Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Bishop Gorman tackle Ron Scoggins, center, and running back Shaquille Powell celebrate after their game against Chaparral High of Scottsdale at the Sollenberger Classic Saturday, August 20, 2011 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Gorman won the game 42-22.
Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 | 9:34 p.m.
Ron Scoggins Jr.
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
Bishop Gorman High offensive lineman Ron Scoggins Jr. talks about the upcoming high school football season.
The opportunity to be part of helping New Mexico rebuild its college football program is something Ron Scoggins Jr. can’t wait to be part of.
Scoggins, an offensive lineman from three-time defending state champion Bishop Gorman High , verbally committed to New Mexico Sunday night. He visited the school this weekend and made an announcement during the Gaels’ end-of-the-year banquet.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Scoggins also had scholarship offers from UNLV, Fresno State, New Mexico State and San Jose State. He just couldn’t resist playing for newly hired New Mexico coach Bob Davie — the former Notre Dame coach is back in coaching after nearly a decade of working in television.
“He has that passion and has been able to soak in a lot of things over the last 10 years,” Scoggins said. “I’m ready to be part of what he is building.”
Scoggins, a three-star recruiting prospect on the Rivals.com scale of five stars, was impressed with the school's facilities and said the city of Albuquerque reminded him of Las Vegas. More importantly, he was inspired by how positive the new coaching staff was about the future of the program, which was one of the worst in Division I last year.
Verbal commitments are non-binding and don’t become official until the Feb. 1 national signing day.
Scoggins is the fourth from Gorman to commit, joining running back Shaquille Powell (Duke), offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (Notre Dame) and defensive linemanZach Hutchins (San Jose State). All four prospects were three-year starters, helping Gorman post a 43-3 record and finish ranked this fall in the top-10 nationally.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.
New Mexico got a great kid and a really good player. How this kid wasn't getting more and better offers is a real mystery. Once again UNLV misses out on a really good local player. And they lose out to conference rival. How does NM get a big time coach like Bob Davie and we get hahahouck.
Congrats to mr Scoggins. I believe you will do well and NM is very lucky to get you.
Another miss by the Rebels... wow
I don't get it. Does Hauck purposefully not go after local recruits? Or does he think we're just not good enough to go after the big recruits here? Out of 11 local recruits that have committed to a program, only one of those commits is to UNLV.
Exactly! Another that got away and to a University that has been worse than UNLV! How does that happen hauck?! I'm telling you, we should only have to ensure one more year of his failure before he is given his walking papers. I will always be a season ticket holder and support ALL UNLV REBEL athletics but, just like everyone in this wonderful city, I am looking forward to supporting a winner. Not only on the court, diamond or pool but also on the football field. Step it up hauck!!
Gang: Hauck is trying to recruit all of the local kids. However, until the Rebels start winning, don't expect any of the notables to stay home.
@Ray, it's good to hear that he's going for them, but very unfortunate that he's not getting them. There's a lot of really good players here that if UNLV had the first pick of recruits here, we'd be a perennial bowl team, maybe even an occasional top 25 billing.