FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Radford seniors find their place in Mississippi
A year ago, he was just another British teenager playing soccer in his hometown of London.
Today, Jamie Whitworth is in Hawaii, a first-team all-state place-kicker who will play for Mississippi Valley State in the fall. Pretty good for someone who had never played American football until moving to the states in the past year.
The Radford senior will be joined by teammate Ryan Burciaga, who was the quarterback for the Rams until a collarbone injury ended his season. Radford reached the Division II state final with a core of outstanding seniors.
Coach Fred Salanoa was overwhelmed by the news.
"It's really cool. I gave (MVSU) all the information I had. I didn't really think it was going to come through because they're so far away and they came so late, but I was being positive and up front with the two boys," he said.
"Next thing you know, Jamie comes to my classroom and has a FedEx envelope. It's a full scholarship letter, and Ryan comes up 10 minutes later with the same thing."
Other local signees with MVSU are offensive lineman Eserom Pascual of Saint Louis and defensive back Drew Ueno of Kamehameha.
Six of the Rams have already made plans to play in college. In addition to Burciaga and Whitworth, there are: offensive lineman Ramsey Feagai (UNLV), defensive end Russell Wantowski (New Mexico State), Ian Scheuring (Arizona State) and defensive back Trevor Maldon (Lambuth).
Scheuring will walk on at Arizona State with a partial academic scholarship. He turned down a full-ride offer from New Mexico State.
In addition, tight end Michael Goodman has a standing offer from New Mexico State, but will likely pursue a baseball career.
For Whitworth and Burciaga, last week's scholarship offers from MVSU was a godsend. Burciaga's height (6-foot-3) and familiarity with the offense popularized by Urban Meyer were big factors.
"The coaches noticed that Ryan's not scared to hit people," Salanoa said. "That's funny for someone who's a quarterback, but when you watch his video, that's what coaches notice. He could come in and push for the backup quarterback role."
Whitworth, meanwhile, was one of a small group of local place-kickers who had an unusually powerful leg. "The coach was talking with coach (Delbert) Tengan (of Saint Louis) and he told them that we have the best kicker in the state," Salanoa said.
Whitworth's longest field goal of the season was 52 yards, and he barely missed a few more in the 50-55 range. His kickoffs were regularly 5 yards into the end zone or further.
"I can always guarantee a 55. I think I can get further if I have the right coaching and take care of myself. One of my goals is to strengthen my body," said Whitworth, who has kicked a long of 63 yards in practice -- no tee.
MVSU had problems with its kicking game last year, which opened a door for Whitworth. He was a second-team All-State pick in soccer, but is focused solely on football now. Santa Clara made him a partial offer, and a couple of other schools showed some interest, he said.
In his one season at Radford, he never used a tee.
"My dad told me If you start now without a tee, that should be good for college. It feels more comfortable for me and the holder if the ball's on the ground," said Whitworth, whose holder has always been Burciaga.
"Honestly, it was a big surprise to me until I got told that people were interested in me for football," said Whitworth, who had the attention of San Diego State last winter. The staff was eventually fired, and Whitworth dropped off the Aztecs' radar.
He had the option of walking on to Hawaii and UNLV. "At UNLV, they basically told me that they would have a scholarship for me in my second year," he said.
Burciaga, a raw talent who developed nicely in coach Fred Salanoa's multiple-set offense, may be the most thankful football player in the islands. He visited the MSVU campus during spring break.
"I came in with no expectations. They're in the country with nothing out there, but it's a really good family environment. I was really comfortable with that. I met with the president of the school. It's a real small school, but I like it," he said.
Burciaga's family moved to Hawaii seven years ago. Though he's done his share of traveling, going away won't be easy. "I'm gonna miss Hawaii, but this is an experience I'm gonna try and have, to play Division I ball. I never thought I would be playing Division I ball, even at quarterback. This is a great opportunity," he said.
He will enroll in summer school and get a head start on acclimating to the South. MVSU has changed quite a bit since the days of Jerry Rice and its off-the-wall passing sets.
"They like to pound the ball and throw short, open it up for the long passes. They run the shotgun and under center, pretty much everything we do," Burciaga said. He will compete with a returning starter and two other incoming quarterbacks.
"The other two (freshmen) quarterbacks are more of pocket passers," he noted.
Burciaga, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, and Whitworth (3.0) are already academic qualifiers, which made the recruiting effort much easier for MVSU.
Both are on the Rams track and field team. Burciaga runs hurdles, while Whitworth runs the 100, 200 and 400. He also runs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.
Several days after Burciaga and Whitworth got their scholarships, Salanoa was still giddy with delight.
"Oh man, I'm so happy," he said. "I didn't want to come back to school after spring break, but this makes me happy."
Maldon, a tough defensive back, found out about Lambuth's offer recently and signed on Friday.
"That's good for Trevor. He's one of those guys who deserve that. They saw his video from the (HUB Goodwill Senior Bowl) game, and then they called for more video," Salanoa said. "They signed him after that."