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Proviso West's Kyle Prater, who has been elevated to the No. 4 ranking in the nation in Rivals' evaluations and is arguably one of the two or three leading wide receivers in the country, continues to waver on his college choice.
"I'm still trying to see what feels comfortable yet," Prater told me earlier this week. "It is more difficult than I thought it would be to make my decision. I want to make sure I won't have any regrets. I want to make some official visits so I probably will wait until after the season."
Even though Prater's close friend, Proviso East safety Corey Cooper, who long ago committed to Illinois, has publicly stated that he believes Prater will join him in Champaign, Prater isn't ready to announce his choice.
He has 40 scholarship offers. He said he has narrowed his list to six--Alabama, USC, Oklahoma, Illinois, Tennessee and Notre Dame. He plans to visit Tennessee on Aug. 1 and might visit Alabama before the season begins.
Prater knows what he is looking for. All of the six finalists are passing teams that have a reputation for developing talented wide receivers and have sent some to the NFL in recent years. Alabama's Julio Jones, Illinois' Arrelious Benn, USC's Damian Williams and Notre Dame's Golden Tate are among the best in the nation this season.
"I want to go to a school that is throwing the ball," he said. "I want to look at the offense and the wide receivers and see how they have developed wide receivers for the NFL."
Recruiting coordinator Randy Taylor of Chicago-based National Collegiate Scouting Association rated Prater as the No. 17 player in the nation. He believes there is no question that Prater can play as a freshman.
"He has a huge upside," Taylor said. "He hasn't gotten as big or as strong as he can be, which will make him faster. He will be a monster in a couple of years."
In the meantime, however, the 6-5, 205-pounder with 4.48 speed is working out with his high school team, attending 7-on-7 camps and working out with the strength and speed coaches.
"Right now I'm focusing on my team and trying to get better," Prater said. "Then I want to plan for official visits. I want to see the campus atmosphere and get a feel for it when I attend games. I will be the total package this season. When I go to camps, I want to compete and see how I match up against others."
Prater may not end up at Oklahoma. But he admits his visit to the Norman campus "was one of the visits that stuck out in my mind."
"I had heard so much about the school," Prater said. "It was a great environment, meeting the players and coach (Bob) Stoops. There was so much crimson red at the spring game. It was cool."
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Illinois is one of the fast rising programs in the country!! with a commitment from a player like prater, I think others would want to follow. Come on home big fella!!
"Illinois is one of the fast rising programs in the country" Now that is funny!!
Tony,
It is great to see someone having some passion for their team. I do believe that coach zook has the illini heading in the right direction. However, that being said I do not believe that they are an "Elite" program nor will they be for any time in the near future. I will not go as far as brian and make fun of your comments/feelings. One can only guess who brian roots for ?????? It is a Huge decision for a young man to select a university to attend. Everyone is throwing the "Kitchen" sink at you and some even promising you the "Universe" just to get you there. My advise to Kyle would be to surround yourself with Good People and gather whatever info. you can then sit down and "Carefully" sift the info. obtained and then and only then make your decision. Good Luck to all the young men making these lifetime decisions. Select the university for Academics as well as football. Be as Good in the classroom as you are on the field. A solid citizen is as valuable or maybe more so the a good football player.
Didn't sound like Tony gave anything but a good opinion. He didn't mention Elite just said they were on the rise. I would have to agree with him considering where we had been. Even last year was head and shoulders better than all but one season since 2003..
As long as Ron Zook is the coach, Illinois football will never be better than average. While a great recruiter, he still has a long way to go to be a great head coach. It would be a great get for Illinois if they do land this young man, he needs to make sure he takes into everything into consideration before making his decision. Ideally he can make that decision before his senior year, so he can just concentrate on keeping his grades up and enjoying his last year in high school. Tony, you hit it right on the head.
come on prater join the crimson tide and win a championship. illinios will never seen one
Come to Notre Dame man
IT WILL COME DOWN TO HOW TRUE FRIENDS THESE TWO REALLY ARE, BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE ONE WILL PLAY DEFENSE AND THE OTHER ONE CAN REALLY SHINE ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL, I'VE ALWAYS SAID IF YOU LIVE IN ILLINOIS, CHANCES ARE YOU WILL WORK IN ILLINOIS, WITH THE NETWORK ILLINOIS HAS, IT WOULD REALLY MAKE SENSE TO SHINE IN CHAMPAIGN, COACH ZOOK KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, TUSCULOOSA IS 11 HOURS AWAY, AND NOTRE DAME ISN'T THE ANSWER, GO WITH YOUR LIFE LONG FRIEND AND MAKE HISTORY!
SEE YOU GUYS AT THE ROSE BOWL, PLAYING FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, YOUR STATE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!
Boomer Sooner!
Andy Staples, of SI has a nice article about Prater this morning. Evidently he has dropped ND from his list. According to the article Prater plans on enrolling for the winter semester so that he will be able to practice next spring.
WHEN YOU WANT PLAYING TIME AS A FRESHMAN THAT IS WHAT YOU DO YOU GRADUATE A SEMESTER EARLY AND GET YOURSELF ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUS OF YOUR CHOICE SO YOU CAN PLAY SPRING BALL!
LETS FACE FACTS MANY OF THESE GUYS ONLY PLAY 3 YEARS ANYWAY SO IT'S BETTER TO GET IN THE MIX EARLY!
THIS YOUNG MAN HAS PRO WRITTEN ALL OVER HIM!