Villanueva has growing interest
Fernando Villanueva has an offer from Washington State, could be close to one from Oregon State and is hearing from a bunch of other Pac-10 schools as the San Jose (Calif.) Independence offensive tackle has seen his recruitment get busier in recent months.
Both Washington State and Oregon State interest Villanueva, a 6-foot-7, 280-pounder who was one of the top prospects this past weekend at the Asante Trenchmen Academy in Culver City, Calif.
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"It rains a lot over there but I think it would be a good place for me," Villanueva said of Washington State. "Coach (Steve) Morton has my back over there. He wants me there a lot.
"With Oregon State, coach (Mike) Cavanaugh is waiting on my transcript but he said that's a sure thing. I'm pretty sure I already have the offer but I have to give him a call."
USC, UCLA, Cal and Washington are four other schools showing interest in Villanueva, who said he was thoroughly impressed at Cal's junior day. The Golden Bears want him at defensive end and Villanueva said he likes that program a lot.
"I would like Cal," Villanueva said. "I went to their junior day and they're building new facilities and they look really nice. I didn't talk to the new offensive line coach. They want me to play as a d-end. I talked to coach (Tosh) Lupoi and he said he could see me rushing off the end for him."
Last weekend's trip to Southern California probably won't be Villanueva's last before his senior season starts. The San Jose prospect said he likes USC and UCLA a lot and wants to visit both over the next few months.
"I'm going to be in the area a lot this summer," Villanueva said. "I like the atmosphere. I liked the tempo at USC's camp last year. I didn't do so well but hopefully this year I'll make a big change because I've been working hard on and off the field and hopefully I see that improvement on the field.
"I haven't gone to (UCLA's) camps but they've been writing me letters. I talked to their coach recently and he said they want me to get down to one of their camps."