Santee Education Complex and West Adams Prep don’t come to mind when one thinks of football recruiting hot beds.

After  all, the L.A. Unified schools located downtown haven’t been around that long. Santee opened its doors in 2005, West Adams Prep in 2007.

Understandably, neither has had the chance to send a player off to the college ranks. At least until this year.

University of California coach Jeff Tedford certainly had them on his radar since the recruiting class he signed Wednesday included a wide receiver from each school.

Santee’s Tevin Carter and Terrance Montgomery of West Adams signed letters of intent making Tedford one very happy coach.

The local duo is part of a stellar receiving class at Cal that also includes Parade All-American Keenan Allen from Greensboro, N.C., Long Beach Poly’s Kaelin Clay and Coleman Edmond, a JC All-American from L.A. Pierce College.

Carter, who committed to Cal before the season, is the No. 17 receiver in the country by Rivals.com. Scout.com calls the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder who state meet sprint qualifier “one of the fastest players in California.”

He caught 42 passes for 1,117 yards and eight touchdowns and earned All-City honors while leading Santee to second place in the Southern League.

Montgomery, the nation’s No. 61 wide receiver according to ESPN, had 42 catches for 700 yards and 12 TDs while helping West Adams  win the Southern League title the past two years.

Tedford feels he got a couple of steals in these in Carter and Montgomery.

Of Montgomery, Tedford said, “He’s one of the more underrated guys that we have in our class. When you take a look at him and see what he can do, his natural ability to catch the football, his ball skills. He has great instincts to catch a football, great hands. You’ll see on tape what he does with the ball after he has it in his hands. He’s electric with the ball in his hands as far as a returner and a receiver.”

He has high hopes, too for Carter, who runs a 10.6 100 meters.
“He’s very rangy,” Tedford said. “He’s 6-3, can really run, has great hands, but all these guys can really run.”

Did he see any comparisons between this year’s signees on film and previous classes?
“I remember years ago when Lavelle (Hawkins) and DeSean (Jackson, now of the Philadelphia Eagles) and those guys came in the class, and you look at the back-to-back highlight reels of these guys, it’s very similar to that.

“That’s the type of talent they have with the ball in their hands. They’re very elusive and one of our focuses this year was run after the catch. We wanted to go out and recruit some guys that can do something with the ball in their hands after they catch it, and we feel like we’ve done that.”

Spartans look south
Southern California has always been a fertile recruiting ground for high school football talent, a point certainly not lost on San Jose State coach Mike McIntyre.

The first-year Spartan coach dipped heavily into the Los Angeles area, the results being signatures on national letters of intent from the likes of Serra High School defensive end Sean Bacon and Serra defensive back Bene Benwikere, Inglewood defensive end Marcus Howard and running back David Freeman, an Inglewood grad who began his college career at the University of Washington.

Bacon (6-2, 215) was a defensive force for the 15-0 Cavaliers, recording 130 tackles and 17 sacks. He was the Del Rey League defensive player of the year and an All-CIF selection.

“Sean Bacon is a playmaking defensive end that can get after the quarterback,” McIntyre said in a statement. “He is a pass rusher with speed off the edge. That is something we need.”

Benwikere, a 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback, had 65 tackles and five interceptions for the Cavaliers as a senior.

“Bene is a ‘cover corner’ from a great program,” McIntyre said. “He understands how to play corner and cover people I’m excited about what he’ll bring to the team as a cover corner.”

Howard, a 6-2, 254-pounder who earned All-Wave Newspapers honors, had 83 tackles and eight sacks as a defensive end for the Sentinels this year. He also caught seven touchdown passes as a tight end.

“Marcus is another player who has the body type we like so much,” the coach said. “That’s the big tight end/defensive lineman type who can play multiple positions. I believe his future will be on the defensive line where he can help us in a variety of positions.”

Freeman, presently enrolled at El Camino College, rushed 27 times for 152 yards in four games during his one season at Washington. At Inglewood, he was a 1,000-yard rusher.

He has three years of eligibility with the Spartans.

“David is an electrifying running back who will make people miss,” McIntyre  said. “I’m excited he is back in the state of California. This is home for him. We’re very fortunate to have him here at San Jose State.”

Bounce back
Mark Rodgers, the former Leuzinger High School standout, has transferred from West Virginia to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The running back and return specialist for the Mountaineers the past two season will have two years of eligibility remaining. He is expected to enroll for the spring quarter and participate in spring drills.

This past season, he averaged 22.9 yards on 27 kickoffs with a long of 51 yards against Florida State. As a freshman, he rushed 15 times for 80 yards and averaged 21.1 yards on 21 kickoff returns.

At Leuzinger, he ran for 2,500 yards and 31 TDs as a junior and 2,319 yards and 19 TDs as a senior.

Cal Poly’s recruiting class also includes James Grace, a defensive back out of Inglewood High.

Lobos coach Mike Locksley had high praise for his recruit on signing day.

“James Grace is a prototypical safety,” he said. “He’s got professional size when you look at him. He’s a guy that really can run. He’s a long strider and very rangy from the safety position.

“He had a knack for being around the ball and making big plays on both sides of the ball and is very physical at the point of attack and a guy that I see as being able to run the alley and also have the range to make the plays on the ball down the field. A tremendous get for us in that he has the size (6-2, 197) to be able to come in and help us early.”

Nice recruiting catch
UNLV coach Bobby Hauck has high hopes for signee Kurt Davis, a 6-5, 190-pound wide receiver out of Centennial High.

“Kurt Davis is a tall, athletic wide receiver with a ton of potential,” he said. “He’s a terrific basketball player who will have the ability to go up and catch the football.”

Ranked the No. 87 wide receiver prospect nationally by Scout and No. 93 by Rivals, Davis caught more than 30 passes for 600 yards and seven touchdowns for the Apaches this fall.

All-purpose back
Isaac Williams, a former Locke High running back who attended L.A. Southwest and El Camino colleges, is a Baylor Bear.

Recruited as an all-purpose back, he helped El Camino to a 9-1 record in 2008 with 209 yards rushing, 120 yards receiving and 109 kick return yards.

At L.A. Southwest in 2007, he ran for 170 yards, caught passes for 120 and returned kicks for 74.

He rushed for 1,600 yards and caught passes for 300 as a senior at Locke in 2006.

“Isaac is hungry, determined and focused,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “He’s someone that he feels he has something to prove, and I like that. He’s another mature guy that understands that the clock is ticking.”

Other local signees
Nevada  has signed Dorsey cornerback Charles Garrett and Compton safety James Randall.

City Section champion Crenshaw had linebacker Hayes Pullard sign with USC and wide receiver Gregory Ducre with Washington.

California signed two small-school wide receiver standouts from the City Section in Tevin Carter from Santee and Terrence Montgomery from West Adams Prep.