gardena

Eighth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Wesley Ace, Gardena Serra defensive back.

Wesley Ace has no complaints when people underestimate his football ability.

“A couple coaches just walk by,” he said of recruiters showing up at practices and bypassing him.

At 5 feet 9 and 180 pounds, the Gardena Serra High cornerback is used to the skepticism because of his size.

“It’s all good,” he said. “My film speaks for itself. If you’re a baller, you’re a baller.”

And Ace is a fast baller, having run the 100 meters last spring in 10.51 seconds at the school that produced state 100-meter champion Rodrick Pleasant. Ace also has video of him running down the speedy Deshonne Redeaux last season to prevent a touchdown against Oaks Christian. Redeaux is a freshman at USC this season.

Playing the nickel position in Serra’s 4-2-5 defensive alignment, Ace contributed 52 tackles. He’s an aggressive tackler. He’s far stronger than people think, bench-pressing 275 pounds.

He’s been playing tackle football only since eighth grade.

“My whole life, I’ve been playing baseball,” he said.

Then he got bored and switched to football.

“I had to get stronger, faster and learn the rules of the game,” he said.

His first position was defensive end. The coach must have wanted someone to be a pest going after quarterbacks with his lack of size.

“I was so fast, big guys that age couldn’t keep in front of me,” he said.

Ace learned to play defensive back and was most effective last season covering slot receivers. This season he’ll get a chance to show what he can do against taller players as a cornerback. He’s confident his speed and strength will make it a smooth adjustment.

“As a defensive back, you’re going to mess up eventually,” he said. “Speed allows you to recover and get back.”

His father, Wesley Sr., was a standout defensive back at Westchester and San Diego State who never encouraged his son to play football because of head injury concerns. He’s been training him while serving as an assistant principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“My dad always says be everything but big,” Ace said.

Don’t be surprised to see Serra taking advantage of Ace’s speed by letting him return kickoffs and make some plays on offense. Regardless, he finds a way to contribute on defense with his quickness, instincts and fearless attitude. He committed to San José State during the summer.

“For sure, I play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said.

Wednesday: Gabriel Goroyan, Westlake kicker.

Defensive backs to watch

Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, St. John Bosco, 6-2, 195, Sr.: Washington commit has been starting so long he might have grey hair

Wesley Ace, Gardena Serra, 5-9, 180, Sr.: San José State commit ran 10.51 seconds for 100 meters

Myles Baker, Sierra Canyon, 6-2, 205, Sr.: UCLA commit is built like the Rock of Gibraltar

Jordan Hicks, Mission Viejo, 6-1, 180, Jr.: Ambitious, confident and decisive on any field

Jaden Walk-Green, Corona Centennial, 6-0, 195 Sr.: Washington commit had 10 interceptions last season

JuJu Johnson, Long Beach Poly, 5-11, 175, Sr.: UCLA commit is most improved player anywhere

Danny Lang, Mater Dei, 6-1, 165, Sr.: USC commit thrives on hand-to-hand combat with receivers

Jaxson Rex, San Clemente, 6-1, 190, Sr.: Put him anywhere on the field and BYU commit would excel

Gavin Williams, Damien, 6-1, 185, Sr.: USC commit will set highest standard at safety this season

Donte Wright, Long Beach Poly, 6-2, 180, Sr.: Miami commit is physical cornerback with speed

There have been dozens of football transfers in Southern California during the offseason, but the one transfer who could make the greatest impact is running back AJ McBean, who announced he was leaving Mira Costa High for Gardena Serra.

McBean, who ran 10.55 seconds in the 100 meters this spring thanks to Mira Costa’s track program and his commitment to getting faster, joins a Serra offense that returns all five starters on the offensive line. He’s got the speed and strength to help the Cavaliers make up for not reaching the Southern Section playoffs last season out of the extremely competitive Mission League.

