Luke Fahey’s college recruitment wasn’t in Hail Mary territory but his game plan certainly involved faith.

By college football’s new recruiting standards, the July 3 announcement by the Mission Viejo quarterback that he committed to Ohio State was somewhat late in the game.

The dead period for recruiting began June 23, and the Buckeyes already had 19 commitments in their Class of 2026, according to 247Sports. The early signing period opens Dec. 3.

For Fahey, Ohio State was his dream school so he kept the faith as the recruiting window narrowed.

“Throughout this whole thing, it’s been a process but I feel like God has a plan for everybody and it’s completely different for everybody,” he said. “(The timeline) was meant to be. They came late but again, it’s Ohio State. It’s a dream school of mine.”

Polished on the field, in the huddle and on the mic … Ohio State commit @LukeFahey03 of @missionfootball offers the complete package pic.twitter.com/eCiD0dJb9m

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) July 13, 2025

Fahey’s affinity for Ohio State traces to his father Steve’s parents, who met as students at the school.

“A family feeling just because I’ve dreamed about playing there,” Fahey explained. “I grew up watching them.”

Ohio State’s scholarship offer to Fahey coincided with his trip to the Columbus campus on June 20-22, or just before the dead period.

Fahey (6-1, 185) earlier made visits to Stanford and Indiana but after the Buckeyes offered, he knew his direction.

He waited to announce his commitment on July 3 because he wanted to surprise his mother Melanie Perez on her birthday.

“She’s my rock,” he said.

Fahey said the recruiting process was stressful at times but in the end, he leaned on his family and faith.

“It took me a little longer,” he said. “But everything happens for a reason.”

Orange County’s top committed football recruits from the Class of 2026, as of July 8, 2025:

Name, School, Position, Height, Weight, College

Devyn Blake, Edison, DL, 6-3, 280, Sacramento State

Dillon Booth, Crean Lutheran, WR, 5-9, 180, Columbia

Mark Bowman, Mater Dei, ATH, 6-5, 225, USC

James Carrington, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-2, 257, Florida State

Bryce Coleman, Crean Lutheran, WR, 6-4, 195, Columbia

Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita, CB, 5-11, 170, Cal

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Mater Dei, WR, 6-2, 180, Ohio State

Charlie Eckl, Dana Hills, DE/TE, 6-4, 215, Cal Poly SLO

Luke Fahey, Mission Viejo, QB, 6-1, 185, Ohio State

Manoah Faupusa, Santa Margarita, DL/OL, 6-3, 350, Arizona

Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita, LB, 5-10, 185, Arizona

Troy Foster, Huntington Beach, WR, 6-2, 205, Colorado State

Kodi Greene, Mater Dei, OT, 6-6, 310, Washington

Josh Haney, JSerra, OL, 6-5, 290, Fresno State

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, WR, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

Logan Hirou, Santa Margarita, S, 6-1, 185, UCLA

Beckham Hofland, Los Alamitos, TE, 6-4, 230, Boise State

Leki Holani, Santa Margarita, LB, 6-0, 223, Sacramento State

Ryan Hopkins, Mater Dei, QB, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

Lenny Ibarra, Los Alamitos, RB, 5-10, 185, Army

Cooper Javorsky, San Juan Hills, OL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Trace Johnson, Santa Margarita, QB, 6-1, 191, Tulane

Anthony Jones, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Jeron Jones, Mission Viejo, CB, 6-0, 175, Washington

Simote Katoanga, Santa Margarita, DL, 6-5, 250, USC

Markus Kier, Orange Lutheran, WR, 6-2, 200, Princeton

CJ Lavender, Mater Dei, DB, 5-11, 175, Washington

Skylar Lendsey, Western, RB, 5-10, 200, UNLV

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, WR, 5-11, 175, USC

Javari Nash, Crean Lutheran, S, 6-1, 200, San Diego State

Niniva Nicholson, Santa Margarita, OL, 6-3, 285, Arizona State

Ernest Nunley, Western, CB, 6-0, 180, Cal

Jackson Renger, Los Alamitos, DE/OLB, 6-3, 215, Cornell

Shaun Scott, Mater Dei, LB, 6-3, 230, USC

Jarod Sersansie, JSerra, WR, 6-3 205, Columbia

Jonah Smith, Santa Margarita, WR, 6-0, 175, UCLA

Luke Sorensen, Servite, TE, 6-4 250, Nebraska

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, WR, 5-11, 185, Miami

Tomuhini Topui, Mater Dei, DT, 6-3, 320, USC

Sam Utu, Orange Lutheran, OL, 6-4, 320, Alabama

Gavin Wilkins, Servite, OL, 6-5, 260, Montana State

Maxwell “Bunchie” Young, WR, 6-0, 170, Sacramento State

Send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on X and Instagram

Orange County’s top committed football recruits from the Class of 2026, as of June 23, 2025:

