While the rest of his El Cerrito High School classmates will be finishing up their senior year of high school in the coming months, Adarius Pickett will spend his days 374 miles south, on the practice fields of the UCLA campus, training with the team with which he will spend his next few years of collegiate life.

Every year, there are select few recruits who are talented enough to enroll early at college, during the spring semester, at the schools they will be playing at the following year. Pickett, the eighth-best cornerback in the country, who played in the Semper Fidelis All-American game this winter, is one of them.

“Deciding to enroll early was kind of hard, because it meant I had to give up baseball, which I’ve been playing since I was four,” Pickett said. “But the opportunities I get to go in early and play with the team in the spring are very special.”

Despite the difficulty of this decision, Adarius Pickett definitely had the statistics to warrant the move. Not only did he finish the season with nine interceptions, returning three of those for touchdowns, but he also rushed for over 1,800 yards, an impressive feat considering he didn’t play tailback for the first four games of the season.

After El Cerrito's disappointing 2-2 start to the year, Pickett had the foresight and leadership to take the reigns of both the offense and defense, propelling his team to its best season in school history, ultimately leading the Gauchos to an NCS D-II title, defeating heavily favored Marin Catholic. The Gauchos eventually lost in the regional bowl game to Sacred Heart Prep.

For his tremendous work, Pickett is the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Player of the Year.

Pickett, who has a 3.9 GPA, chose the Bruins during his recruitment process for many reasons, one of them being academic prestige.

“After seeing the campus and talking to the players, as well as talking to my cousin, who goes there, I felt that it was the best place for me, and definitely where I wanted to commit. With all the academic support I will get at UCLA, I think I’ll fit in very well.”

Another interesting component of the UCLA team is how Jim Mora and his coaching staff have used star two-sided player, RB/LB Myles Jack. Jack, a defense-first player, spent some time at running back this year, and excelled. When asked if offensive packages for himself had been discussed, Pickett replied:

“I talked to coach Mora about possibly playing on offense. He wants to try to use me to my full ability, he likes the way I run and likes how I play offense, but he also enjoys how I play defense. I want to help out however I can.”

Look for Pickett to make an immediate impact next year, as the UCLA coaching staff has done a solid job of getting new, talented recruits into game situations early in the year. Marquee first-year players from 2013 such as defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (39 tackles) and Myles Jack (75 tackles, 2 INTs, 269 yards, 7 TDs) saw a lot of game time, and you can be sure that Pickett will follow in their footsteps admirably.

Also considered: Nsimba Webster, QB, Deer Valley; Sumner Houston, DL, De La Salle; Joe Mixon, RB, Freedom-Oakley; Harris Ross, RB, Pittsburg; Larry Allen, OL, De La Salle; Morgan Mahalak, QB, Marin Catholic; Manny Wilkins, QB, San Marin.

NOTE: We would like to thank our readers for all of the nominations you sent in for the season-ending NCS football awards. It is a daunting task to narrow down our selections to just the top few as we recognize there are lots of great players who make contributions on the football field that are not necessarily well-documented but mean a great deal to the success of their teams. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS football.