One of the easiest recruiting tools ever – dominate against Trinity League competition = college glory awaits. Year after year the Southern California high school football conference produces some of the nation’s best talent. At JSerra Catholic, the Lions have a torchbearer in defensive end Simote Katoanga.

There’s no hyperbole when running down the long list of what Katoanga (6-5, 255) brings to the field. Twitchy with a great first step, Katoanga puts offensive linemen on roller skates pushing them into the lap of the quarterback. Even on plays where Katoanga doesn’t get the stat credit he has created chaos allowing his teammates to reap the rewards.

College scouts agree that Katoanga is a difference maker with 24 offers extended.

“They love that I can play off the edge and inside, like a hybrid,” Katoanga said. “They love my get off and my physicality. They love my speed and power.”

Bad news for California squads, Katoanga is adding more tools to the skill belt.

“I want to get better with my run fits, going to the side, and I am working on my pass rush moves,” Katoanga stated. “I want to be more fluid with my moves and not always relying on speed and power, but also my quickness.”

With Michigan showing interest, teams like Notre Dame, Georgia, Nebraska, Miami, Clemson, Cal, Oregon, Tennessee UCLA, Texas A&M, USC, Washington, and Arizona State have dropped offers.

“Most of the schools that have offered reach out,” Katoanga shared. “I talk to most schools on a daily basis; each week I talk to them.”

Katoanga added which teams are communicating how the four-star would fit nicely into their scheme.

“Most of them are talking about how they’d use me; Notre Dame, Oregon, Clemson, Tennessee, and UDUB (Washington) tell me what they see me as. I talk to most of the schools about how they see me.”

USC, Clemson, Washington, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and UCLA hosted Katoanga for regular season games. The Class of 2026 talent broke down visits with the Bruins, Fighting Irish, and Buckeyes.

UCLA: “It was great. I definitely see them, since their head coach (Chip Kelly) left, I see their potential. I love seeing what they are building at UCLA. I love their potential for next season.”

Notre Dame: “Man, it was a great experience. One of the highlights was the player walk. They have a long line with fans on both sides; we walked after the players. The fans were cheering, even for the recruits. Watching their d-line dominate against Florida State was also very cool. It gave me a vision where I could see myself playing for them.”

Ohio State: “I had a great time there too. I had a great time talking to coach Larry Johnson (DL). I liked watching their defense and how they dominated against Indiana.”

The 2025 visit schedule is wide open for Katoanga.

“There is nothing set right now,” Katoanga stated. “I have not checked out Tennessee. I want to check them out before I start eliminating schools.”

Katoanga expanded on his future recruiting plans, “I will probably take spring visits; go to some practices and Junior Days. I will narrow it down from there. When I take my official visits, that will probably be my top schools.”

There’s no law requiring California property owners to carry insurance, but the vast majority buy it to protect themselves from fire and other perils, or are required to do so by their mortgage lenders.

There’s also no law requiring insurance companies to offer coverage in California, but most would prefer to do so in the nation’s most immense concentration of property needing protection.

For decades, insuring California’s homes, farms and commercial properties was a hum-drum business of willing sellers and willing buyers. However, the former have become less willing as the state experiences an ever-increasing number of wildfires — even during winter months — that devastate homes and businesses in fire-prone areas.

Last Friday, as the latest of those fires was driving people from their homes in the quaint seaside village of Malibu, Ricardo Lara, the state’s elected insurance commissioner, formally unveiled a large chunk of his plan to stem the exodus of insurers from California.

It would allow insurers to use computer modeling of future exposure to set premiums, while requiring them to offer coverage in risky communities roughly in line with their shares of the market. Until now, insurers set rates based on past losses.

“Giving people more choices to protect themselves is how we will solve California’s insurance crisis,” Lara said in a statement as he released details of the modeling plan. “For the first time in history we are requiring insurance companies to expand where people need help the most. With our changing climate we can no longer look to the past. We are being innovative and forward-looking to protect Californians’ access to insurance.”

He also noted that in setting rates, insurers will be required to consider hardening efforts by threatened communities and property owners to reduce potential losses.

Lara claims support from environmental groups, farmers and other stakeholders, in addition to insurers. But he’s drawing sharp criticism from Consumer Watchdog, an organization that has sponsored landmark changes in insurance regulation. The group has also received millions of dollars in fees from intervening in insurance rates cases, and has been a harsh critic of Lara throughout his time in office.

“Full transparency is what keeps insurance rates honest but Commissioner Lara’s rule does away with that protection,” Consumer Watchdog executive director Carmen Balber said in a statement. “The rule will let insurance companies raise rates based on secret algorithms but not expand coverage as promised.”

The new rules take effect in January. Farmers Insurance, California’s second-largest property insurer, has already pledged to expand its coverage in response to Lara’s actions. The American Property Casualty Association, a trade group, also reacted positively.

“California will continue to have a robust regulatory and rate approval process that guarantees that rates reflect the actual cost of covering claims,” the association said.

While the rules unveiled last week are central to Lara’s plans, there are other elements that remain: shoring up the FAIR Plan, California’s last ditch insurer for property owners who cannot obtain coverage elsewhere, speeding up insurance rate case approvals, and allowing insurers to include costs of reinsurance — coverage of their potential losses — in setting rates.

Adoption of Lara’s plans may result in premium increases, but maintaining a viable insurance market is a vital factor in the state’s economy. The inability to buy insurance would devastate the residential and commercial real estate market and require property owners to pay for fire losses out of their own pockets.

Lara’s plans may not be perfect, but nobody — including Consumer Watchdog — has offered a better alternative. He should be credited with at least attempting to deal with one of California’s existential crises.