2012 DL getting recruited in two sports

Two-way and two-sport standout for the class of 2012, Arik Armstead (6-7, 265) from Oak Grove (Calif.) Pleasant Grove is already getting recruiting action for two sports and already has an offer for his performance on the gridiron.

Armstead already has an offer for UCLA to play football while USC, Stanford, Cal, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Miami, Texas and Oklahoma all have him on their recruiting radar machine.

For Armstead's basketball exploits he is getting recruiting attention from Cal, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford, UNLV, Washington State, UCLA and Washington.

"I didn't play basketball this year due to an injury," Armstead, who's father Guss trains numerous NBA players, said. "But I have big plans for my junior year on the court. I'm going to work hard with my dad on my game, just like I did last summer.

"I thought this past year with football I learned a lot out there. That's why I'm real excited about next year, you know, getting a chance to prove myself even more. I'd say right now I prefer defense to offense, but I'm not against either one. I just like to play.

Does Armstead prefer one sport over another?

"No, I don't prefer football more than basketball, or the other way around," Armstead said. "I want to play both in college.

"Tony Gonzalez, Teyo Johnson, Nate Robinson, you know, all those guys are some of the guys I know who did it and did it real well. At some point, you have to choose which sport but I'd like to play both for as long as I can.

"In football, UCLA is on top because they've offered me already," Armstead said. "I like them; I like the staff too. I also like USC, Oklahoma, Miami, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Texas, Oregon State and Arizona State. With basketball, I've met the coaches up at Cal, and I'm being recruited by them, plus UCSB, Stanford, UNLV, