PREP FOOTBALL ’99 : SERRA LEAGUE : Better Put Money Where Mouth Is Against McGuire : Defenders have to do more than talk a good game against Servite’s huge offensive lineman, who is headed to USC.

A tip for players who have to line up against Servite senior offensive tackle Joe McGuire: Keep your mouth shut.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound McGuire is a big enough obstacle for any defender trying to rush the quarterback. Trash talking just makes him more focused, and a bit meaner.

“I don’t talk to guys when I play,” McGuire said. “Once they start talking, that motivates me. I want to quiet them.

“Your biggest pleasure on the offensive line is when you can put a defensive lineman on his back. I strive to get a couple a game.”

McGuire brings the kind of brawn and brains Servite will need this season. The Friars left the Golden West League after five years to join the Serra League along with Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Bellflower St. John Bosco.

McGuire, 17, is too young to fully recall the old Angelus League that Servite and Mater Dei belonged to (the league was broken up after the 1991-92 school year). But from the conversations he has had with Servite coaches who do remember, McGuire said he is eager to be part of the new Serra League.

“I’m real excited about it,” McGuire said. “You like to play the tougher competition. I feel you get better by playing better people.”

When talking with McGuire it’s hard to imagine him being “excited” about many things. “He’s a matter-of-fact and a no-nonsense kid,” Coach Larry Toner said. “Nothing he says or does is particularly glamorous. Every day he just comes to practice and does his work.

“But he is also a kid in a man’s body and people can forget that. When I see him in the classroom, everyone else is a tugboat and he is an aircraft carrier.”

His stature as a player is even bigger. McGuire--who has verbally committed to USC--is considered one of the best line prospects in the nation. He has unusual agility, excellent balance and surprising speed for his size.

During the first week of practice, McGuire sprained his right ankle. But he would not leave the field until he finished the 16 110-yard sprints Servite players run daily.

“No other lineman we have finished ahead of him in any of the races,” Servite line coach Ed Drzanek said.

Drzanek admits to “a little bias” having watched McGuire develop the past two seasons. But he said McGuire is a special talent.

“His ability is beyond high school right now,” Drzanek said. “I’m coaching him from the angle of preparing him for the next year [in college].

“I doubt seriously he will face anyone with more or equal talent. Last year, he dominated anyone he blocked and I have the film to prove it.”

Drzanek recalled Servite’s nonleague game against Fontana last year, when McGuire drove his opponent on his back seven times. “I think he might have gotten his scholarship from that game,” he said.

One reason McGuire selected his college early was that he did not want recruiting to be a distraction his senior year.

“I wanted to stay in Southern California, so it was either USC or UCLA,” McGuire said. “USC seemed like they wanted me more. They sent more letters, talked to me more often, and when I went to visit the campus, they made me feel wanted more than UCLA.”

Some of McGuire’s athletic talent was inherited from his father. Joe McGuire Sr. was an excellent athlete at Katella High. He was a forward on the school’s 1972-73 basketball team that reached the Southern Section 3-A final against Los Angeles Daniel Murphy. He was also a catcher on a baseball team that reached the 1972 3-A final against Palos Verdes Rolling Hills.

But McGuire doesn’t take his genetic gifts for granted. He said he has improvements to make in pass blocking.

“Instead of letting the player come to me and reacting, I went after them and sometimes ended up in a bad position,” McGuire said. “To play at the next level I have to work on that.”