Highly touted QB commits to Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista, Calif., is located just a short drive away from Qualcomm Stadium where San Diego State plays its home football games.

But Barons head coach Carl Parrick says he'll be wearing a UNLV baseball cap around campus now.

Parrick received the cap on Tuesday morning as a gift from his star quarterback, Tyler Arciaga, who has given a verbal commitment to John Robinson's Rebels.

"Tyler went to a local sporting goods store last night and picked up a few UNLV caps," Parrick said. "He stopped by this morning to give me one."

To hear Parrick, a high school coaching veteran of 29 years, tell it, UNLV has landed a good one in the 6-2, 235-pound Arciaga.

"He's a winner," Parrick said. "Coaches from Oklahoma and Ohio State told me they thought he had probably the best arm of any quarterback in California this year."

But because of his size -- Arciaga is a shade under 6-2 and has the build of a linebacker -- most major Division I schools decided not to recruit Arciaga despite the fact his quick release and strong arm have been compared by some scouts to Dan Marino's.

In fact, Arciaga, who threw for more than 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns the past two years, ended up picking UNLV over William & Mary and a pair of Ivy League schools, Dartmouth and Harvard.

"He's a very bright kid," Parrick said. "He has a 4.3 GPA in honors courses and a 1200 SAT. He benches 300 pounds and can throw the ball 60 yards standing flat-footed. He also hit over .400 in baseball for us last year. I think UNLV and Coach Robinson got a real gem in Tyler.

"Tyler reminds me a lot of another kid we had here named Scott Shields who was somewhat overlooked. He ended up going to Weber State where he intercepted 27 passes in his career. And now he's playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. I think Tyler is in that same kind of mold."

Arciaga will not enroll in UNLV until next January so as not to waste a year this fall as a backup to Jason Thomas and Kurt Nantkes.

Meanwhile, the Rebels got some more good news on Tuesday when Los Angeles Cathedral High wide receiver Earvin Johnson (6-3 1/2, 205), who garnered four votes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram's Best in the West poll this week, said he would visit UNLV over the weekend.

Johnson caught 66 touchdown passes in his career for the Phantoms, shattering the previous California state prep mark set by J.K. McKay back in the early 1970s at La Puente's Bishop Amat High School.

Johnson's brother, L.C., said "UNLV is right at the top" of the list of schools his brother is considering. USC, Washington, Washington State, Cal and Arizona State are also trying to enter the recruiting picture for Johnson, who originally committed to Georgia Tech.

"Earvin's hero is Keyshawn Johnson," L.C. Johnson said. "The fact that John Robinson coached Keyshawn is a big plus for UNLV. And UNLV is definitely a program on the rise. Jason Thomas is a legend around here. It would be nice to have him throwing the ball to you in college."

Carson High School quarterback Justin Cooper said Tuesday night he was waiting to see if he would take a recruiting trip to Ohio State before deciding whether to accept a scholarship offer from UNLV. The 6-0, 185-pound Cooper will likely play wide receiver in college.