Name, School, Position, Height, Weight, College

Devyn Blake, Edison, DL, 6-3, 280, Sacramento State

Dillon Booth, Crean Lutheran, WR, 5-9, 180, Columbia

Mark Bowman, Mater Dei, ATH, 6-5, 225, USC

James Carrington, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-2, 257, Florida State

Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita, CB, 5-11, 170, Cal

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Mater Dei, WR, 6-2, 180, Ohio State

Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita, LB, 5-10, 185, Arizona

Troy Foster, Huntington Beach, WR, 6-2, 205, Colorado State

Kodi Greene, Mater Dei, OT, 6-6, 310, Washington

Josh Haney, JSerra, OL, 6-5, 290, Fresno State

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, WR, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

Logan Hirou, Santa Margarita, S, 6-1, 185, UCLA

Beckham Hofland, Los Alamitos, TE, 6-4, 230, Boise State

Leki Holani, Santa Margarita, LB, 6-0, 223, Sacramento State

Ryan Hopkins, Mater Dei, QB, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

Lenny Ibarra, Los Alamitos, RB, 5-10, 185, Army

Cooper Javorsky, San Juan Hills, OL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Trace Johnson, Santa Margarita, QB, 6-1, 191, Tulane

Anthony Jones, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Jeron Jones, Mission Viejo, CB, 6-0, 175, Washington

Simote Katoanga, Santa Margarita, DL, 6-5, 250, USC

CJ Lavender, Mater Dei, DB, 5-11, 175, Washington

Skylar Lendsey, Western, RB, 5-10, 200, UNLV

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, WR, 5-11, 175, USC

Niniva Nicholson, Santa Margarita, OL, 6-3, 285, Arizona State

Leki Holani, Santa Margarita, LB, 6-0, 223, Sacramento State

Ernest Nunley, Western, CB, 6-0, 180, Cal

Jackson Renger, Los Alamitos, DE/OLB, 6-3, 215, Cornell

Shaun Scott, Mater Dei, LB, 6-3, 230, USC

Jarod Sersansie, JSerra, WR, 6-3 205, Columbia

Jonah Smith, Santa Margarita, WR, 6-0, 175, UCLA

Luke Sorensen, Servite, TE, 6-4 250, Nebraska

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, WR, 5-11, 185, Miami

Tomuhini Topui, Mater Dei, DT, 6-3, 320, USC

Sam Utu, Orange Lutheran, OL, 6-4, 320, Alabama

Gavin Wilkins, Servite, OL, 6-5, 260, Montana State

Maxwell “Bunchie” Young, WR, 6-0, 170, Sacramento State

Please send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarityguy on X and Instagram

Orange County’s top committed football recruits from the Class of 2026, as of June 18, 2025:

Name, School, Position, Height, Weight, College

Devyn Blake, Edison, DL, 6-3, 280, Sacramento State

Dillon Booth, Crean Lutheran, WR, 5-9, 180, Columbia

Mark Bowman, Mater Dei, ATH, 6-5, 225, USC

James Carrington, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-2, 257, Florida State

Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita, CB, 5-11, 170, Cal

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Mater Dei, WR, 6-2, 180, Ohio State

Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita, LB, 5-10, 185, Arizona

Kodi Greene, Mater Dei, OT, 6-6, 310, Washington

Josh Haney, JSerra, OL, 6-5, 290, Fresno State

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, WR, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

Logan Hirou, Santa Margarita, S, 6-1, 185, UCLA

Beckham Hofland, Los Alamitos, TE, 6-4, 230, Boise State

Ryan Hopkins, Mater Dei, QB, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

Lenny Ibarra, Los Alamitos, RB, 5-10, 185, Army

Cooper Javorsky, San Juan Hills, OL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Anthony Jones, Crean Lutheran, DL, 6-4, 285, UCLA

