Safety gives Rebels verbal commitment

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

UNLV seems to be developing quite a nice pipeline with Butte Community College in Oroville, Calif.

The Rebels, who already have garnered non-binding oral commitments from highly touted nose guard Junior Savaii (6-6, 330) and offensive tackle Sheddrick Mitchell (6-7, 310), have picked up another from the Roadrunners -- safety Chameion Sutton (5-11, 195).

The hard-hitting Sutton was a first team J.C. Gridwire Academic All-American and has a 4.0 GPA this year. He also was recruited by Washington, Oregon and Missouri, which he still plans to visit despite his verbal commitment to the Rebels.

"I'm going to Missouri this weekend," Sutton said. "I've told everybody that I'm committed to UNLV but they still wanted me to visit anyway. I think I owe it to myself to go and check it out, but I really love UNLV and I told (Missouri) that."

Sutton said he was impressed with "the way the coaches treat their players (at UNLV) and the camaraderie on the team. It's definitely a program that's on the rise."

And having a couple of his Butte teammates joining him also makes it nice.

"Yeah, big Junior and big Sheddrick are going there, too, so that will be nice," Sutton said.

Sutton prepped at Franklin High School in Seattle, a school that produced NFL players such as Corey Dillon, James Hasty and Mario Bailey as well as musician Kenny G. Sutton's offensive coordinator there was former NFL star Terry Metcalf.

Perhaps even more impressive than his football accomplishments is what he's managed to do off the field.

Besides his sparkling GPA and Academic All-America honor, Sutton was the 2000 winner of the Arthur Ashe Award as the No. 1 black student-athlete in the country.

"There were 11 other nominees from around the country," Sutton said. "They gave it for things like your GPA, community service and team leadership. It was quite an honor to win it."

The addition of the three Butte standouts could be the cornerstone for a top 20-caliber recruiting class for the Rebels.

Tulare (Calif.) Union running back Dominique Dorsey, who set California state prep career records for rushing (7,761 yards) and touchdowns (118), said Wednesday night that he'll probably commit to the Rebels during his trip this weekend.

"I'll go out there and see how it goes," the 5-7, 165-pound Dorsey said. "If I like it, then I'll probably commit."

Dorsey also has recruiting trips planned to Boise State and Arizona State, but the Sun Devils are recruiting him as a cornerback and he said he prefers to play running back.

"One of the reasons I looked at UNLV strongly is because both of their top running backs are gone and there's a chance I could play early there," Dorsey said.

Meanwhile, another blue chip recruit who will visit UNLV this weekend is RB/DB Richard Watson of Sacramento Grant.

The 5-11, 197-pound Watson was the Sacramento Bee's Player of the Year after leading the Pacers to a 10-2 record. He rushed for 1,401 yards and scored 21 touchdowns on offense and had 110 tackles and five interceptions as a safety on defense.

"You could say UNLV is No. 1 on my list right now," said Watson, who already visited Nevada-Reno and is considering trips to Utah, Grambling and Southern. "I like the way the program looks so far. I watched them play a couple of times on TV and liked what I saw. I think I could come in and add a lot if I go there."

One player who won't be coming to UNLV is former Michigan running back Justin Fargas.

Fargas, considered one of the nation's top running backs in 1997 at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., was very close to UNLV head coach John Robinson when he was at USC and would have signed with the Trojans if Robinson had not been fired that year.

When Fargas announced recently he was leaving Michigan, rumors began circulating that he could end up playing for Robinson after all at UNLV.

But Fargas' father, actor Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas, said Wednesday night that his son will transfer to USC.

"We have a lot of respect for Coach Robinson and the job he's doing there at UNLV, but Justin just felt USC, with a new coaching staff coming in, might be better for him now," Fargas said.

The national letter of intent signing period begins on Feb. 7.