Whats Holding Up Harwell

Hacienda Hts. (Calif.) Los Altos defensive lineman Brigham Harwell has been consistent with his statements for the last few months that he's still committed to UCLA but hasn't closed the door yet on Arizona State. After officially visiting both schools, the obvious question is what's the holdup in why Harwell isn't 100% solid yet to either of his top two.

Harwell, 6-1, 255 pounds was the dominant player most of the past week during CaliFlorida Bowl practices and was named the defensive MVP for the Cali squad following the game. He had a great senior season finishing with 122 tackles, 48 for loss and 22 quarterback sacks and was just named winner of the Glenn Davis award given to the top player in Southern California.

Harwell committed prior to the season to UCLA but after taking an official visit to ASU, said the Sun Devils were very much in the picture. Over time, Harwell acknowledged that the euphoria from the visit has worn off a bit but that he's still interested in ASU. This past week during CaliFlorida Bowl practices, the talented rush end talked more about his college choice.

"I'm committed to UCLA and that's where I want to go," Harwell said. "I still need to pass the SAT though and I'm about 100 points short. That's the big issue for me. I'm just not a good test taker. I'm doing fine in school, I have around a 2.8 or 2.9 GPA but long test like the SAT, I just always struggle. I took it in December but came up short and missed the deadline to take it later this month. The next time I'll be able to take it is in March.

"With that sliding scale, ASU said they can get me in right now but with UCLA, I have to score an 820. So it's tough for me, and I'm struggling with what I should do. If I'm not qualified by Signing Day, I'm not even sure if you're allowed to sign. I think you can but I don't know for sure. I'm just going to talk things over with my brother and will make the best decision for me but right now, I'm planning on going to UCLA."