On one hand, there were the numbers he put up as a senior fullback and linebacker for Division I runner-up Rancho Buena Vista. More than 1,400 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 72 tackles and an All-CIF first-team honor.

On one hand, there were the numbers he put up as a senior fullback and linebacker for Division I runner-up Rancho Buena Vista. More than 1,400 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 72 tackles and an All-CIF first-team honor.

On the other hand, there was the number of scholarship offers extended to one of the San Diego Section's best players.

“I got a couple of looks from NAIA schools and a couple from Division III,” Sluss said. “I really didn't get as much as I was expecting. You're really powerless. You're trying to sell yourself, and some teams have positions they need to fill. If you don't play those positions, they're not going to recruit you.”

Longhorns head coach Eric Jorgensen said it was frustrating for the coaching staff as well.

“You know he can play,” Jorgensen said. “But he's not 6-3, 230 as a linebacker. We're at the mercy of the college (coaches), and with him it was all size. He's a little short, and a half-step too slow, and they just want thoroughbreds.”

As his senior season wore on and the offers didn't materialize, Sluss realized it would take more than oversized production to get recruiters' attention. In his case, all it took was a little networking.

While coaches from the University of Redlands were hard after Longhorns quarterback – and Sluss' best friend – Cameron Chadwick, they figured the big fullback who had carried the ball and blocked for San Diego's most effective rushing attack was already spoken for.

“They were recruiting Cameron,” Sluss said, “and they thought I was being recruited by other places. Cameron told them I wasn't being recruited, and they started talking to me.”

Chadwick eventually chose Saddleback Community College over Redlands, but a campus visit convinced Sluss he'd found his football home for the next four years. After making the decision to become a Bulldog, he curled up with his new playbook, determined to become the team's starting middle linebacker as a freshman. Now second on the team in tackles, Sluss says he never doubted that he'd find a school.

“You have to be patient – someone will find you,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason, in my mind.”

Sluss isn't the only star from his class to find the recruiting trail difficult. Oceanside running back Armani Taylor, who piled up more than 2,000 total yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season, also found offers hard to come by. While Taylor opted not to go the Division III or junior college routes, Sluss said life without football wasn't an option.

“I had to play football,” he said. “Even if I had to walk-on somewhere, I was going to play, but I know where he's coming from.”

Along with the starting middle linebacker job, heading to Redlands came with another bonus: a built-in fan base. Because the school is just an hour-and-a-half drive from his high school stadium, Bulldogs home games have become a weekly destination for Sluss' family.

“My whole family comes,” he said. “My uncles, aunts, grandparents, stepmom, stepdad. They try to act like they'd be OK with it if you picked a faraway college, but they were super excited (about Redlands).”

Ranked second in the nation in total defense and now No. 25 in the National Football Coaches' Association poll, the Bulldogs are excited to have Sluss in the fold as well.

Through Friday, Sluss ranked sixth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in tackles. He leads conference freshmen in tackles, sacks and tackles for losses.

“You can't take away from how he plays,” Jorgensen said. “He goes sideline to sideline, and he has a nose for the ball – that's the best thing about him.”

It just means Sluss has better stories to tell on Saturday evenings when former Longhorns Chadwick and Noah Jackson come calling.

“On Saturdays we'll text each other and on Sunday we all tell each other how we did,” Sluss said. “I don't think we'll ever lose contact.”

If things continue like this, Sluss won't let them.

 Zach Jones: (760) 752-6751; zach.jones@tlnews.net