Serra football celebrates nine NCAA Division I signees

“Staying local,” Walsh said while addressing the crowd on hand for the 12:30 p.m. signing ceremony. “I spilled some blood at San Jose State myself, so I’m so happy that you’re staying local and we’re all going to get the chance to drive down the road and see you.”

The nine Padres sat in a row in front a packed gym of family and classmates, the hats of their specific college choices on the table alongside their NLIs. It was a proud ceremony for the core seniors who helped Serra to three straight CIF Open Division State Championship Bowl games, and an early Christmas present for a fanbase that has embraced the concept of “ohana” — the Hawaiian word for “family,” also synonymous with the Serra “brotherhood” — Walsh has preached all season.

“The strength of the wolf is the pack,” Walsh said, attributing the idea to English poet Rudyard Kipling. “Here at Serra, we celebrate the pack more than the wolf, but today’s the day where the wolf needs to be celebrated.”

In addition to Bey and Mann, the Padres’ Division I commitments include: linebacker Marley Alapati, Army; tight end Cole Harrison, Tennessee; lineman John Holthaus, Colorado State; defensive back Kyon Loud, Montana; linebacker Danny Niu, San Diego State; offensive lineman Michael Pedrotti, Brown; and quarterback Maealiuaki Smith, Oklahoma State.

“This is a super special moment,” Pedrotti said. “I think since our football year as freshmen, I think you could tell something was kind of special about this class. Our record as freshmen, undefeated, just that core group of guys that we’ve had for the past four years on varsity, seeing them grow, and seeing the leadership … and finally being able to embody that as seniors, it was super awesome to see this year. And I think every single person that signed today deserved it.”

Pedrotti is at the top of the class in terms of academics, as reflected by his commitment to an Ivy League university. Walsh said the Padres carried a 3.63 GPA as a team this season, improving on last season’s 3.4 GPA. Pedrotti currently carries a 4.2 GPA.

Applying his smarts to the gridiron, Pedrotti calculated his route to Division I football through the specialty position of long snapper on special teams. The senior played the position for two seasons, this after seeing little time at his natural position of linebacker. Serra, after all, was stacked at linebacker, running the gamut of West Catholic Athletic League honors this season — Mann was named WCAL Player of the Year; Niu was named WCAL Linebacker of the Year; and Alapati was named WCAL Outside Linebacker of the Year.

Pedrotti soaked it all in and did see reps at linebacker. In the 2022 season opener, a 17-12 win on a sweltering night Folsom, infamously remembered for so many Padres hobbling off the field with cramping muscles, Pedrotti recorded his first varsity sack.

“It was just like sneaky minutes here and there,” Pedrotti said. “But I was always like that backup guy, and always had [Mann, Niu and Alapati] to look up to and ask questions if I had any. But really, linebacker was kind of like my side job while I focused on snapping and getting my job done there.”

Pedrotti committed to the specialty position of long snapper and turned himself into a bona fide college recruit by attending clinics and camps, then communicating with college recruiters with a complex network of spreadsheets, containing recruiters’ mail addresses, email addresses and social media accounts which, to hear him describe it, sounds like that famed conspiracy theory meme from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

“I was using that specialized position to get somewhere where having a 4.0 isn’t going to cut it,” Pedrotti said. “So, I was looking at those higher academic schools. … That was my goal the whole time, and it worked out in the end.”

The one Serra player who played his college choice close to the vest was Smith, who held off announcing his commitment to Oklahoma State until mid-November, in the week leading up to the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game.

Smith said the entire team was told of his commitment to Oklahoma State over a month prior to the official announcement.

“Everyone was in the loop,” Smith said.

Smith, who had offers from at least eight other Division I programs, including Cal, was always destined for the Division I ranks. Other Padres were surprised when their Division I stars began to shine.

Holthaus, at 6-7, 290 pounds, certainly had the potential by virtue of his size. He was an early commit to Colorado State, verballing prior to his senior season. But he said it wasn’t until about a year ago when he started getting serious about the Division I route, thanks to encouragement from Serra offensive coordinator Darius Bell.

“Coach Bell said: ‘John, I believe that you’re going to go DI because you’re massive,’” Holthaus said. “I felt this sudden urge to just become the best me that I could be. I still feel like I have room to grow, but I feel like I can do that at Colorado State. They have great people there.”

Walsh said it was apparent most of the group had Division I potential as early as their freshman year, when they arrived on campus amid the COVID pandemic and the “lost” five-game 2020 season in the spring of 2021.

“Early, when these guys were young,” Walsh said, remembering Serra’s last biggest recruiting class in 2019, when five Padres signed with Division I schools.

“It doesn’t take a lot of insight to realize that we have a very, very extremely talented class, and we have for the last four years,” he said. “To see it come to fruition is what this day is all about. You project, and you’re hopeful for everyone, but obviously this was something that’s never been seen here at Serra, with nine Padres singing letters of intent.”

In other high school signings, Menlo-Atherton tight end/wide receiver Alek Marshall signed his letter-of-intent to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The 6-7 Marshall moved from tight end to receiver this season and it paid off as he finished as the team leader in catches with 61 catches for 809 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Jaden Richardson, a 2019 Menlo School graduate and who has spent the last four seasons at Tufts University in Massachusetts, will play at Cal next season as a graduate transfer. Richardson had a big year for the Jumbos, leading the team in catches with 46 for 860 yards and 13 scores.

Three Bulldogs continue careers

A trio of College of San Mateo players are transferring to four-year schools.

Sione Laulea, a Serra grad, signed with University of Oregon; defensive back Moleni Ti’a, from Granada-Livermore, will attend Sacramento State, while another DB, Ja’ir Smith out of Mallard Creek High in North Carolina, is headed to Cal.

Nathan Mollat contributed to this report.