Though San Clemente High’s football season ended in November, the pursuit of excellence never stops. 

In early April, Tritons head coach Jaime Ortiz visited the football programs at Arizona State University (ASU), the University of Arizona (UA), San Diego State University and UCLA. Ortiz said it was a good opportunity to learn how San Clemente can improve its program. 

“It’s a great opportunity to get on campus there and meet with the coaches,” Ortiz said. “Brent Brennan and I go way back at the University of Arizona, and to be able to spend time with them and have the opportunity to kind of watch practice and see little things that they’re doing and have an idea of how we can improve our program as well.”

Ortiz’s college football tour began at Arizona State. The Sun Devils have seen a rapid turnaround after head coach Kenny Dillingham took the helm in November 2022 while the program was in some of its darkest days. After a 3-9 record in his debut 2023 season, Dillingham led ASU to an 11-3 record in 2024, as well as a Big 12 Championship win and an appearance in the College Football Playoff, where the Sun Devils fell to Texas in the Peach Bowl. 

It’s a program that Ortiz is already familiar with, having gone through the recruiting process with ASU-commit Puka Fuimaono. Dillingham has often been complimented by his staff and players for his personal coaching style and authentic nature. Ortiz said the 35-year-old coach gave him advice that he plans to keep in mind moving forward.

“Kenny Dillingham, one thing he told me was, ‘Hey, I hire good coaches and let them coach and try to stay out of the way,’ ” Ortiz said. “For me, it’s about making sure you surround yourself with quality coaches that care about kids.”

Ortiz said he always has more to learn and was particularly impressed with ASU’s pre-practice routines.

“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching for the last 32 years or so, and you’ve got to continue to grow and learn as a coach; you want to continue to take little things from other programs back to yours,” Ortiz said. “Like how they do their dynamic warmup, how they stretch, how they do certain scheme stuff and try and bring that into your program, also understanding that it is high school, so we are limited in regard to time and funding and so forth, but we can do the best we can to give these kids a great experience.”

With Fuimaono heading to Tempe soon, Ortiz said he thinks the linebacker will be in a good place to develop his game.

“I know at Arizona State, Puka’s excited about the opportunity,” Ortiz said. “Coaches can give a spiel about how they’re going to take care of your player and they’re going to watch over them, well, now you make that transition, you want to make sure they’re in good hands. And I think Puka is in a great situation at ASU.”

The final stop on Ortiz’s tour was UCLA. Ortiz said his relationship with head coach DeShaun Foster goes back to Foster’s career at Tustin High School in Orange County. The relationship between San Clemente and UCLA runs much deeper, however.  

In 2013, former Bruins walk-on receiver and SCHS alumnus Nick Pasquale was tragically killed after being struck by a car in San Clemente. To honor Pasquale’s legacy, UCLA awards Pasquale’s No. 36 jersey to a select player each year. The three players to wear No. 36 so far have been Ethan Fernea (2019-2021), Alex Johnson (2022-2023), and Joshua Swift, who wore the number last season. 

Ortiz said UCLA and SCHS still have a tight-knit relationship. 

“They surrounded that family with a lot of love and attention, and so UCLA will always be a special part of our program with Nick (Pasquale) being there at one point in time,” Ortiz said. 

For the trip to UCLA, Ortiz brought 17 players along to experience what it is like at an NCAA Division I program. Ortiz and his players visited the university’s bookstore, went to practice and met Foster. Ortiz said he wanted his players to experience what they need to do to become a Division I athlete. 

“I think every kid in high school has aspirations of moving on to the next level, whether that’s Division I, Division II, Division III, (junior college), wherever it may be,” Ortiz said. “I want to make sure that we give kids an opportunity to go out and visit these schools and be able to attend practice and meet the coaches and just give them an example of what it takes to be a Division I athlete and continue to work and have a little fun while we’re at it.”

Looking back at the visits, Ortiz said he was most impressed with the facilities at ASU, Arizona, San Diego State and UCLA. He said the amount of care put into them highlights what it takes to win at the college level.

“When you go to ASU and you go to UA and UCLA, just seeing the amount of staffing and the nutrition, the weight room, the locker rooms – they’re dedicated to their program, and it’s a great opportunity for players to kind of recover with the medical treatment and so forth,” Ortiz said.  

With the NCAA recruiting period opening, Ortiz said the visits allowed him to remind coaches of the talent San Clemente football has.

“It was a good opportunity to … continue to build those relationships and let them know that San Clemente has some great athletes coming up and we want to continue to have our athletes perform at the next level,” Ortiz said.