In the same week as a Tribune report and Cal Poly announcement said that West Virginia running back Mark Rodgers would be transferring to Cal Poly for his junior season, another publication reported that Rodgers would be going elsewhere.

THIS OREGONIAN REPORT, which does not appear to be attributed to any sources, says Rodgers is transferring to Portland State and will be there in time for spring practice.

Rodgers did commit to Portland State out of Leuzinger High (Lawndale) when Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh was in charge of the Vikings in 2007 but sat out a season and signed up with the Mountaineers after Walsh left to become the offensive coordinator at Army.

Rodgers said he was initially considering both schools when he decided to leave West Virginia but confirmed on the phone with me on Saturday afternoon that he was indeed coming to Cal Poly.

“I’m going to Cal Poly,” Rodgers said, and it will not be in time for spring practice. “I’ll probably be there when school starts in the fall. That’s when I’ll be coming.”

I have yet to talk to Walsh about this, but he made public comments about Rodgers at the team’s signing day news conference on Wednesday, which would have been an NCAA no-no without Rodgers signing a scholarship agreement with the university.

As the team loses three senior running backs who all started at times during the season, Rodgers was presented as the centerpiece of the recruiting class during the news conference.

The news of Rodgers’ transfer first appeared in THIS STORY, where Rodgers said he was looking forward to earning a starting spot for the Mustangs. At the time, Rodgers said he decided not to visit Portland State, not wanting to waste the school’s time.

Rodgers said he was not sure how there could have been a mix up.

“Probably just the recruiting process,” Rodgers said. “I was shooting at both of them.”

Of the Portland State coaches, Rodgers added: “Yeah, they know I’m going to Cal Poly.”

The Rodgers instance wasn’t the only Cal Poly football mix-up this week. The LOS ANGELES WAVE reported that Inglewood High defensive back James Grace was going to Cal Poly, followed by a quote from Grace’s new coach.

The only problem is that the coach who was quoted is from New Mexico, and Grace signed with the Lobos, not the Mustangs.

Tribune photo by David Middlecamp

With the success of former UCLA receiver Dominique Johnson a Cal Poly — Johnson led the team in catches, yards and touchdowns in 2009 — and the addition of a couple more Division I transfers this offseason, it looks like Cal Poly is becoming a welcome haven for FBS players looking for more playing time.

West Virginia running back Mark Rodgers was announced as a Cal Poly transfer at today’s signing day news conference, and Baylor defensive end Matt Singletary, the son of San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, told me he’s committed to the Mustangs, too, though Singletary will not likely land on campus until the fall.

But Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh shot down the assumption that the Mustangs were becoming a new Second Chance U.

“I’m not big on recruiting four-year transfers unless they’re the right four-year transfers,” Walsh said at the news conference.

“If we have another one that ends up coming here, that will be great as well, but the bottom-line thing is when you have a relatonship with people or you can do your homework on certain young people and find out why they want to leave, what they want out of ther life, what they want out of enducaton, what they want out of football, and you kind of know them or have a relaitonship with them , it’s kind of easy to say ‘yes’ to those guys.

“When somebody calls, we’ll investigate it, and we’ll look at it, and we’ll make sure that he’s the right fit.

“Mark Rodgers on his visit here, our players loved him. D.J., when he came here, he was very humble, didn’t come in here and say, ‘I’ve caught 62 passes in the Pac-10. Who are you guys?’ He came in, joined in and worked hard , did very well in school … Those are the types of guys we are looking for who can come in and be a fit.”

Walsh also dropped the bomb that Johnson either had or was having offseason shoulder surgery. He did miss most of two games with a partially separated shoulder, but I’m not sure if that was the impetus for the surgery.

It didn’t sound like Walsh expected Johnson to miss much time, but that’s a topic for another day. Today, just know that Cal Poly won’t just take “any geek off the streets” — (to quote the intro to Warren G’s Regulate).

Did the Mustangs football team get what it needed out of this year’s signing day haul? You tell me.

Here is a breakdown by position of what Cal Poly announced on Wednesday, which also includes one Division I transfer and one junior college transfer.

RB — 2

WR — 1

OL — 3

DT — 1

DE — 1

LB — 2

CB — 2

SS — 1

K — 1

Conspicuously absent is quarterback, and us media types have already been hammered by the infamous “Peter” for not needling Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh on the topic.

But, really, a class without a quarterback, when there are already five on the roster including the returning starter, just means the team has allotted enough money to the position for now and looked elsewhere.

Sound off on what you think by leaving a comment and voting in the new poll.

Not interested in watching the hour’s worth of video to hear what Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh said about each of the 12 new high school football recruits he introduced Wednesday?

I’ll give you the choice nuggets here on each of the recruits.

