One that didn’t get away

Published: Tuesday, October 9, 2007 3:58 PM PDT

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Point Loma High running back/defensive back Josh Wade put the finishing touches on a 45-7 rout Friday of previously unbeaten Hoover with a 38-yard touchdown run, giving him 11 carries for 167 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

He celebrated with his teammates, and then he went to the fence separating the Hoover track from the visitor’s stands to see his parents.

A lot of top recruits don’t consider San Diego State, and one reason is they look forward to the adventure of going away fom college. And for some it’s not just going away for college, it’s getting away from difficult parents who are hard to live with. That’s understandably a recruiting battle SDSU will rarely win.

But that wasn’t an obstacle with Wade, a 6-foot-1, 175-pounder recruited as a cornerback that recently gave the Aztecs an oral commitment.

“San Diego State is a place I can call home and my family can come to the games,” Wade said. “I wanted a school where the coaches have my interests at heart and can help me prosper.”

The longer I’m in the this business, the more I realize there are more kids that want to play for San Diego State than previous coaches or fans have realized.

Former coach Tom Craft and his staff started working local high schools harder and second-year coach Chuck Long and his staff are doing the same.

Remember when Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick annually thrashed the Aztecs with a long list of San Diego recruits? Moses Moreno (Castle Park) and Darren Hall (Lincoln) were co-MVPs for the Rams at the Holiday Bowl in 1997.

Josh Wade. Photo: Jim Pendleton
But when the Aztecs won at CSU Saturday, offensive lineman Nick Allotta (Rancho Bernardo) was the only San Diegan on the two-deep chart and the only other San Diegans on the roster were true freshman running back Lester Arnold (Point Loma) and long snapper Steve Bryan (Helix).

To me, there is a direct correlation to CSU’s downfall in recent years and their lack of success recruiting San Diego talent.

“Sonny Lubick offered Josh, but San Diego State offered him first,” Point Loma coach Mike Hastings said. “That’s one thing San Diego State hadn’t done with Lester and some of our other Pointers -- make an early move. Josh appreciated the interest, he thinks he can play there and he took it.”

Wade, speaking a day before SDSU’s 24-20 win Saturday at Colorado State improved the Aztecs’ record to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference, said SDSU’s losing ways in recent years wasn’t a factor.

“They have good coaches and they can teach us what they know,” Wade said. “I like the idea of playing in San Diego. I like the atmosphere, and hope more San Diego kids will play here with me.”

-- TOM SHANAHAN

3 Comments so far on this story...

Thanks for the article

Posted by Ben | reply to this comment
October 9, 2007 11:11 pm

This is good news indeed! I hope more local kids think like Josh.

Posted by Scott G. | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 6:26 am

As a current CSU student since 2004 ive watched the downfall of the rams, and i highly doubt recruiting is the problem, we have great players, but under the current system their attributes are not used efficiently. I highly believe coaching is the key here, Sonny Lubick has taken the program that he created and is moving backwards not forward, with many go for it on 4&2 calls that should of been field goals (that would of won the game in the end). I love Sonny, hes one of the most respectable and open people out there, but i firmly believe his tenure is up and it is. Fairchild was a great move and I think the CSU program will have a complete turn around in the next 2 years, and run the MWC for many years to come...

Posted by Brandon W. | reply to this comment
January 8, 2008 1:13 pm

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