COLUMBIA SCORES WITH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TALENT.

Byline: Jack Cavanaugh New York Times

Bobby Thomason, a promising quarterback prospect from Southern California, could hardly have been blamed for hedging on whether he should attend Columbia.

``My original visit in January of my senior year in high school was snowed out,'' Thomason said. ``Then when I came to visit the campus that March, it was snowing hard. And I said to myself, `Do I really want to deal with this, and can I handle this type of weather?'''

Fortunately for Columbia, Thomason, who was an All-League quarterback while at Loyola High in Del Mar, Calif., decided to accept New York's snowstorms and wintry blasts. ``And I'm glad that I did,'' said Thomason, now a junior and the Lions' starting quarterback. ``I really like being in a big city, and I love New York, which is totally different than L.A. And the academic part was a big factor in my decision.''

Thomason is part of the California Connection on this year's Columbia football team. With 29 players from the Golden State, including five starters on offense and six on defense, Columbia is 3-0 going into its second Ivy League game of the season. But it is also a young and relatively inexperienced team with 67 freshmen and sophomores on its 93-man roster.

Besides Thomason, the Californians on this year's squad include the Lions' best runner, the 5-foot-7-inch sophomore tailback Jason Bivens; the junior defensive back Joey Bolder, who shares the team lead in tackles (28); outside linebacker Jeremy Taylor, who is the other leading tackler, and Marcellus Wiley, the 6-5, 255-pound senior defensive end who also doubles as a running back in short-yardage situations. Wiley ran for three touchdowns against Holy Cross last Saturday and has attracted the attention of some National Football League scouts.

Why so many Californians? ``We came to the conclusion that it was easier to recruit out there because there are so many good athletes in the state,'' said Columbia coach Ray Tellier.

``And we found that a lot of the kids from California love coming east. A lot of them have never been to New York before, and they're surprised when they see how beautiful our campus is. Also, a lot of the kids are aware that New York is a world capital and a cultural center, and that a lot of doors can open up for them here. Anyway, we stumbled on something that's really worked for us.''

Tellier credits Keith Clark, Columbia's offensive line coach and running-game coordinator, for much of Columbia's recruiting success in California. Clark said he spends about three weeks watching high school playoff games in the state after the Columbia season ends and then returns for three weeks of recruiting in January.

``There's a tremendous wealth of football talent in California, and we're taking advantage of it, as are some of the other Ivy League schools,'' Clark said. ``It started in the early '90s when we had about a half-dozen players from California on the team, and it's grown since.''