Dowling still being pursued

A lot of programs continue to pursue Sean Dowling even though the offensive tackle from Fallbrook, Calif., committed to UCLA last month.

USC is aggressively after the 6-foot-6, 265-pound prospect and he's expected to camp with the Trojans in June. Dowling said his commitment is still firm and he cleared the USC trip with the UCLA coaches but still wants to go there to compete.

"They were the first school to come by and the first school to call me," Dowling said of USC. "I talk to coach (Kennedy) Polamalu every two weeks or so. I'm definitely going there for their offensive lineman camp.

"My eyes are still open but I love UCLA. I love everything about UCLA. There hasn't been a school that has challenged that. I'm still a Bruin."

Dowling, who has emerged as one of California's top linemen, said he admires the new coaching staff at UCLA and believes they can make the program viable again in the Pac-12.

He wants to be a part of it.

"I love the changing environment," Dowling said. "Coach (Jim) Mora coming in and changing things, I believe in him and what he's doing. He has the knowledge and the know-how to turn this program around.

"There's no coach I'd rather be coached by than him and coach (Adrian) Klemm. I have a really good relationship with both of them and the recruiting coordinator for my area. I see the desire to win in all of them and I want to be a part of that."

More offers could be coming. Dowling said coaches from Oregon, Oklahoma and Oregon State stopped by his school Tuesday and all seem interested. Then there's USC lurking in the background, too.

So far, Dowling has offers from UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Duke, Navy, Nevada, San Diego State and Washington State.

"They definitely seem like they're going to offer," Dowling said of Oregon. "They seem really interested. Coach (Steve) Greatwood, who's recruiting my area for Oregon, is going to be back and watch one of my spring practices to see how I move around. If I live up to his expectations I'll probably get an offer which is definitely a huge honor.

"Oklahoma seems very interested. They started getting interested in me the day before I committed so it will take some effort on my part for them to increase their interest."