Rebels get commitment from speedy back

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

Ronnie Smith didn't even start for his high school football team this past season. But there are some scouts who believe he may be as good as any prospect in the Los Angeles area.

The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Smith, who on film looks like a bigger version of current UNLV speedster Dominique Dorsey, gave UNLV a verbal commitment during a recruiting trip over the weekend.

Smith, who starred at Narbonne High School in Harbor City, Calif., picked the Rebels over Kansas State, Oregon and Texas-El Paso.

"I just had great time there," Smith said of his recruiting trip. "They have some great people out there. It was just like one big family. They showed me a great time. I felt it was the place for me."

Despite playing a backup role to highly touted Marcus O'Keith, who verbally committed to Cal recently, Smith managed to rush for 1,370 yards and score 19 touchdowns. He earned third-team all-Dream Team honors from the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Smith opened a lot of eyes when O'Keith went down with an injury. He broke the school's single-game rushing record with 355 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Lynwood.

Four other players visited UNLV over the weekend but did not give verbal commitments, including Cimarron running back Kellen Marshall (5-11, 175).

Marshall, who was timed at 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the San Diego Nike Combine last spring, will visit Oregon State this weekend. He also plans to visit Nevada-Reno. He rushed for 1,300 yards during an injury-plagued senior year.

Also visiting UNLV were offensive lineman Marco Guerra (6-5, 320) and wide receiver Shelvion Williams (6-2, 200) of Los Angeles Fremont High School and first-team all-San Diego County offensive tackle Jake Bingham (6-6, 305) of Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, Calif.

Bingham, who also visited Nebraska, Colorado, Washington and Arizona State, was reported by one Internet site to have committed to the Sun Devils recently. However, he denied that report to UNLV coaches during his trip this weekend.

Guerra is also visiting Fresno State and San Jose State.

In other recruiting news:

Ngata joins a BYU recruiting class that also includes quarterback Ben Olson (6-5, 210) of Thousand Oaks, Calif., rated the nation's No. 1 prospect by talent scout Tom Lemming of ESPN.com.

"BYU's class could be ranked in the top 10 for the first time," Lemming said. "They're having a very good year."