Fullerton Football Gets Under Way : Spring Practice Begins Without Some Key Ingredients

It’s time for a little spring cleaning at Cal State Fullerton. Time to pick up the pieces from the mess the Titans created last fall.

The only problem is that a lot of the guys Coach Gene Murphy is counting on to make things neat again won’t be around to do their share of the work until August.

Murphy and his staff have gathered for the opening of spring football drills this week, hoping to erase some of the memories of a 3-9 season and begin preparing for a 1987 schedule that will take the Titans to virtually every corner of the country. The objectives are many. Among them: Plug the holes in a porous defense that allowed nearly 30 points per game last season, make the special teams special again and do a little attitude adjusting after the Titans’ first losing season since 1982.

To help accomplish these goals, Murphy and his staff recruited an unprecedented 15 junior college players, believing they had too many immediate needs to put the usual emphasis on recruiting high school players. This spring session would seem the ideal time for some of these new players to see where they fit in at Fullerton, but many of them won’t be around.

One recruit, Steve Brazas, apparently has quit football. A Times All-County player at Newport Harbor High School who left the University of Illinois after one year, Brazas was recruited out of Saddleback College and was expected to help the Titans at outside linebacker. But after two weeks of conditioning at Fullerton this winter, he quit.

There are others who are conspicuously absent, but most of them don’t have a choice. Some of Murphy’s biggest and best junior college recruits are still in school, completing work on their associate of arts degrees to meet eligibility requirements.

Among the missing players expected to be important parts of Murphy’s recovery operation are: running back Michael Moore, a junior college All-American and co-state player of the year who rushed for 1,425 yards and 11 touchdowns last season at Riverside City College; linebacker A.J. Jenkins, who led the nation in sacks and was a junior college All-American at Merced College, and linebacker Joe Scott, a transfer from El Camino College via USC who was a Parade Magazine Top 100 player out of Banning High School.

“We’ve got some people who could help us immediately but aren’t here yet,” Murphy said. “What we have to do is go to a lot of supposition.”

While Murphy is trying to figure out where some of his most important new players will play next fall, the returning Titans will be getting used to new positions and trying to improve in old ones this spring. Ed Gillies, expected to be one of Fullerton’s top offensive linemen, will be moved from tackle to guard. Harold Jones, freshman of the year as a nose guard last season, will move to defensive end, where he could get some pointers from his uncle Deacon, a former Ram. Matt Fitts will join Gillies in moving from tackle to guard but will have to wait until August to begin making the transition. Fitts is recovering from surgery to correct a herniated disk.

Some of the emphasis of the spring session will be placed on improving the passing game, a necessity now that Rick Calhoun, Fullerton’s career rushing leader, has moved on.

Calhoun was fourth in the nation in all-purpose yardage in 1986 but is waiting to see what NFL scouts think of him. “We don’t have the little bow-legged kid around,” Murphy said. “We’ll have to put the ball in the air more.”

Ronnie Barber, who as a junior started the last 10 games of the 1986 season, enters spring as the No. 1 quarterback. Barber figures to be pressed for the job by Carlos Siragusa, who saw limited playing time last season as a redshirt freshman, and Tony Dill, who missed most of the 1986 season with a knee injury.

“His knee is supposedly as strong as it will ever be right now,” Murphy said.

Titan Notes

The Fullerton coaching staff is holding its seventh coaches’ clinic, beginning today at 3 p.m. at the Titan Football House. The clinic runs through Saturday and includes a session with New York Giant cornerback Mark Collins, a former Fullerton standout. . . . Coach Gene Murphy’s recruiting theme for the 1987 season could have been, “Join the Titans and see the country.” Fullerton’s 1987 schedule includes the season opener at Hawaii and road games at Louisiana State, Utah State, San Jose State, Florida, Northern Illinois and Fresno State. Mel Franks, Fullerton’s sports information director, already has developed a theme for the Titans’ 1987 media guide cover: “A Team for All Time Zones.” . . . Dominik Unger, a former Southern Methodist defensive tackle who became eligible to transfer when the NCAA penalized the Mustangs’ football program, was being recruited by Fullerton but opted for Brigham Young. Unger’s brother, Dan, is a projected starter at defensive tackle for the Titans, but Dominik couldn’t be persuaded to join him. “It was us or BYU,” Murphy said. “Bridesmaids again.” . . . Linebacker Bryan Riggs, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery after being injured in the third game last season, will sit out spring drills but is expected to be ready to play by next fall. . . . The Titans will have their first intrasquad scrimmage of spring drills Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The spring practice sessions end with the May Bowl, an intrasquad game May 9 at Fullerton Union High School Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.