Baucham pulls the trigger

West Torrance (Calif.) athlete Brian Baucham has emerged over the last few months as one of the hottest prospects in the state. Baucham even had a visit set to national powerhouse USC but said he won't be taking that trip after committing this past weekend.

Baucham, 6-0, 160 pounds is a talented running back/defensive back who has the ability to play on either side of the ball in college. At running back, the athlete rushed for over 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns and was a lockdown corner on the defensive side of the ball.

Baucham has already visited Utah State and was at Washington State this past weekend.

"I committed on the trip, I'm a Cougar," Baucham said. "I had a great visit and really liked everything about the place. I like Coach Wulff a lot and I like the idea of coming in to a situation where all the players are basically on the same level. With a new staff, new offense and defense, I'll have just as good a shot to play as anyone.

"I liked the campus a lot and the city of Pullman itself is cool. It's a college town and everyone really gets behind the sports teams there. People say there's not a lot to do there but I like the fact that there really isn't any distractions there. I can just focus on football and school and getting my degree in four years.

"I went up there with my two best friends, Tyree Toomer (St. John Bosco) and Kevin Norrell (LB Poly) and they committed too. We all talked about doing it together but Tyree was the first to do it, then Kevin. After seeing them do it, I knew I was going to commit too. I didn't feel pressured though because I was going to commit no matter what they did.

"USC said they were probably going to offer me on the visit this weekend but I'm not going to take it. I'm very solid with my commitment to Washington State and don't need to see anything else. It's a great fit for me and I'm happy to be a Cougar. I'm going to start off at corner and if I put on more weight, I might move to running back but I like corner and that's where I'll start out."