Two of Hawai'i's top college football prospects have opted to take their enormous potential from Kalaepohaku's rugged slope in Kaimuki to the mouth of Strawberry Canyon in Berkeley, Calif.

Saint Louis School defensive ends Scott Smith and Solomona Aigamaua — both of whom were named to The Advertiser's All-State first team this past season — have made verbal commitments to play for the University of California next season.

Smith, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound defensive end, chose Cal over Arizona, Washington, Oregon and Hawai'i.

He visited Cal, Arizona and Washington last month and was scheduled to visit Oregon this weekend but canceled the trip. Smith had planned to consider a Hawai'i visit later this month, but said yesterday, "I want to go away and experience something else."

He sealed his decision early Wednesday afternoon after a home visit by Cal defensive line coach Ken Delgado earlier in the week.

"At Cal, the education is great and so is the football program," said Smith, who was the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Defensive Player of the Year and also is a basketball standout for the Crusaders. "My parents really liked their academics. And for football, the other schools all said they were 'on the corner' of doing great things, but Cal is already there. I wanted to go to a school that was already winning."

The Golden Bears went 10-3 last season and were ranked No. 14 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.

Aigamaua, 6 feet 3 1/2 and 215 pounds, turned down scholarship offers from Oregon State, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. Hawai'i also showed interest. He visited Cal and Oregon State and was supposed to leave for a recruiting visit to Oregon yesterday, but canceled after committing to Cal on Wednesday, not long after Smith did.

"After I talked to my dad, Mona was the first one I called," Smith said. "I told him I committed to Cal, and that I was canceling my (Oregon) trip."

Aigamaua said that call inspired him to also commit.

"I wanted to commit to a school where I knew someone," said Aigamaua, who also is Smith's teammate in basketball. "When I first heard that Scott committed to Cal, I was really excited. I have family in (nearby) San Francisco, and I liked their academics. I took my (recruiting) trip with Scott, and they have a lot of people to help you with academics and help you graduate.

"The coaches told us that football is not going to be there forever, and that a degree from Cal is highly (regarded) because they have high standards. It can help us get a good job."

Aigamaua said he is maintaining a 3.7 grade point average at Saint Louis.

Delbert Tengan, who is Saint Louis' head coach for football and basketball, said Smith and Aigamaua have only scratched the surface of their potential.

Unlike many past defensive line prospects from Saint Louis, Smith and Aigamaua are leaner in build and are known more for their speed and agility than power and strength.

"When you look at both of them, they already have a lot of athletic ability, but they haven't really matured into (NCAA) Division I bodies yet," Tengan said. "If they take advantage of the strength and conditioning programs that will be available to them and build their bodies, they're going to be much better football players."

Smith and Aigamaua both said they are exhausted from the recruiting process and are relieved to get it over with.

"(Wednesday) night was crazy," Smith said. "I got like 30 calls, from all the coaches. I was tired of the recruiting already."

Aigamaua, who also participated in the Samoa Bowl in Pago Pago recently, said he was weary of it, too.

"The traveling really takes a lot out of you," he said. "Every time I went away, I had to catch up on my schoolwork. I didn't want to catch up again."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.