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Prep football transfers drawing attention

Isaac Taylor-Stuart, who transferred from St. Augustine to Helix, is a four-star recruit who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds.
Isaac Taylor-Stuart, who transferred from St. Augustine to Helix, is a four-star recruit who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds.
(Chadd Cady / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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The No. 1 topic of discussion, the monster in the room when high school football coaches gather, isn’t X’s and O’s, practice schedules or even officiating.

“It’s transfers,” Grossmont coach Tom Karlo said. “That’s what we talk about.”

The number of athletes transferring from one school to another in the San Diego Section sits at 1.6 percent, static with the 2014-15 numbers and down from 2.2 percent in 2015-16.

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Football transfers, however, are making news — partly because some of the transfers involve top players.

The list is highlighted by four-star recruit Isaac Taylor-Stuart (St. Augustine to Helix), three-star recruit Kenyon Sims (Mission Bay to Lincoln) and Malachi Russell (Orange Glen to El Camino).

A recent Los Angeles Times story chronicled the Southern Section’s Trinity League, in which nearly a dozen big-name players changed schools.

USA Today ran a story under the headline “Spike in high school football transfers concerns some.” The story cited Florida and Southern California as hotbeds for transfers.

With the high school football season set to kick off Friday, San Diego Section Commissioner Jerry Schniepp said only one thing has changed in the rules that cover transfers.

“No longer is an athletically motivated transfer grounds for denial,” Schniepp said.

Other California Interscholastic Federation transfer rules still apply:

An athlete can’t follow a high school or club coach to a new school.

A player can’t be recruited to a new school.

There can be no pre-enrollment contact between athlete and coach.

To be immediately eligible, an athlete must move within a school’s boundaries. Absent a move, the athlete must sit out 30 days before being eligible.

There are exceptions, which include financial hardship, a divorce or concerns over a student’s safety.

“In my six years as commissioner, I’ve only had 10-15 students declared ineligible for athletically motivated transfers,” Schniepp said.

“So it isn’t a great number. But that rule was holding back some players while others were allowed to transfer.”

Josh and Chris Olave were two of the players denied football eligibility last year after transferring from Eastlake to Mission Hills.

The family moved. Raul Olave, the father, changed jobs, going from the South Bay to Camp Pendleton.

But Raul Olave was on the selection committee for a new football coach at Eastlake. When asked about the school’s choice, he said he didn’t like it, and voted against it. His answer was viewed as an athletically motivated transfer for his sons.

Josh didn’t play a down as a senior last season but still received a scholarship to NCAA Division II Azusa Pacific, which is coached by former Rancho Buena Vista standout Victor Santa Cruz.

Chris Olave sat out last football season and will be a senior this year. He’s being recruited by Arizona, Boston College, BYU, Wyoming, Colorado State, San Diego State, Washington State and Utah.

“Transfers are like free agents now,” Karlo said. “I honestly don’t think coaches are out there actively recruiting players. But players recruit each other. Everybody knows everybody. If a team needs a receiver, a kid at one school will talk to a kid at another and try to get him to move over.

“Transfers are the biggest threat to our game. Kids need to decide if they want to play with their friends and classmates or go to a higher-profile program.

“I’m not so much worried about coaching my guys as I am keeping my guys.”

With so much film of players available on Hudl and YouTube, college recruiters don’t care where an athlete plays.

“If you can play, we’ll find you,” one college recruiter said.

Many coaches would like to see a more level playing field among transfers. For example, some schools might have football players transferring out but can’t accept players transferring in because their school is at maximum enrollment. Other schools might lose players but have room to add players.

With no fewer than 15 high school districts in the region, all of which have their own rules for intra-district transfers in addition to the CIF rules, things can differ greatly.

Helix, a football power, is a charter school, and in some cases has an extra layer of guidelines.

Schniepp, however, says the perception that Helix loads up on transfers is false.

“Helix is No. 2 in athletes transferring out and isn’t in the top five in transfers coming in,” Schniepp said.

“Steele Canyon (also a charter school) has a number of athletes transferring in for this season, but that’s not usually the case there.”

The North County Conference includes 19 football schools, in nine school districts. All have their own rules.

Add private, charter and magnet schools to the mix, and “we’re all not playing by the same rules,” Karlo said.

“We have issues,” said Damon Baldwin, football coach and athletic director at Ramona.

“Ramona doesn’t get a whole lot of transfers — in or out. I understand the CIF doesn’t have the staff or money to police all the transfers. But it hurts when seven or eight quality football players are at one school and some of those are transfers.

“Still, musicians are allowed to transfer to a school of choice. A math or science whiz can find the right school. So why can’t athletes?

“I don’t know the answer. But I know there are a lot of coaches that don’t like the way this is going.”

ON THE MOVE

Notable high school football players who transferred before this season:

Jailen Bailey: WR (Grossmont to Lincoln) caught 36 balls for 540 yards and rushed for 131.

Jacob Bernard: RB-LB (Oceanside to Madison) had 417 rushing yards and 57 tackles for Pirates.

Jhaelon Brazile: DB (Grossmont to Lincoln) had 30 tackles in eight games last year.

Chris Calhoun: LB (Cathedral Catholic to Mission Hills) had 88 tackles for 15-0 state champions.

DeAndre Daniels: RB-DB (Horizon Christian to St. Augustine) had 848 yards rushing, 278 receiving and 58 tackles for school that closed.

Jaden Dir: WR (La Jolla Country Day to Madison) smallish receiver caught 69 balls for 989 yards and 13 TDs as sophomore.

Alfredo Garcia: QB (Eastlake to Otay Ranch) threw for 906 yards and ran for 377.

DeMarcus Griffin: WR-DB (Fresno Washington Union to El Camino) three-star recruit has run 100 meters in 11.2 seconds.

Artyom Harr: RB (Horizon Christian to Mira Mesa) ran for 612 yard and eight TDs last season.

Miles Hastings: QB (Torrey Pines to San Marcos) started a bulk of the season as a sophomore for Falcons.

Emmil Henderson: QB-DB (Helix to Monte Vista) lower-level player who will be a junior this season.

Mark Johnson: DB (Mt. Carmel to Helix) four interceptions in three games last season.

Thomas Marcus: QB-DB (Horizon Christian to Mira Mesa) threw for 1,269 yards, ran for 397 and had 37 tackles.

Hayden Roach: QB (West Hills to Steele Canyon) threw for 597 yards and six TDs last season.

Malachi Russell: WR-DB (Orange Glen to El Camino) dynamic WR and kick returner, caught 87 balls for 1,742 yards and 24 TDs last season.

Kenyon Sims: RB (Mission Bay to Lincoln) three-star recruit has commitment to Utah.

Isaac Taylor-Stuart: RB-DB (St. Augustine to Helix) four-star recruit has run 4.48 in the 40, had 41 tackles and 654 yards on offense.

Maqui Taylor: DB (El Camino to Vista) had 12 tackles in four games.

Jack Walker: TE-DL (Helix to Monte Vista) junior brings size to both lines.

LATE PREPS

High school football games this season will be ending past the Union-Tribune’s press time. Readers can find coverage in two ways:

Game stories and scores will be online Friday night at utpreps.com

A full-page recap with stories, photos, highlights and complete scores will be in Sunday’s print edition.

john.maffei@sduniontribune.com

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