The spotlight is gone.

So are 11 players who earned Division I scholarships, recognition in national polls, and a win in the state's first bowl game.

But as the Oaks Christian football team moves toward The Year After — the season following two nationally televised games, a steady stream of visits from national media outlets and crowds that prompted the school to hire private security guards to manage the crush of both fans and media — there are a couple of things that remain, and one thing that's returned after a bit of hiatus.

Still around: Talent and expectations.

Back by popular demand: Competition for playing time.

Neither the talent pool nor the expectation of success are quite at the level of recent seasons, when Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler topped national recruiting lists and led that long list of major college recruits. Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell said throughout their stay the collection of 11 Division I players in a single class was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and there's no reason to believe otherwise.

But the cupboard will hardly be bare as the Lions carry a 46-game win streak into the 2007 season. If fewer people are paying attention, and the expectations aren't quite so outsized, well, that's mostly cause for relief, not disappointment.

"From the standpoint of the attention, it's already diminished a lot," Redell said last week as the Lions wrapped up their summer workout schedule. "It's come down to a more normal high school program, rather than the mass media attention we were receiving. It's been more relaxing for me in the offseason than it has been in the past."

Says Christopher Potter, a candidate to become Clausen's successor at quarterback: "What happened last year, with all the TV crews and news reporters, was really phenomenal, and really not likely for most high schools teams. It's definitely something this year that you could say is a weight off the shoulders, but at the same time, something to strive for. We're excited to keep living the legacy the other guys set, and hopefully that stuff can come back some day."

While the camera-and-notebook set has moved on to other faces in other places, it's likely a lot of college recruiters still have Redell's number in their speed dialer.

Potter (Boise State), Chris Owusu (Stanford),and Trace Biskin (Arizona) have already committed to scholarships. Redell estimates he has another seven Division I-caliber players in the program, although several are underclassmen who still have to live up to that potential.

In the meantime, Redell is working with a team he believes is still stocked with plenty of good high school players. As an example, he points to the offensive line, which he says has 10 candidates to start.

"We're not going to have five Division I guys in our line like we did last year," he said, "but we'll have a very good high school line."

There and elsewhere, Oaks Christian's summer workouts and 7-on-7 season developed into a spirited competition for starting jobs, a competition which will carry into the fall.

"Last year, we pretty much knew who was going to be the starting group," said Redell. " Of the 22 positions, we knew who 20 or 21 of them were going to be."

It's most definitely not that way now, with all those linemen to sort through, a new quarterback to select, and other positions to be won.

In the case of Potter, the question isn't so much if he'll be starting, but where. His scholarship to Boise State is as a receiver, a position where he excelled last season. But he was also Clausen's backup quarterback, and could well be the new starter at that spot.

"It's a big change," he said, "but I'm willing to do it if that's what the team needs me to do."

The competition for jobs has energized the Oaks players throughout the summer.

"I've enjoyed this year (more than) any other year I've played here," says the 6-foot-7, 275-pound Biskin, "because it's so competitive. Non-stop, we're fighting to beat the person in front of us, and constantly battling for a starting position, and we're having a lot of fun."

Said Owusu: "It's definitely helping our practice be more fun, because there's a lot more people competing against each other, unlike last year, when we had some of those great D-I players going against people who were not as good as them. This year, it's different. We have that competitive edge."

None of this is particularly good news for those prep fans more than a little tired of hearing about Oaks Christian, hoping the team might fade away with the graduation of its talented senior class. But those fans do have reason to believe the Lions might be more vulnerable than they have been for, well, 46 games. And that belief fuels the players as much as the competition.

"I think everyone's not really expecting us to do as well as the last couple years," said Potter. " I'm looking forward to people thinking that, and coming out in the games and surprising and shocking a lot of people."

Biskin puts the team's own expectations in even stronger terms.

"We do have things to prove, but as fall comes around, people will see that we're still a national powerhouse."

Given what Oaks Christian has already done, why not dream big dreams?

— Contact columnist David Lassen at dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com.