Tuesday, May 4, 1999

Florida prep
QB passes
on Hawaii

He wants to stay close to home
and picks Central Florida

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Florida high school senior quarterback Ryan Schneider turned down Hawaii over the weekend, opting to go to Central Florida.

Hawaii head football coach June Jones feared the Rainbows would lose Schneider after not hearing from him right away. His recruiting trip was three weeks ago.

Karl Schneider, who was his son's offensive coordinator at Plantation High School, liked what he saw at Hawaii, but conceded his child might stay closer to home. He also was recruited by West Virginia, Florida and Auburn.

"He has a girlfriend he doesn't want to leave behind," Karl Schneider said during his son's visit last month. "But his mother and I wish he would come here because Coach Jones has put together an excellent staff."

Schneider was named second-team All-State this past season. As a junior, he led his team to the state title in Florida. The last two years as a starter, the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder threw for 3,505 yards and 43 touchdowns.

UH coaches broke from spring camp a week ago to begin recruiting for the 2000 season. Jones said members of his staff would spend part of this month reviewing next year's high school seniors, as well as junior college prospects.

"We still have two scholarships available for this year," Jones said. "But we're not going to give them to just anybody. We want players who can step in and help our program right away."

Several of Hawaii's 23 signees this year need to get work done in the classroom before receiving an OK from the NCAA clearinghouse.

Fall camp begins in August, with morning and afternoon practices in preparation for the season opener against Southern California on Sept. 4.

ESPN-TV recently approached Hawaii about a national broadcast. But if the Western Athletic Conference signs a deal with the Fox Network, that won't be possible due to contract obligations.