Sixteen Sign To Play For UW; Two Prep Stars Change Minds

Sixteen of an expected 17 high-school seniors signed letters of intent this morning and one more was expected to sign this afternoon to play football for the University of Washington.

The largest gathering of future Huskies took place at Seattle's O'Dea High School, where four O'Dea players - linebacker Jayson Bass, running back Jovan McCoy, defensive back Kyle Roberts and lineman Sekou Wiggs - made good on their promises and signed with Washington.

Five other in-state players also signed with Washington this morning: linebacker Jerry Jensen and defensive back/running back Terry Hollimon, both from Everett's Cascade High; Vashon linebacker Jason Chorak, widely considered, along with Bass, one of the state's top two recruits; Lynnwood linebacker Chris Campbell, and Mariner quarterback Shane Fortney.

Bill Gallagher, Sedro-Woolley athletic director, said Sedro-Woolley defensive end Cameron Cleeland would sign this afternoon.

Out-of-state players who signed with the Huskies: defensive lineman Darius Jones from Central Catholic High in Portland; defensive back Tony Parrish, from Marina High, Huntington Beach, Calif.; quarterback Mike Smith, Bishop Amat High, La Puente, Calif.; lineman Mostafa Sobhi, Hawthorne High, Los Angeles; running back/defensive back Rashaan Shehee, Foothill High, Bakersfield, Calif.; receiver Fred Coleman, Lee High, Tyler, Texas; Patroceli Kesi, St. Louis High, Honolulu.

Of the 19 players who gave oral commitments to play for Washington, two changed their minds and signed with other schools.

Lineman Vilaimi Maumau from St. Louis High in Honolulu, who orally committed to Washington three weeks ago, signed with Colorado, his coach, Cal Lee, said.

Making an unsurprising move, lineman Chris Brymer from Apple Valley, Calif., signed a letter of intent with Southern Cal after orally committing to the Huskies two weeks ago. "I didn't go to Washington because it was too far away from home," Brymer said. "Being close to my family is a big thing."

Brymer was undecided as of last night, mentally juggling three letters of intent from Arizona State, USC and Washington.

Another out-of-state recruit who decided against the Huskies in the final hour was defensive back Shino Prater from Sam Houston High in Arlington, Texas. Prater signed with Penn State today.

Cougar signees -- Three seniors at Washington high schools and a junior-college quarterback were among early signees of Washington State letters of intent.

WSU announced that Jason McEndoo, an all-state offensive lineman at Aberdeen, had signed a Cougar letter, as had Jon Kincaid, a tight end at Colfax, and James Darling, a running back at Kettle Falls.

The junior college quarterback is Chad DeGrenier, , 6-feet, 200 pounds, of Scottsdale, Ariz., who played the past two seasons at Grossmont College in Santee, Calif. He completed 155 of 320 passes for 2,001 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Other early signees:

Leone Bender, 6-5, 225, defensive end, Santee, Calif.; Zach Edwards, 6-4, 261, offensive lineman, San Jose, Calif.; Will Haskell, 5-11, 200, running back, Staton Island, N.Y.; Ofisa Isaia, 6-3, 210, linebacker, San Jose, Calif.; Ryan McShane, 6-5, 260, offensive lineman, LaFayette, Calif.; Ken Moore, 6-0, 185, defensive back, Menlo Park, Calif.; Tim Roth, 6-1, 172, punter/placekicker, Chico, Calif.; Shon Lewis, 5-9, 165, running back-wide receiver, San Jose, Calif.

----------------------------------------------------------- . Husky signees.

The Times confirmed 16 players have signed letters of intent to play football for Washington; one more was expected to sign by the end of today: . . Player High School Pos. Ht. Wt. . Jayson Bass O'Dea (Seattle) LB 6-3 205. . Chris Campbell Lynnwood LB 6-1 215. . Jason Chorak Vashon DE 6-5 240. . Fred Coleman Lee (Tyler, Texas) WR 6-2 170. . Shane Fortney Mariner (Mukilteo) QB 6-3 195. . Terry Hollimon Cascade (Everett) RB/DB 5-7 170. . Jerry Jensen Cascade (Everett) RB/LB 6-2 200. . Darius Jones Central Catholic (Portland) DL/LB 6-3 235. . Patroceli Kesi St. Louis (Honolulu) OL 6-4 295. . Jovan McCoy O'Dea (Seattle) RB 5-9 170. . Tony Parrish Marina (Huntington Beach, Cal.) DB 5-10 170. . Kyle Roberts O'Dea (Seattle) DB 5-11 185. . Rashaan Shehee Foothill (Bakersfield, Calif.) DB/RB 5-11 190. . Mike Smith Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) QB 6-4 205. . Mostafa Sobhi Hawthorne (Los Angeles) OL 6-4 270. . Sekou Wiggs O'Dea (Seattle) OL 6-4 240.