Tuioti to Attend San Diego State, Not USC

George Tuioti, an All-Orange County linebacker from Santa Ana High School, said Thursday he will attend San Diego State rather than USC because he did not meet freshman eligibility standards.

Tuioti, who had signed a letter of intent with USC, said the Aztecs had offered him a scholarship.

Tuioti will have to sit out his freshman season under the NCAA rule commonly referred to as Proposition 48.

A spokesman for USC, who requested anonymity, said Tuioti did not have the necessary score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, one of the requirements for freshman eligibility under Proposition 48.

Colleges may allow athletes who fail to meet the standards to attend school, but they are not eligible to practice or play as freshmen and lose a year of athletic eligibility.

Tuioti said USC officials instead asked him to attend a community college, then transfer to USC. But Tuioti decided against that course.

Tuioti, 6-feet 4-inches and 226 pounds, would have been unable to play this season anyway because he recently had surgery on a knee injured during practice for the Orange County All-Star game.

He said he contacted San Diego State and Brigham Young University 2 1/2 weeks ago and both were willing to accept him.

Dan Underwood, assistant head coach at SDSU, said: “George came down and interviewed with our admissions people, and they were very impressed. He was really, really close on his SAT.”