RECRUITING / JEFF FELLENZER : Coaches Get a Backstage Pass to See the Show

After watching more film the past two months than Siskel and Ebert combined, college football coaches finally had the ball and chain removed this week.

As of Monday, coaches were allowed to evaluate high school and community college prospects in person. Before Monday, evaluations were being made strictly from videotape sent by scouting services, high school coaches and prospects themselves.

NCAA rules limit colleges to three face-to-face meetings with recruits, and four evaluations, which include scouting games or practices.

So what will these traveling salesmen in cleats find when they hit the California freeways this year?

With the exception of quarterbacks, there are plenty of skill-position players available. But blue-chip linemen, on both sides of the ball, are scarce.

Notes

Tremaine Fowlkes, a 6-6 senior forward from Crenshaw High, announced that he would sign a letter of intent to attend California when the weeklong early signing period begins Wednesday. Fowlkes had narrowed his choices to USC and Cal and earlier considered Arizona. After learning that he had passed the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Fowlkes took an official recruiting trip to Cal last weekend. USC Coach George Raveling had hoped that Fowlkes would visit the Trojan campus this week. Cal recruited Fowlkes, who helped lead Crenshaw to the State Division I championship last season, with the idea that he could replace starting forward Lamond Murray next season if, as expected, Murray decides to skip his senior season to become eligible for the NBA draft. “It’s close to home but not too close,” said Fowlkes of his decision to attend Cal. Fowlkes is the second player to commit to the Golden Bears, joining 6-3 shooting guard Jeff Dayton of Kansas City. . . . Add Cal: The Bears are thought to be the leaders for another top forward, 6-6 Tony Gonzalez of Huntington Beach High. Gonzalez, also an outstanding tight end-outside linebacker prospect in football, visited Cal last weekend. He had been close to committing to Arizona before his visit to Berkeley.

More hoops: Jelani Gardner, a 6-6 point guard from Bellflower St. John Bosco, visited Arkansas last weekend during the Hogs’ “Midnight Madness” practice session, which he said was attended by more than 12,000. Gardner has scheduled a trip to Minnesota in late February, and is planning to visit Syracuse. He also said he will probably make an unofficial visit to Cal when St. John Bosco plays in a tournament in Northern California Dec. 10-12. UCLA and Arizona State remain the front-runners to sign Gardner. . . . Besides Gardner, UCLA is recruiting 6-5 guard Felipe Lopez of New York and 6-8, 235-pound forward Ben Davis of Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan. Lopez, considered one of the top five players in the country, is scheduled to visit UCLA Dec. 3-5 (the Bruins play host to Nevada Las Vegas on Dec. 4). All three of the players are planning to sign in April.