Fast rising LB returns from UCLA

Three-star linebacker Jordan Zumwalt (6-6, 220, 4.6) from Huntington Beach (Calif.) Edison plays his position the way it is supposed to be played. He seems to be in on every tackle his team makes. Though he is committed to Stanford, he took a trip to UCLA this past weekend.

"It was awesome," Zumwalt said about his trip to UCLA. "I liked everything about UCLA. Everybody was awesome and so was the place.

"Nick Crissman was my host," Zumwalt said. "I played with him in high school. I also bonded with a lot of the players.

"The campus was awesome," Zumwalt said. "Hanging out with the players was fun and went out and had a very good time.

Zumwalt also had a good time with the other recruits that were on hand.

"Dietrich Riley was an awesome kid," Zumwalt said. "He's definitely an athlete and a star player, no doubt. He's going to be a player. I also got along with Brett Nottingham, the quarterback."

Was Zumwalt tempted to commit?

"At the time, how couldn't I not be tempted, of course I was tempted, in my mind, I was tempted," Zumwalt said. "You know I am committed to Stanford and I'm a man of my word. So if I de-commit, it's going to have to be, I don't know how to explain it…"

Andy Buh, the guy who was recruiting Zumwalt to Stanford, recently took the defensive coordinator job at Nevada where he went to school and played football. There are also rumors swirling around that Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh is in line to take the Oakland Raider job if the current regime gets the axe as is expected.

"I don't think Coach Harbaugh is going anywhere," Zumwalt said. "I'm pretty sure of that. I will have a chance this weekend to talk to him face to face about things.

"Once we all talk and see how things go," Zumwalt said. "That's when the final decision is going to come down.

USC was also in the picture and Zumwalt was scheduled to visit the Los Angeles campus on January 29th. Is that still in play?

"We will see," Zumwalt said. "I'm kind of sitting and waiting to see what is going on."

The high interest in Zumwalt is deserved as he had an outstanding senior season racking up an extraordinary 164 tackles his senior season. He also accounted for 3.5, sacks, three deflected passes, two fumble recoveries and two fumbles caused. What makes his stats so amazing is he accomplished this feat in only 12 games.

Zumwalt saw his senior season earn him Orange County Defensive Player of the Year and League Defensive Player of the Year. Look for more honors to come to this talented linebacker.