Simote Katoanga, Santa Margarita, DL, 6-5, 250, USC

CJ Lavender, Mater Dei, DB, 5-11, 175, Washington

Skylar Lendsey, Western, RB, 5-10, 200, UNLV

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, WR, 5-11, 175, USC

Niniva Nicholson, Santa Margarita, OL, 6-3, 285, Arizona State

Shaun Scott, Mater Dei, LB, 6-3, 230, USC

Jarod Sersansie, JSerra, WR, 6-3 205, Columbia

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, WR, 5-11, 185, Georgia

Jonah Smith, Santa Margarita, WR, 6-0, 175, UCLA

Tomuhini Topui, Mater Dei, DT, 6-3, 320, USC

Sam Utu, Orange Lutheran, OL, 6-4, 320, Alabama

Please send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarityguy on X and Instagram

Orange County’s top committed football recruits from the Class of 2026, as of May 5, 2025:

Name, School, Position, Height, Weight, College

Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita, CB, 5-11, 170, Cal

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Mater Dei, WR, 6-2, 180, Ohio State

Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita, LB, 5-10, 185, Arizona

Kodi Greene, Mater Dei, OT, 6-6, 310, Washington

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, WR, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

Ryan Hopkins, Mater Dei, QB, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

Simote Katoanga, Santa Margarita, DL, 6-5, 250, USC

CJ Lavender, Mater Dei, DB, 5-11, 175, Washington

Skylar Lendsey, Western, RB, 5-10, 200, UNLV

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, WR, 5-11, 175, USC

Niniva Nicholson, Santa Margarita, OL, 6-3, 285, Arizona State

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, WR, 5-11, 185, Georgia

Jonah Smith, Santa Margarita, WR, 6-0, 175, UCLA

Tomuhini Topui, Mater Dei, DT, 6-3, 320, USC

Please send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarityguy on X and Instagram

Orange County’s top committed football recruits from the Class of 2026, as of April 25:

Name, School, Position, Height, Weight, College

Jayden Crowder, Santa Margarita, CB, 5-11, 170, Cal

Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita, LB, 5-10, 185, Arizona

Kodi Greene, Mater Dei, OT, 6-6, 310, Washington

Chris Henry Jr., Mater Dei, WR, 6-5, 205, Ohio State

Ryan Hopkins, Mater Dei, QB, 6-3, 195, Wisconsin

Simote Katoanga, Santa Margarita, DL, 6-5, 250, USC

CJ Lavender, Mater Dei, DB, 5-11, 175, Washington

Skylar Lendsey, Western, RB, 5-10, 200, UNLV

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita, WR, 5-11, 175, USC

Niniva Nicholson, Santa Margarita, OL, 6-3, 285, Arizona State

Vance Spafford, Mission Viejo, WR, 5-11, 185, Georgia

Jonah Smith, Santa Margarita, WR, 6-0, 175, UCLA

Tomuhini Topui, Mater Dei, DT, 6-3, 320, USC

Please send football recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarityguy

Orange County high school football has a reputation for producing standout tight ends. Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, for example, played at Huntington Beach High. But one school has been working especially hard to extend the pipeline of prospects.

Look no further than Corona del Mar.

The Sea Kings had yet another tight end sign on National Signing Day on Wednesday as Sebastien Boydell made it official with Fresno State.

Boydell joins a legacy of Corona del Mar tight ends that includes fellow Class of 2025 signee Zach Giuliano, who signed with Stanford in December.

The program’s other tight ends the last decade include Scott Giuliano (Harvard), Mark Redman (Washington, San Diego State, Louisville), TaeVeon Le (Stanford), Scott Truninger (Yale) and Peter Bush (Michigan).

Boydell, who is 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, said the tradition impacted his rise as a collegiate recruit.

“I’m super grateful and fortunate not just to be able get advice from guys playing at the next level but also to compete everyday with some of the best tight ends in the county,” he said Wednesday. “(It) definitely helped me get better so just super grateful to my teammates and my coaches.”

Boydell was a long-time Fresno State commit. He didn’t sign during the early period in December as the Bulldogs transitioned under new coach Matt Entz.

On Wednesday, Fresno State also signed Edison running back Julius Gillick, The Register’s offensive player of the year, and JSerra defensive back Elisha Canales.

As for the next tight end to watch at Corona del Mar, Boydell points to Finn Grimstad, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound junior who played mostly defense this past season.

Northwood’s Joseph Harper has accomplished plenty on the football field. He’s been part of CIF-SS championship teams. He’s excelled at multiple positions, played through injury and earned All-County honors.

The senior believes he still has room for growth on and off the field.

