Aird Being Careful Not to Err
Bountiful's Ben Aird is nothing if not patient.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Aird has watched most of Utah's best high school basketball players in the Class of 2008 commit to college basketball programs -- nine, at last count -- but has refused to join the party.
"It's a big decision," he said. "I've got to get it right."
Also, Aird is still waiting for the "right" offer to come along, something he is confident will happen once college recruiters see him play basketball in November and January. As of Wednesday, Tulane, Utah Valley State College and Dixie State College had offered scholarships.
Then there's this: the big guy has suddenly drawn the attention of college football recruiters, with Weber State, UNLV and BYU among the schools starting to think that a 6-10 tight end with good feet, great hands and a sturdy frame just might be able to help them.
Aird played Little League football, but didn't play his freshman and sophomore years at Bountiful High because he wanted to focus on basketball. He played last year, and this year he has become a mainstay on the Braves' offense.
"I am going to have some options," he said. "This might surprise some people, but there's [growing] interest in my football [ability]."
As busy as football and schoolwork keeps him -- he's an honor roll student -- Aird still tries to get in the gym and shoot every day. The notion that he just hasn't improved much since he started for Bountiful as a ninth-grader is unfounded, he said.
"I'm happy with how things are going and how I've progressed."
Along with the aforementioned schools that have offered, Aird said he has talked to several others that might be close to extending an invitation. Namely, Lafayette, Lehigh, UC Riverside and Northern Arizona have expressed interest.
"Everything is good," he said. "If everything is right, I will sign [for a basketball scholarship] in November. If not, there's no reason to panic."
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The University of Utah will probably roll over San Diego State on the football field Saturday, but at least the Aztecs can say they beat the Utes at something this weekend.
Alec Johnson, an all-state center from Mullen High in the Denver, Colo., area, orally committed to San Diego State coach Chuck Long on Friday. Johnson, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, chose the Aztecs over Arizona State, Washington, Kansas, Utah and Colorado State, according to scout.com.
A source close to Utah's staff confirned that the Utes had indeed offered Johnson a scholarship over the summer.
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Skyline baseball coach Brodie Reid, busy preparing for Friday night's Skyline-Jordan football game (he's also an assistant football coach) just confirmed to The Recruiting Trail that Eagles shortstop Tyler Yagi has verbally committed to play baseball for the Utes.
Yagi was an honorable mention all-stater as a junior and a first-team all-region selection. He had a .390 batting average last spring and is currently in Arizona playing in an all-star type event with a dozen other Utahns.
Reid said Yagi drew interest from pretty much every college baseball program in Utah.
We hope to have a post early next week detailing a half-dozen or so other college baseball commitments from the state's prep ranks, including a major commitment to the hottest collegiate baseball program in the country.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Aird has watched most of Utah's best high school basketball players in the Class of 2008 commit to college basketball programs -- nine, at last count -- but has refused to join the party.
"It's a big decision," he said. "I've got to get it right."
Also, Aird is still waiting for the "right" offer to come along, something he is confident will happen once college recruiters see him play basketball in November and January. As of Wednesday, Tulane, Utah Valley State College and Dixie State College had offered scholarships.
Then there's this: the big guy has suddenly drawn the attention of college football recruiters, with Weber State, UNLV and BYU among the schools starting to think that a 6-10 tight end with good feet, great hands and a sturdy frame just might be able to help them.
Aird played Little League football, but didn't play his freshman and sophomore years at Bountiful High because he wanted to focus on basketball. He played last year, and this year he has become a mainstay on the Braves' offense.
"I am going to have some options," he said. "This might surprise some people, but there's [growing] interest in my football [ability]."
As busy as football and schoolwork keeps him -- he's an honor roll student -- Aird still tries to get in the gym and shoot every day. The notion that he just hasn't improved much since he started for Bountiful as a ninth-grader is unfounded, he said.
"I'm happy with how things are going and how I've progressed."
Along with the aforementioned schools that have offered, Aird said he has talked to several others that might be close to extending an invitation. Namely, Lafayette, Lehigh, UC Riverside and Northern Arizona have expressed interest.
"Everything is good," he said. "If everything is right, I will sign [for a basketball scholarship] in November. If not, there's no reason to panic."
----------------------
The University of Utah will probably roll over San Diego State on the football field Saturday, but at least the Aztecs can say they beat the Utes at something this weekend.
Alec Johnson, an all-state center from Mullen High in the Denver, Colo., area, orally committed to San Diego State coach Chuck Long on Friday. Johnson, 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, chose the Aztecs over Arizona State, Washington, Kansas, Utah and Colorado State, according to scout.com.
A source close to Utah's staff confirned that the Utes had indeed offered Johnson a scholarship over the summer.
--------------------------
Skyline baseball coach Brodie Reid, busy preparing for Friday night's Skyline-Jordan football game (he's also an assistant football coach) just confirmed to The Recruiting Trail that Eagles shortstop Tyler Yagi has verbally committed to play baseball for the Utes.
Yagi was an honorable mention all-stater as a junior and a first-team all-region selection. He had a .390 batting average last spring and is currently in Arizona playing in an all-star type event with a dozen other Utahns.
Reid said Yagi drew interest from pretty much every college baseball program in Utah.
We hope to have a post early next week detailing a half-dozen or so other college baseball commitments from the state's prep ranks, including a major commitment to the hottest collegiate baseball program in the country.
1 Comments:
Pick Tulane. New Orleans rocks! And they might let you play both football (in the superdome) and bball?
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