Snyder waiting on Stanford

Spring Valley (Calif.) Monte Vista is home to one of the state’s top defensive end prospects in Clinton Snyder. The talented rush end has three main schools he’s looking at with one head and shoulders above the group.

Snyder, 6-4, 200 pounds, is a long, lean pass rusher who knows how to get up the field and is very explosive. Although carrying just 200 pounds right now, Snyder has a solid frame and shouldn’t have a problem putting on considerable weight in college.

A year ago, the athlete had 90 tackles and 18 quarterback sacks to earn all CIF and all-state honors.

“I don’t think I’ll get close to those numbers this year,” Snyder said. “It’s tough because every team we play runs away from me and when they do pass, I’m seeing constant double teams with a running back even staying back to block me too. Plus I’ve had some bad luck with some really weird plays. I had two sacks last game but could have had four. One got taken away because of a penalty and another time, I grabbed the quarterback and flung him so hard, the ball flew out of his hand and went right to one of his receivers for a completion.

“It’s all right, though. We’re winning and I’m having fun. It’s a challenge for me and by me getting so many double team looks, it’s been opening things up for my teammates and they have really been playing well.”

Monte Vista is currently 6-0 and ranked No. 18 in the state and No. 3 in San Diego. On the recruiting front, Snyder has a solid top three.

“Stanford, UCLA and Cal are the main ones I like,” Snyder said. “Stanford is my leader right now and I just finished up my application and sent it in last week. One of the coaches called me on Saturday and said it was now being reviewed and I should hear if I’ve been accepted or not within the next 10 days.

“They told me things look really good for me regarding my application. I have a 4.5 GPA and scored a 1240 on the SAT so I’m feeling good about being accepted.”

Once Snyder is accepted, is there any chance for an immediate commitment?

“Nah, I still want to take trips to UCLA and Cal,” Snyder said. “I’ve never been to either campus so I want to check out those places first before making my decision. I’m going to visit Stanford too and once I take those three visits, I’ll go ahead and make my decision.”

On the season, Snyder said he didn’t remember his tackle totals but does have seven sacks in the six games the team has played this year.