That’s why he committed to Army and signed with the Black Knights on National Signing Day on Wednesday.

“I committed to Army because I knew it was a place where I could grow and develop as a man,” Harper said. “It’s an amazing institution where I know I will be surrounded by people who will make me a better football player, a better leader and better person.”

Harper, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker, said he will complete a two-year mission with the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints before beginning his journey with Army.

Religion plays a large role in Harper’s family.

His brother Adam, a former football standout at Northwood, is expected to return this summer from his mission in Australia. Harper said his brother aims to compete in collegiate athletics.

Former Northwood football coach J.C. Clarke, now an assistant, hopes Harper excels in football at Army. He is certain, however, what type of cadet Harper will be.

“I know he will an asset to the military and our country,” Clarke said. “(I) couldn’t be prouder.”

There were football players, including quarterbacks, who signed with colleges on Wednesday, on what has been known as National Signing Day for college recruits. Gazzaniga was not part of that group.

He is 6-foot-7, 230 pounds with a powerful arm. He possesses plenty of speed and quickness for a football player of his size. He is athletic, too, having been a starting forward for the school’s varsity basketball team.

Gazzaniga was an All-Trinity League second-team selection at Santa Margarita this past season when he completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,938 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 12 games and was the team’s second-leading rusher.

But he is not getting the sort of college football recruiting attention that one might expect.

The loosening of college football’s transfer rules have created a shortage of scholarship opportunities for high school football players. College coaches might figure that offering a scholarship to a high school kid is a gamble, when there is a tried-and-tested college player available on the other side of the transfer portal.

“The transfer portal has messed up college football recruiting,” said Gazzaniga, whose voice is not the only voice saying so. High school coaches are saying the same.

Gazzaniga might be a case study of the effect the college football transfer portal has had on high school football. He had offers from only two NCAA Division I programs, Akron and University of Massachusetts. But then coaching changes at both schools erased those offers. Gazzaniga also noted that a Miami of Ohio scholarship offer wound up going to a local Ohio high school quarterback.

So community college might be his destination. It can lead to four-year college opportunities in a couple of years.

Trey Kukuk was an outstanding quarterback at Capistrano Valley, did not get scholarship offers to his liking, went to Saddleback College and recently he signed with Louisiana Tech.

“(Community) college always has been an amazing route,” Gazzaniga said. “But it’s even better now with the college football rulings that have come out and the rulings that might come out.”

Gazzaniga, who played at Orange Lutheran before transferring to Santa Margarita, said he has heard from Orange County community college football programs, and he is considering community college football in another state.

“My phone is always open to colleges to see if I’ll get the opportunity to go straight from high school to a Division I situation,” he said. “I’ve always had the idea that any football is the right football, so that’s where I’m at right now.”

Senior athletes (Class of 2025) in all sports except basketball are eligible to officially sign at this time. This is considered the start of the regular signing period for football, which had an early signing period in December.

The NCAA no longer uses the NLI (National Letter of Intent); athletes now sign a “grant in aid” agreement to commit to a college.

The list does not include names of athletes who were on our previous signing lists in November and December.

The OCVarsity list includes athletes who received commitment letters from Ivy League schools and military service academies, but does not include players offered preferred walk-on status.

ORANGE COUNTY SIGNING LIST

(Please send Signing Day information to preps@ocregister.com)

BREA OLINDA

Liv Chappell, golf, Long Beach State

Holly Macedo, soccer, Corban University

CANYON

Abby Foley, water polo, Concordia

Samantha Gresham, softball, Dartmouth

Blake Helsper, baseball, Hawaii Pacific

Noah Kim, basketball, Oberlin College

Victoria Oropeza, softball, Augusta University

Jordan Simmons, softball, Brown

CAPISTRANO VALLEY

Tommy Acosta, football, Washington & Lee

CAPISTRANO VALLEY CHRISTIAN

Sophia Helsel, soccer, Westmont College

Bella Lee, volleyball, Jessup University

CORONA DEL MAR

Sebastien Boydell, football, Fresno State

CREAN LUTHERAN

Ben Byszewski, football, St. Thomas

Connor Stephens, football, Dordt University

Jane Hewitt, basketball, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

CYPRESS

Aiden Franco, baseball, Azusa Pacific

Jackson Kesserman, water polo, Wheaton College (Mass.)

