Mater Dei DB making a name for himself

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei is loaded with talent for this year and even in next year's class. One name that hasn't been talked about a lot, though, with recruiting observers is defensive back Andrew Abbott.

The 5-foot-1, 160-pound Abbott said he earned second team all-Trinity League honors as a junior, which is a feat for sure because the league is one of the most competitive in Los Angeles and quite possibly all of California.

In 2006, Abbott had 22 solo tackles, nine assists, three interceptions, five pass breakups and one tackle for a loss. He also had two touchdown grabs, one of which was a monster 40-yard grab in an overtime victory over rival Anaheim Servite. He hopes to have a bigger senior season and the first step toward making a bigger name for himself comes this weekend at the NIKE Training Camp in Los Angeles.

So what type of player is Abbott in his own words?

"I'm aggressive," he said.

"I'm also versatile (returns both punts and kicks). I'm also fast on the football field, physical and smart. I think that technique is everything and that's why I work hard on it all the time."

Abbott grew up watching USC, but at this point the teams sending him the most mail are Cal, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, LSU and Boise State.

He also hopes to hear more from Arizona during the spring evaluation period.