He’s been a longtime resident of Hermosa Beach, so what would motivate him to leave Mira Costa after recently making a commitment to Stanford? He apparently wants to prepare for college by being used in a more versatile role catching passes out of the backfield to show off his many skills. At least that’s what his family told coach Scott Altenberg. Mira Costa was changing its offense to better feature him, so it’s a tough loss for the Mustangs.

McBean will have to move to become eligible immediately.

Hope at Whittier

Former Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez, in his first season at Whittier, has already discovered a talent he can’t wait to develop. Offensive and defensive lineman Joseph Medina from the class of 2028 has made quite a first impression on Hernandez.

Medina didn’t play last season, “and in three months that we have been here, he is off the charts,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez calls him “a great technician and amazing leader.”

Agoura QB depth

Never has coach Dustin Croick of Agoura had more quality depth at quarterback than what he will have this season thanks to two newcomers.

Junior Kris Carranza has transferred from Sierra Canyon to Agoura and is a top candidate to start. The Chargers are also adding incoming freshman quarterback Emerson Andrews, whose father, David, played tight end at Ohio State and was a member of the 2002 national championship team. He is director of athletic performance for UCLA’s men’s basketball program. If anyone has a strength and conditioning question, submit it to Emerson, who knows someone.

Commitments rolling in

With college recruiters headed on vacation, lots of players decided to make commitments to make sure they have a “certain” destination. There’s also a new trend of players announcing on social media posts that they are “shutting down” their recruitment, which is supposed to mean their decision is final. Then how come others keep recruiting them? Because it’s never final in this era of NIL.

Quarterback Chris Fields, the City Section player of the year from Carson, committed to Georgetown. Offensive lineman Micah Butler from Hamilton committed to Sacramento State. Kicker Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake committed to Stanford. Defensive back Wesley Ace from Gardena Serra committed to San Jose State. Safety Jaden Walk-Green from Corona Centennial has committed to Washington and teammate Brett Smith has committed to UNLV. Running back Kamden Tillis of Los Alamitos has committed to San Diego State.

Man among boys

USC recruiters deserve praise for identifying the best in Southern California and pursuing them with great intensity. There’s no doubt that Damien safety Gavin Williams, a USC commit, will be the standard for excellence this coming season. He’s fast and strong and players who don’t adjust to his physical skills are in for a surprise.

Damien won the Chaminade seven-on-seven passing tournament on Saturday, beating Crespi in the final. On the first play, Williams caught a long touchdown pass, sprinting well past the defender who had no idea how fast he runs.

First-year coaches galore

It’s going to be fun tracking the progress of first-year football coaches this season because there are so many at well-known programs. The question of who will have the best record should be debated all summer.

Iggy Porchia became the latest new hire, replacing his mentor, the late Angelo Gasca, at Venice.

There should be a competition on which new private coach will have the best record and which new public school coach will have the best record. There are so many candidates with new coaches at JSerra, Orange Lutheran, Servite, Los Alamitos, St. Francis, St. Bernard, Bishop Montgomery, Oaks Christian, Whittier Christian, Bishop Alemany, Muir, Pasadena, Long Beach Poly, Arroyo, North Hollywood, Sun Valley Poly and on it goes.

Transfer issues coming

It appears the Southern Section will be busy again this fall after last year’s eligibility scandal when it declared 19 transfer students ineligible at Bishop Montgomery, resulting in the varsity season ending after one game and forcing the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to clean up what looked like a preventable mess.

This time, it could be public schools facing scrutiny. The same rumors that started last summer about schools loading up on transfers are circulating again this summer. Principals who don’t act after multiple transfers seemingly out of nowhere start showing up to play football only have themselves to blame.

And schools that delay submitting transfer paperwork until the last minute thinking investigators will be too busy to spot an error don’t understand the process.

City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos has a policy that she immediately schedules a meeting with the administration, athletic director, coach and parents when one school receives multiple transfers to review paperwork. The Southern Section deployed AI last fall to help it catch parents submitting false information.

So prepare for more exciting times. It’s like a cat-and-mouse game. And don’t forget about the anonymous emails identifying parents not living at the official address they put on their transfer paperwork.