Mormon mission before enrolling.

“He had a really fantastic senior year,” Saunders continued. “His film was really good. … We were going to wait and put pressure on (BYU) on the back end. … [BYU] did a good job of being transparent.”

On the other end of the recruiting spectrum was Diego Agustin, a part-time running back/linebacker for the Bears. He realized early on that if he wanted to continue playing in college, he had to focus on non-Division I options. Saunders credits Agustin for taking his recruitment by the horns by doing a lot of early leg work. He committed Wednesday to Macalester College, a NCAA Division III school in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

“Most kids who play in Division III won’t commit until spring of their senior year,” Saunders said, adding that many treat a Division III offer as a back-up plan if other opportunities dry up.

“[Agustin] was well ahead of the curve. … He knew this was the right spot for him.”

And that just leaves the decision of Jurrion Dickey, the national-level recruit who received scholarship offers as a sophomore, who transferred from Valley Christian to M-A. Having verbally committed to University of Oregon, Dickey appeared in the first three games of the season before missing the next seven with injury. He returned to the lineup for the Bears’ Central Coast Section playoff game, a 30-7 loss to Bellarmine.

Saunders said Dickey’s recruitment has been done mostly independent of him, but has seen, up close, how suffocating the recruiting process can be.

“When you have kids who have scholarship offers as underclassmen, they’re in a little bit of a different category,” Saunders said. “Just the sheer amount of communications, it’s a lot … It can be stressful for a lot of kids, but it’s also one of the most exciting times for these kids.”

Saunders said Dickey would not be signing early with Oregon, rather waiting until the spring signing period in February. He is under the impression the Ducks are the destination.

“I believe he intends to sign during the February window,” Saunders said. “To the best of my knowledge, he’s going to Oregon and honor his commitment.”

Late Wednesday night, however, Dickey announced on Twitter that he had, indeed, officially signed with Oregon.

Sacred Heart Prep

Up the street and around the corner from M-A, Sacred Heart Prep had a pair of standouts commit to Division I programs. Carter Shaw, a 6-3, 180-pound receiver-defensive back who was recruited as an “athlete,” announced his commitment to UCLA. Carter, the PAL Bay Division’s Offensive Player of the Year, averaged more than 18 yards a catch and hauled in seven touchdowns. Defensively, opposing offensive coordinators tried to stay away from his side of the field, but Shaw still was second on the team with seven passes defended.

RJ Stephens — a 6-3, 245-pound, two-way lineman — announced he was signing with Cal. Stephens was a first-team defense selection in the PAL Bay Division, racking up seven sacks for a Gators squad that won the Bay Division championship undefeated.

Linebacker Shea O’Kelly, who finished eighth in the CCS 135 tackles, has a number of offers, including one from University of Utah. He has yet to make a decision.

Serra

Serra head coach Patrick Walsh got to experience the recruiting process as both a coach and a father. Wednesday, he announced defensive end Sam Goligoski had committed to UC Davis, tight end Seamus Gilmartin chose Harvard and offensive lineman Ryan Silver will move on to San Diego State.

Gilmartin is the prototypical tight end. At 6-4, 215-pounds, he has the hands to be a threat in the pass patterns, but also the nastiness to serve as a sixth offensive lineman. Goligoski, at 6-3, 205, led the team in tackles-for-loss with 16, including three sacks. Silver, a 6-4, 300-pound offensive lineman, was part of a group that helped the Padres roll up more than 4,600 yards of offense this season.

“The fact that these schools wanted them as scholar-athletes shows Serra’s prowess as a school and as a football program,” Walsh said. “It means that we have a wonderful collection of student-athletes at Serra.”

But it was a totally different experience for Walsh as he helped oldest son, William, navigate the college recruitment process as a highly ranked junior golfer. William Walsh, after verbally committing to Pepperdine during the summer, officially signed his letter of intent to join the Waves.

“I was being a representative of students for so many years and now to be a father of one, it was really a special experience,” Patrick Walsh said, adding he was even more proud that William followed his own path outside of his dad’s football expertise.

“It helped us to connect on a deeper level,” Patrick Walsh said.

But another scholarship offer could be heading the Walshes’ way and it could come in Coach Walsh’s chosen sport.

“Charlie will be a freshman next year,” Patrick Walsh said. “And he really, really loves football.”

CSM

On the community college front, College of San Mateo had a handful of players make commitments to four-year schools. John Bolles, a 6-5, 275-pound offensive lineman out of Jefferson, signed with University of Nevada. Justin Sinclair, 5-11, 190-pound defensive back from St. Francis, committed to University of Hawaii, while 6-0, 200-pound linebacker Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu of James Logan-Union City signed with Bowling Green.