It is one of the largest high schools in the country with an enrollment of 5,000 students and has distinguished alumni cutting across pop culture and sports. In football, the program has had more players end up in the NFL than any other program in southern California, including stars such as: DeSean Jackson, Marcedes Lewis, Winston Justice, and Willie McGinest. Overall, the school boasts the largest number of alumni in the NFL from one high school.
With that type of pedigree, it is easy to see why college recruiters regularly roam the halls in hopes of landing the next big thing. With Colorado's move to the Pac-12 and with a coaching staff that has a history with the school from previous coaching stints at UCLA, it is worth taking a brief look at the program and its importance in Pac-12 recruiting.
Since 2002, Poly has had 35 players sign letters of intent with BCS schools, with just five of those players signing with schools outside the Pac-10. The number of players signing with Pac-10 schools break down as such:
USC-9
UCLA-9
California-5
Oregon-2
Washington State-2
Arizona-1
Arizona State-1
Washington-1
Clearly, the hometown Trojans and Bruins have made a living at Poly, and UCLA signed 5 players from the school from 2003-2005 when Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy were assistants at the school. But aside from the dominance of the hometown schools, there is one other trend worth noting: Long Beach Poly kids have overwhelmingly choose to play in the Pac-10. Additionally, the Poly players that have signed with BCS programs have represented some of the more highly regarded prospects in terms of star rankings. Those numbers break down as follows:
5*-3
4*-12
3*-17
2*-3
Fast forward to the 2012 class and Poly is once again on track to send multiple players to BCS schools. Thus far, five players have received BCS offers and four have made early commitments to Arizona State. Two players of those players, Richard Smith and Josiah Blandin, have CU offers. It is unclear which players will take official visits to other schools, but hopefully Embree and Bieniemy can work their Poly connections. One other name to keep an eye is LB Matthew Rowe:
[video=youtube;XNm2bIjT4aI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNm2bIjT4aI[/video]
In the end, the Buffs may not sign a single Poly player in the 2012 class, but it is a sure bet that the Colorado coaching staff knows that the school will be an important school to maintain ties with in the future. Indeed, one of the players likely to be highly sought after in the 2013 class is safety David Price.
In the end, it is worth getting to know these names because chances are high they will either be Buffs or playing against us in the years to come.
With that type of pedigree, it is easy to see why college recruiters regularly roam the halls in hopes of landing the next big thing. With Colorado's move to the Pac-12 and with a coaching staff that has a history with the school from previous coaching stints at UCLA, it is worth taking a brief look at the program and its importance in Pac-12 recruiting.
Since 2002, Poly has had 35 players sign letters of intent with BCS schools, with just five of those players signing with schools outside the Pac-10. The number of players signing with Pac-10 schools break down as such:
USC-9
UCLA-9
California-5
Oregon-2
Washington State-2
Arizona-1
Arizona State-1
Washington-1
Clearly, the hometown Trojans and Bruins have made a living at Poly, and UCLA signed 5 players from the school from 2003-2005 when Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy were assistants at the school. But aside from the dominance of the hometown schools, there is one other trend worth noting: Long Beach Poly kids have overwhelmingly choose to play in the Pac-10. Additionally, the Poly players that have signed with BCS programs have represented some of the more highly regarded prospects in terms of star rankings. Those numbers break down as follows:
5*-3
4*-12
3*-17
2*-3
Fast forward to the 2012 class and Poly is once again on track to send multiple players to BCS schools. Thus far, five players have received BCS offers and four have made early commitments to Arizona State. Two players of those players, Richard Smith and Josiah Blandin, have CU offers. It is unclear which players will take official visits to other schools, but hopefully Embree and Bieniemy can work their Poly connections. One other name to keep an eye is LB Matthew Rowe:
[video=youtube;XNm2bIjT4aI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNm2bIjT4aI[/video]
In the end, the Buffs may not sign a single Poly player in the 2012 class, but it is a sure bet that the Colorado coaching staff knows that the school will be an important school to maintain ties with in the future. Indeed, one of the players likely to be highly sought after in the 2013 class is safety David Price.
In the end, it is worth getting to know these names because chances are high they will either be Buffs or playing against us in the years to come.