Cal Poly’s football recruits (alphabetically)
Name, position, height, weight, school, hometown

Kevin Britt, CB/WR, 6-1, 160, Nipomo High, Nipomo

Walsh: “This young man can run. He can flat run, and he can make plays and he made plays aganst some high quality people. Kevin held his own against guys going to USC and UCLA … He’s way more physical than we anticipated, and at corner, where we’re goignto play him, it’s hard for us to find 6-foot corners that can run 10.8(-second) 100 meters.”

Lance Castaneda, WR/DB, 6-3, 200, Davis High, Modesto

Walsh: “We think that down the road with (Dominique Johnson) being a senior and being a big wide receiver, we’re going to need a big wide receiver. We think that he possesses the ability to run after the catch. He can go get the football, which is something we’re looking for.”

Joseph Coleman, OL/DL, 6-2, 265, Moreau Catholic, Hayward

Walsh: “If you’ve watched Maurice McClure play for us already, we think he’s a clone. And he’ll be a guy that will compete to play and play early … He is a big, strong and explosive man that is only going to get better. We really feel like we’re really fortunate for him to say yes.”

K.J. Cusack, RB, 5-9, 165, St. Joseph, Santa Maria

Walsh: K.J. is just one of those guys that really has a unique understanding of the game, but he has the instincts at running back that I don’t think you can teach, and we think he’s way faster than people gave him credit for. K.J.’s an explosive guy with the football. He’s probably more physical than his body will allow you to believe.”

Dave Douglas, SS, 5-11, 196, Oakland High, Oakland

Walsh: “He had Divison I offers and said yes to coach (Bryan) Cook when coach Cook orginially offered in December. He stuck with us even though some people came hard in the end … He can probably compete to play as a freshman, and that’s his goal: To come here and start for four years and help us win a lot of football games.”

Nick Dzubnar, LB, 6-2, 220, Mission Viejo High, Mission Viejo

Walsh: “He is a guy that plays with a huge motor and is way, way faster than we thought when originally looked at him. And that’s tough league to be defensive player of the year in because they have a lot of guys going a lot of places.”

Joshua Hines, OT/DT, 6-2, 255, Jesuit High, Sacramento

Walsh did not give a flashy quote on Hines, but said that he is in the mold of a prototype offensive tackle for the triple option.

Brandon Howe, LB, 6-2, 208, Dana Hills High, San Juan Capistrano

Walsh: “We’re signing him as a linebacker. He played safety and running back. Very aggressive guy that cleans 305 pounds. It shows the explosion that he has in his hips. We think at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, we can make him a linebacker that can run and run well.”

Vante Johnson, CB, 5-9, 170, Edison High, Fresno

Walsh: “What he lacks in size, he deifneitly makes up in aggressiveness. He’s extremely quick and extremely athletic … He’s not the biggest guy, but we saw him be extremely aggressive. He’s got great feet and a real good understanding of the game of football.”

James Langford, K, 6-3, 178, Foothill High, Pleasanton

Walsh: “We don’t see any kicks from him that don’t go through the uprights, and that means kickoffs included. And he gets the ball up in the air extremely quickly.”

Chris Lawrence, DT, 6-2, 255, De La Salle, Danville

Walsh: “Chris is one of those guys that coach (Greg) Lupfer loves on the defensive side of the ball because his energy is contagious … Probably before he’s done, he’ll be 6-2, 270 pounds and will be a dominant player for us.”

Lefi Letuliagasenoa, OL, 6-2, 285, Elk Grove High, Sacramento

Walsh: “He really dominated almost every time we saw the ball snapped. He plays every snap as hard as he possibly can. Very athletic, great feet, understands how to play the offensive line as far as leverage and lower body strength.”

Check out THIS LINK to see the first of a six-part video that includes Cal Poly head football coach Tim Walsh’s introduction to his new recruiting class, a video presentation on each of the signees and a question-and-answer period with the media.

You can access the rest of the videos from the CalPolyAthletics YouTube channel. Below is portion that includes West Virginia junior running back transfer Mark Rodgers’ high school highlights and the beginning of the Q&A.

The Cal Poly football team already got a commitment from one Division I transfer this offseason. CLICK HERE to read about Mark Rodgers, a running back from West Virginia who is ready to play for the Mustangs.

Now comes word that another transfer from a Bowl Championship Series conference is making his way to San Luis Obispo.

Matt Singletary, the son of NFL head coach and Hall of Fame player Mike Singletary, told me today that he has decided to leave his dad’s alma mater Baylor — where Matt played sparingly at a defensive line a redshirt sophomore this past season — to play at Cal Poly in the fall.

Read the Singletary story HERE or check out Wednesday’s Tribune for an in-depth piece on Singletary and his decision to transfer. I only wanted to get some background on the position changes he’s had in the past couple years out here on the blog and get your response to these new transfers.

