Friday, May. 16, 2008
Area Athletes Vying for College Attention
Recruiting Journal
By Kevin Lonnquist
Staff Writer
They have come from Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Others could soon join the bidding, such as Penn State, Missouri, Purdue and Stanford. Burnett said he has had serious discussions with those schools.
Burnett (6-3, 240) is quickly turning into a top area recruit. Each school is recruiting him as a defensive end.
He has already taken unofficial visits to Penn State and Vanderbilt and said he plans to visit the other schools this summer. Burnett said he would definitely like to make a commitment this summer.
"I’d like to have it out of the way before the football season," Burnett said. "But I also want to take my time and make sure I make the best decision possible."
Flower Mound Picks Up
Jaguars senior wide receiver Collin Ashley, one of the fastest players in North Texas, received his first offer from Wake Forest, coach Cody Vanderford said.
Vanderford said he believes BYU and Kansas may also be close to also offering. Ashley is making the conversion from defensive back to wide receiver this year.
Fellow wide receiver James Kelly, tight end Craig Wenrick and safety Michael Williams are the other Division I possibilities at Flower Mound High School. However, Vanderford said he believes that if neither receive an offer this summer, they probably should start receiving offers until the fall.
"And there’s nothing wrong with that," Vanderford said. "I think with all of those guys, people may want to see them perform a little in the fall to make sure they know what they are evaluating. But these guys are very capable."
Grapevine Fairly Silent
Unlike last year, when the Mustangs had several players sign with schools from all levels, this spring evaluation period could be a little quiet because there was so much turnover on the roster.
Coach Gary Mullins said his two top prospects are place-kicker/punter J.D. James and defensive back Trevor Noel. It may be a little too early for either of these two to receive an offer. However, their plan this summer is to participate in several summer college camps and combines, Mullins said.
James was the backup to Bryan Houk but still averaged about 37 yards per punt. Mullins said James is scheduled to attend the Texas A&M camp next month.
"I really think these guys are going to get better as the spring goes along, and that should get more attention for them," Mullins said. "The good news is that we are getting a lot of traffic through here."
Mullins is conducting his spring season a little differently. He is using the athletics period rather than holding workouts after school.
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