BOOKER COMMITS TO FLORIDA STATE ST. BONAVENTURE BACK SPRINGS SURPRISE ON NATIONAL TV.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

OXNARD - Record-setting running back Lorenzo Booker proved just as elusive with the media as he had been on the football field for St. Bonaventure High of Ventura.

Despite newspaper and Internet reports that he would commit to Notre Dame, Booker announced on national television Wednesday he will sign with Florida State.

``I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't pick Florida State,'' said an emotionally overwhelmed Booker, tears streaming down his face. ``Everyone had their own opinion about where I would go. But I just feel good about Florida State because they've always been my childhood favorite. It's the only uniform I can see myself in.''

Wednesday was national letter-of-intent day. Booker, a 17-year-old All- American who almost everyone agreed was the nation's prized unsigned recruit, said he didn't make his decision until about 25 minutes before the announcement.

By last night, he had narrowed his choices to Notre Dame and Florida State, eliminating the other two finalists, USC and Washington.

``I didn't get much sleep. It was a restless night last night,'' said Booker, who is California's all-time leading rusher and scorer. ``In the end, I had to ask, 'Where do I see myself?' I had some choices and every school offered so much, so that's why I took it very slow. I just went with my heart and decided to go where I wanted to go.''

Booker, surrounded by about 20 family members along with St. Bonaventure teammates and their parents, immediately did a live interview with ESPN after making his announcement.

``Lorenzo isn't just a tremendous football player. He's a tremendous young man,'' St. Bonaventure coach Jon Mack said. ``He never missed a game and never missed a practice. I'm going to miss Lorenzo the young man more than I'm going to miss Lorenzo the football player. I'm just pleased to have been associated with him.

``This was a very difficult decision for him and we all got together and helped him as much as we could.''

For other regional standouts, such as quarterbacks Ben Olson of Thousand Oaks and James Cox of Royal of Simi Valley, Wednesday was the day they finally made their commitments official after committing early last fall. Olson is going to Brigham Young and Cox is headed to Colorado.

``It's great to finally get it over with and move on to the next step,'' said Olson, who like Booker was named to various All-American teams. ``It crossed my mind to wait instead of signing early, but I saw no point in waiting because I wanted to help BYU get other guys. I knew where I wanted to go so I pulled the trigger. It felt good to get up this morning and sign my (scholarship) letter.''

Olson had considered UCLA, among others. His mother, Annie, isn't concerned about her son moving to Utah. Annie Olson, who happens to be a BYU alumna, said she plans to travel to every game, home and away.

``Nothing can keep us away,'' she said. ``I'm just really excited. I feel Ben is embarking on a new life, and he's ready. I suppose his father and I had some influence on where he would be going, but no matter what, we would have supported his decision.''

Cox said ``it felt like forever'' before Wednesday finally arrived.

``All these weeks I've been watching everyone else decide where they were going to go,'' he said. ``For me, committing early eased the pressure and made it easier to go through the season. I'm excited but also a little nervous. It's going to be a whole new life for me, and my emotions feel like a little bit of everything all in one: happy, excited, but nervous.

``I do know I'll miss home, especially my mom's cooking. She makes the best tacos I've ever tasted in my life.''

LOCAL COMMITMENTS

Player, Pos School College

Dave Anderson  WR Thousand Oaks Colorado State

Matt Augusta OL Royal Sacramento State

Curtis Brown RB Paraclete Brigham Young

Brandon Browner WR Sylmar Oregon State

Randy Bundy DB Cleveland California

Andrew Butler WR Eagle Rock Yale

Jon Contos RB Westlake Harvard

James Cox QB Royal Colorado

Marcus Crawford RB ex-Newbury Park UNLV 

Robert Davis WR Royal Idaho

James Dillard OL Thousand Oaks Occidental

Mike Dominguez DL Rio Mesa Boise State

Todd Feiereisen QB Westlake Yale

Nick Folk PK Notre Dame Arizona

Chris Frome DL Hart Notre Dame

Joe Kellifer TE Loyola Dartmouth

Derek Hagan DB Palmdale Arizona State

Kevin Hames LB Westlake Villanova

Steve Hall DL Westlake UNLV

Kevin Harbour DL Loyola UCLA

Keith Howell DB Hart Harvard

Matt Kaplan QB Campbell Hall Columbia

Mike Lingua P Canyon Fresno State

Jason Martin DB Muir Arizona

Bruce McCleab OL Muir Memphis State

Matt Moore QB Hart UCLA

Kasey O'Brien DB Westlake Villanova

Ryan O'Hara QB Muir Arizona

Ben Olson QB Thousand Oaks BYU

Kenny Patton DB St. Francis Hawaii

Mike Perez RB Burroughs Cal Poly SLO 

Ramal Porter WR Birmingham San Diego State

Jesse Taylor TE Chaminade Washington State

Brandon Scales DL Monroe Oregon State

Chad Slapnicka LB Loyola Pennsylvania

Adam Verdugo DB Crespi Holy Cross

Tim Volk DL Notre Dame Arizona

Jaron Williams LB Muir Idaho

- Compiled by Gerry Gittelson

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Lorenzo Booker hugs coach Jon Mack after his announcement.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

LOCAL COMMITMENTS (see text)