Singletary came to Baylor as a 6-3, 210-pounder looking to become a lineman. He said before his senior football season, he was actually more interested in lacrosse, but when Mike Singletary left the Baltimore Ravens with Mike Nolan to come to the San Francisco 49ers, Matt had to give up lacrosse.

Matt started out as a defensive end at Baylor, but after redshirting, he was moved to a position coaches called receiver. It seemed to Singletary that it was more of a blocking fullback position.

“It was more of a blocking-slash-little-bit-receiving tight end,” Singletary said. “I was thinking more tight end. They were thinking more fullback. It had a couple routes, and I was thinking, ‘OK, that would be fun.’ ”

But the blocking aspect wasn’t as appealing to Singletary. I mean, he’s the son of one of the best middle linebackers of all time. He had to have been born with a pretty ingrained defensive mentality.

So he moved back to defensive end this past season and only played a few games. He finished up at Baylor with two career tackles, so there isn’t a lot to go on when trying to determine how good he can be at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Except this: The 210 pounds is now 250, and that’s a frame that can make an impact.

Dominique Johnson, a 6-4 receiver who transferred from UCLA last offseason, made an immediate impact leading the team in receptions (38), yards (668) and touchdowns (6) despite missing time with a shoulder separation last season.

Johnson will be the transfer that others are measured against this season. Singletary is anticipating a home at defensive end at Cal Poly, where he definitely wants to be an impact player.

“At Poly, I feel like I want 100 percent to be the best player, if not on the defense, than on the team,” Singletary said. “That’s something I expect of myself.”

What do you think of the transfers? We’ll find out about the rest of the Mustangs’ recruits at their signing day news conference Wednesday afternoon. Check out my twitter page, SanLuisObispo.com and the print edition of The Tribune for more coverage.

Check out Saturday’s Tribune for a story on the Cal Poly men’s basketball team’s quintet of redshirting players who make up the Mustangs’ scout team.

It’s pretty rare for a college basketball team to have five scholarship players all sitting out at the same time, but that’s the case at Cal Poly for a combination of reasons. Mustangs head coach Joe Callero called it a hodgepodge.

Division I transfers Chris O’Brien and Drake U’u are sitting out per NCAA rules. U’u also had recent surgery to fix a sports hernia. Six-foot-10 freshmen Ben Eisenhardt and Ryan Pembleton are redshirting to beef up, and junior college transfer Amaurys Fermin did not start at Cal Poly in the fall because he needed to make up a class.

They’re all playing in practice as if those afternoon sessions are their equivalent to official games, and apparently they’re giving the Mustangs’ starters a run for their money when they face off.

When asked directly if they could be as good or better than Cal Poly’s starters right now, the scout guys deferred to a Mustangs team that so far has been the surprise player in the Big West. But the fact that it was even a legitimate question says something about the group of guys sitting at the end of the bench.

“We have moments that we’re taking it to them, definitely,” Eisenhardt said. “But there’s never a time where they’re just blowing us out of the water. We do a good job of just forcing that first team to work. That’s our duty right now, not only making ourselves better, that’s how we’re making the team better right now.”

Said O’Brien: “We’re doing we’ll in conference, so I’ll give it to the first team, but a couple days, we give it to them, and they don’t know what him ‘em.”

With this season’s hope still very much alive — the Mustangs currently sit third in the Big West, a game behind UC Santa Barbara for second — it’s too early to start thinking about next year, but if everything goes according to plan, there seems to be reason for future optimism.

Cal Poly men’s basketball coach Joe Callero said the team could have some final resolution on the status of starting center Will Donahue, who has been academically ineligible all quarter, possibly sometime next week.

Either Donahue will come back or he won’t. It’s against the rules for coaches to give specifics on players’ academics, but I can probably safely assume that Donahue is working to improve a grade or two.

Here’s the real dish: Either way, if Donahue comes back or not, Callero will not pull either of his 6-10 freshman big men out of their redshirts.

Coming into the season, Callero said forward Ben Eisenhardt could play but only if he was guaranteed to get significant playing time. Donahue’s loss would seem like an emergency situation, especially with the Mustangs now competing in the Big West without him, but Callero said, no way.

“If we didn’t play him by conference, we said we wouldn’t risk him playing minimal minutes in half a season,” Callero said. “It’s not fair to him, and it’s not fair to the future or the program — even with the Donahue situation still being up in the air for another week or so.”

The team might have to rely on 6-6 center Will Taylor, 6-5 forward Jordan Lewis and 6-7 backup Ryan Darling for the rest of the season. At one point in a recent game, 6-5 wing David Hanson was playing the 5 spot.