Wyatt Rosales, baseball, Western Oregon

EDISON

Julius Gillick, football, Fresno State

HUNTINGTON BEACH

Charlie Jones, water polo, UC Irvine

Devin Nguyen, golf, Colorado School of Mines

JSERRA

Elisha Canales, football, Fresno State

Taye Newman, cross country/track, Embry Riddle University

Jack Pearl, lacrosse, Allegheny College

Gabriel Seldow, lacrosse, Rensselaer Polytechnical

Gavin Allegaert, soccer, UC San Diego

Tanner Casey, soccer, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Jake Tatch, soccer, Michigan

Brian Barnuevo, water polo, UC Santa Barbara

Colt Bradley, water polo, USC

Gavin Conant, water polo, USC

Beck Early, water polo, Santa Clar

Noah Ryznar, water polo, Biola

Milan Sumich, water polo, Cal

Anne Elise Packard, cross country/track, Brigham Young University

Payton Netherton, water polo, USC

Sarah Griffin, soccer, Colorado-Colorado Springs

Sydney Willson, swimming, Princeton

Ava Withey, swimming, University of Akron

MATER DEI

Fernando España, football, Arizona Christian University

Wailana Whitford, gymnastics, Brown University

Jack Cudzil, lacrosse, University of Pennsylvania

Hugo Villalba, sailing, Pace University

Brady Kennedy, sailing, Boston College

Noah Stapleton, sailing, Brown University

Tate Christopher, sailing, Tulane University

Christian Sotomayor, soccer, Dominican University

Savannah Muldrew, soccer, Texas Southern University

Isabella Ruby, softball, George Washington University

Sophia Rolon, softball, Cal

Morgan Lalonde, swimming, Louisiana State University

Maya Villa, track and field, Claremont McKenna College

MISSION VIEJO

Kouper Alvidrez, basketball, Pacific University Oregon

Brock deFries, football, UNLV

Zachary Foeldi, football, Fresno State

Cash Semonza, football, Tulane University

Jack Boucher, baseball, University of San Diego

Jack Baldi, football, Fresno State University

McKenna Pugh, soccer, Azusa Pacific

Kaitlyn Sun, softball, Rhodes College

Reece Uehara, softball, Princeton University

Audrey Kays, track, Boise State

Dillon Scolaro, volleyball, Arizona Christian

NORTHWOOD

Joseph Harper, football, Army

ORANGE LUTHERAN

Olivia Oskorus, softball, Cal State Dominguez Hills

Ariana Markey, soccer, Pepperdine

Jayden Santos, volleyball, Jessup University

Gavin Nixon, soccer, Baldwin Wallace University

Ben Lilii, football, Arizona State

PACIFICA

Victor Cardona, baseball, New York University

Kloe Lobato, softball, Chapman

Ellena Ediss, softball, UC Davis

Alyssa Holsted, softball, Vanguard

Brooklyn Reyes, softball, Fairleigh Dickinson

Catherine Benitez, softball, UC Santa Barbara

Taylor Herrick, softball, Lipscomb

SANTA MARGARITA

Logan Freeborn, baseball, Cal State Monterey Bay

Delmar Perez, baseball, Whittier College

Ethan Thomas, football, Duquesne University

Hudson Vedder, golf, Central Michigan University

Cade Gilbert, rugby, United States Military Academy at West Point

Nicole Christensen, swimming, Texas Christian University

Daniel Fu, swimming, University of Chicago

Jenna Haigh, diving, Cal Baptist

Matthew Kim, swimming, Swarthmore College

Adam Lee, swimming, Claremont McKenna College

Nicholas Lee, swimming, Johns Hopkins University

Valentino Nieto, diving, USC

Leo Francis, track and field, University of Pennsylvania

Brooke Kaltenbach, water polo, University of Pacific

SERVITE

Brandon Bass, football, Union College (N.Y.)

Brayden Kim, football, St. Thomas (Minn.)

ST. MARGARET’S

Aidan McMahon, volleyball, Belmont Abbey College

Luke Newman, football, University of Chicago

Kate Purpura, tennis, Bucknell University

Will Viola, football, University of Chicago

Scarlett Welsome, lacrosse, Hofstra University

Maverick Young, football, University of Chicago

SUNNY HILLS

Augustine Cho, volleyball, Masters University

Lauren Won, soccer, MIT

YORBA LINDA

Holden Nagin, football, Lehigh

RELATED

Football Early Signing Day: List of Orange County athletes who are signing

Fall Signing Day 2024: List of Orange County athletes who are signing, Nov. 13