From Pocatello to the pros?

Barry Faulkner

Though perhaps at the end of a long and winding road, Pocatello,

Idaho could see a significant boost in its tourism trade this fall,

if, as expected, dozens of NFL scouts descend upon the Idaho State

campus to evaluate arguably the nation’s best collegiate punter.

Eddie Johnson, a product of Newport Harbor High and Orange Coast

College, averaged 46.3 yards per punt as junior last season, which

led to consensus Division I-AA All-American honors, as well as

growing speculation about his promising professional future.

He averaged 51.0 yards on three punts in the Bengals’ 48-7 win

over Montana Western Aug. 29.

If the 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior can continue to display the

consistently powerful leg that has been his trademark since bursting

onto the scene as a Newport Harbor sophomore, former Corona del Mar

High standout Jeff Thomason may have company in the NFL ranks next

season.

Thomason, a 6-5, 255-pound tight end, enters his 10th NFL season

as a backup to Philadelphia Eagles starter Chad Lewis. A special

teams standout, Thomason added five receptions for 33 yards to his

modest career totals (57 for 552). He also has eight TDs, as well as

one Super Bowl ring as a member of the Green Bay Packers. He wears

jersey No. 83.

The NFL is beyond most of the Newport-Mesa products playing on the

collegiate level, though several don the recognizable colors of some

of the nation’s top programs.

Pete Hogan (Newport Harbor) is a starting senior defensive end for

Colorado State, which invades the Rose Bowl Saturday at 7:15 p.m. to

put its 2-0 record on the line against UCLA.

The 6-3, 265-pound Hogan has made 23 career starts for the Rams,

including wins this season over Virginia and then No. 6-ranked

Colorado. He has 12 tackles and two sacks this fall, after collecting

37 tackles and three sacks (tied for the team lead) in 2001. He

earned honorable mention for All-Mountain West Conference honors as a

junior, after garnering second-team all-conference recognition as a

sophomore. He wears No. 46.

Former Newport Harbor standout Chris Manderino, the Newport-Mesa

MVP in 2000, is the starting fullback at Cal. The 6-1, 220-pound

former walk-on caught three passes for 41 yards, including an 18-yard

touchdown, in the Golden Bears’ 70-22 season-opening rout of visiting

Baylor. Now on full scholarship, he wears No. 37.

Mike Hayes (Corona del Mar), a 6-3, 215-pound junior outside

linebacker, earned Division I-AA independent all-star status last

season after compiling 67 tackles and three sacks for the Mustangs.

Hayes made nine tackles, third best on the team, in Cal Poly’s 44-16

season-opening loss at Toledo Aug. 29. He wears No. 38.

Brant Hill (Newport Harbor) made four tackles from his defensive

tackle spot in Cal Poly’s opener. The 6-4, 260-pound redshirt junior,

wearing No. 47, is a newcomer to the program, having transferred from

Nevada. He played in four games at defensive end for the Wolfpack

last season, after seeing some starting action as a redshirt freshman

in 2000.

Andy Rankin (Newport Harbor), a 6-2, 215-pound sophomore, is

expected to start at inside linebacker at Dartmouth, which opens its

season Sept. 21 at Colgate.

Rankin made 23 tackles for the Big Green as a freshman reserve.

Former Newport Harbor middle linebacker Alan Saenz, a two-time

Newport-Mesa Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to see playing

time as a backup noseguard for defending Division I-AA national

champion Montana. He was listed No. 3 on the depth chart after spring

practice.

Saenz, a 6-1, 285-pound redshirt freshman, is joined on the

Montana roster by former Harbor teammate Jeff Marshall. The 6-5,

230-pound Marshall, an All-CIF center last fall for the Sailors, is

expected to redshirt.

Saenz wears No. 99 and Marshall No. 73.

Montana, top-ranked in this year’s I-AA poll, opened its season

with a 21-0 triumph over Hofstra Aug. 29.

Robert Chai, a two-time All-CIF offensive tackle at Newport Harbor

who represented the Sailors in the North-South Shrine All-Star

Classic in July, is expected to redshirt in his first season at UCLA.

The 6-3, 275-pounder, expected to play guard for the Bruins, has been

given jersey No. 54.

Brian Gaeta, another All-CIF honoree last season at Newport

Harbor, has already impressed as a walk-on at Colorado State. The

6-2, 200-pound receiver earned praise from Rams Coach Sonny Lubick

during preseason workouts. He wears No. 16.

Costa Mesa High is not without representation at the four-year

level, as Chuck Amburgey, known as Charlie as a prep, is in the

defensive line mix as a 6-1, 220-pound sophomore at Puget Sound.

Adam Kerns, a 5-11, 165-pound freshman defensive back, is also on

the Puget Sound roster, after starring on both sides of the ball at

Newport Harbor last fall.

The Back Bay is well represented at USC by a trio of walk-ons. Jay

Bottom, a 6-3, 215-pound redshirt sophomore defensive end, earned

some playing time last season. The CdM product also traveled with the

team to several games, including Notre Dame. He wears No. 65.

Alex Bottom, a 6-5, 225-pound redshirt junior who also starred at

CdM, is a linebacker and long snapper for the Trojans. He wears No.

95.

Morgan Craig, the Newport-Mesa MVP last season as Newport Harbor’s

quarterback, is a freshman walk-on wearing No. 5 for the Trojans.

Lance Chavez, formerly of Newport Harbor and OCC, is a 6-0,

261-pound junior at New Mexico Highlands, where he is listed No. 2 on

the depth chart at left guard.

Scott Schepens, a 5-11 235-pound redshirt freshman out of Costa

Mesa, is an offensive lineman at Chapman University, which opens its

season Sept. 14 at Whittier.

Newport Harbor product Mike Warther, who also played at Orange

Coast College, is a 5-10, 205-pound redshirt junior linebacker at

Northern Arizona. Warther, who wears No. 53, transferred to the

Flagstaff-based school from Occidental.

Joe Foley and Scott Kohan, two more standouts on last year’s Sea

View League champion Newport Harbor squad, have landed at Wheaton

College and San Jose St. respectively.

Foley is a 6-0, 230-pound freshman defensive tackle, while Kohan

is a freshman walk-on defensive lineman for the Spartans.

Former CdM standout Eric Snell is in his second season as a

walk-on at Cal, while Tyler McClellan, another former Sea King who

started at tight end last fall for Coach Dick Freeman, has followed

his older brother Mike’s footsteps to Yale.

There are several Newport-Mesa products in the community college

ranks, including eight listed on the roster at Orange Coast,

including returning fullback Travis Trimble (Newport Harbor).

Also hoping to help the Pirates’ fortunes this season will be

Estancia products Ken Valbuena, Dan Valbuena, Fahad Jahid, Nate

Harriman and Jermaine Snell.

Ken Valbuena is a freshman quarterback, his twin brother Dan is a

freshman tight end, Jahid, a former Pacific Coast League Defensive

Player of the Year, is a 6-0, 240-pound freshman linebacker, while

Snell and Harriman are freshman receivers.

Nick Moghaddam is a 6-3, 261-pound freshman defensive end who

started two seasons at Newport Harbor.

Kicker Bryce Sheridan is OCC’s lone representative from Costa

Mesa, while Steven Russell, grayshirting this season, is the lone

former Sea King on the Pirates roster.

There are three local products listed as freshmen on the Golden

West roster. Matt Elliston (CdM) and the 6-7, 200-pound John Dobrott

(Newport Harbor) are offensive linemen, while Carlos Melendez

(Newport Harbor) is listed as a fullback.

Brandon Crosby from Corona del Mar is a sophomore wide receiver on

the Saddleback roster.