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Published Tuesday December 6, 2005 San Diego star gives commitment to Huskers BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN - Mike Hastings is partial, of course, to his own football player. Nevertheless, he believes Nebraska got a recruiting steal in Anthony West.

A 6-foot, 195-pound running back and safety at San Diego's Point Loma High School, West accepted the Huskers' scholarship offer Sunday. He will visit Lincoln Friday and Saturday as part of the first of two recruiting weekends during Alamo Bowl practices in Lincoln this month.

"It's been all the buzz on our campus today," Hastings, the Point Loma coach, said Monday. "Anthony is a great kid. I give Nebraska credit. They saw his film, and they didn't mess around."

Hastings said West received strong interest from Texas Tech. In recent weeks, UCLA and California had also moved closer to offering scholarships.

NU made its offer last month. The Huskers learned of West in the spring when Hastings recommended him to assistant coach Bill Busch, who was recruiting Point Loma defensive tackle Josh Holmes.

Holmes committed to Miami in May, but West still made it to the Huskers' summer camp. There, he caught the attention of Nebraska coaches by running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash.

West then rushed for more than 1,200 yards in helping lead Point Loma to a 12-0 record.

Hastings said the Huskers plan to look first at West as a running back. He may switch to defense or even try receiver.

His father, Bob West, played receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1972 and 1973 after a college career at San Diego State.

"As a person, there's none better than Anthony," Hastings said. "He's the type of kid that Nebraska is going to love."

Point Loma will complete its season next week against San Diego St. Augustine in a sectional-championship game at Qualcomm Stadium. Fellow Nebraska commitment Menelik Holt plays wide receiver for St. Augustine, the school that also produced NU freshman place-kicker Jordan Congdon.

Congdon will serve as the host for West's visit this weekend.

"That should be great," Hastings said, "but I told him to take it easy. It's not going to be a crazy trip. He's got an important game to play."

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