Velega Waiting on the Trojans

Long Beach Poly (Calif.) defensive back Byron Velega was all set to announce his college choice late last week when he got the phone call he has been waiting for since the beginning of the season.

“I had narrowed my choices down to UCLA and Washington State and was planning to commit to UCLA,” Veleaga said. “Then I got a call from Coach Pola at USC and he said they wanted to come by the school and check me out. I’ve always wanted to play at SC, they have been my favorite school since as long as I can remember but I hadn’t heard a thing from them all season.

“I know they haven’t taken a corner yet this year so I was wondering if they would ever show me any interest. Coach Pola came to the school Wednesday or Thursday, I don’t remember which day and I gave him four of my game tapes to watch. I know he’s leaving for the Cleveland Browns but while he was meeting with me at school, he called Coach Burns and they talked about me for a few minutes. They said they would watch the tapes, coach Burns and Coach Carroll and then get back to me Sunday or Monday if they planned on offering or now.

“If they offer me, I’m going to commit on the spot. I love SC and that’s my school so hopefully it will happen for me. If not, at least they gave me a look and I like both UCLA and Washington State a lot too so I’ll be good either way. If SC decides not to offer me, I’m going to go ahead and end the process and probably commit to UCLA. I guess I should know more in the next couple of days.”