Cal Poly is 5-4 without Donahue, a 6-8 sophomore junior college transfer who was averaging 11.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game through 10 games. The Mustangs sit a game behind UC Santa Barbara for second place in the Big West at 5-3 midway through conference play.

So far, it looks like the team can compete with the smaller lineup. Callero looks at it as playing “Golden State Warriors basketball” — using a smaller lineup and forcing opponents to adjust to it.

I don’t know how much that played a factor in Cal Poly’s embarrassing 80-57 road loss to the Gauchos this week since I was not at the game, but highlights showed 7-foot-2 UC Santa Barbara center Greg Somogyi making an impact.

It’s arguable that the addition of Eisenhardt could be the difference between a win and a loss here or there, but Callero has apparently decided that even if it comes to that, he’ll gamble winning now for winning later.

Considering that the team was picked to finish last in the Big West and is still pretty much playing with house money, what do you think of the decision? Would you rather have seen Cal Poly rush its two freshman big guys along?

Tribune photo by Joe Johnston

In the waning moments of the Cal Poly women’s basketball team’s historic 67-62 home win over UC Santa Barbara, what appeared to be an injury nearly stole the headlines from the first Mustangs win over the Gauchos in Mott Gym since 2001.

Cal Poly star forward Kristina Santiago went up to grab one of her game-high four offensive rebounds and came down wincing, landing hard on the ground and sending Mustangs coach Faith Mimnaugh scrambling onto the court.

Santiago was OK. After a brief moment on the floor, she bounced back up and returned to the game, even sprinting full speed down the court. But her loss would have been devastating for a team looking for its first Big West Conference title.

Santiago has been having a Big-West-Player-of-the-Year-caliber start to the season, leading the conference in points (19.3 per game), rebounds (7.9 per game) and steals (2.5 per game).

When Santiago went down, Mimnaugh immediately feared her star would be lost for the season. Santiago did tear her ACL during her career at Righetti High.

“I was at the game when she tore her ACL,” Mimnaugh said after the game. “That was the first thing that went in my mind. It looked like she was going toward her knee area. I was like, ‘Oh my God, please please please please please don’t let it be that.’ ”

It wasn’t a knee tear, but it was a scary moment for Cal Poly — one adding to the pile of support for Santiago being the most valuable player in the conference. It was only left out of the next-day headlines because the win over UC Santa Barbara meant so much to the program.

Maybe things would have happened differently for Kyle Shotwell if he’d gone to a different team as an undrafted free agent in 2007.

As it was, he went to the Oakland Raiders, a team he still respects but one that was helmed by then-rookie head coach Lane Kiffin, who’s since gone on to achieve several levels of infamy.

I recently talked to Shotwell about his experience at last week’s East-West Shrine Game, where he served as a special assistant to head coaches Romeo Crennel and Marty Shottenheimer.

The news that Shotwell would participate in the game and festivities leading up to it was first broken on my Twitter account. If you haven’t checked it out yet, click on over. I try to put info up there first and follow it up on the blog and print edition of The Tribune.

You can follow me at twitter.com/SLOcollegebeat or by bookmarking this link.

So, Shotwell had a chance to rub elbows with plenty of NFL coaches, execs and scouts and afterward refelected on his two-year career as a practice squad player for several teams when we talked.

He intimated at least somewhat that his career might have taken a different path had he signed elsewhere as an undersized linebacker coming out of Cal Poly, where he won the Buck Buchanan Award given to the defensive player of the year in the NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision.

“It’s funny because I have a lot of respect for the Raider organization, but when I was in Oakland, my head coach there was Lane Kiffin, and the way that they cut me felt a little bit shady because I had been told I was on the practice squad.

“Then Sunday afternoon at the very last second, I had been cut. And so I think that now three years later, you’re kind of seeing that Lane Kiffin may not be a guy who’s necessarily a straightforward straight-shooter guy. You just kind of wonder if I had entered into another situation as an undrafted free agent how this situation would have been unfolded.

“When you get cut from the team that you went to training camp with, if you don’t get picked up so someone else’s active roster, it’s really hard for you to get activated because you don’t know their system, and really all you can become at that point is essentially what I was, which was a practice guy.”

Shotwell lasted through the 2007 training camp with Oakland but was one of the Raiders’ final cuts that season before bouncing around. He spent the next season in training camp with the Indianapolis Colts, who also let him go after he played every linebacker position in the preseason.

The 6-foot, 237-pound linebacker was also a practice squad player for the Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs and spent this past season as an assistant coach at Cal Poly.

Kiffin, as we all know, reportedly committed numerous NCAA violations and otherwise stirred the pot in his one season at Tennessee before riling up the Volunteers’ faithful by bolting for USC this past month.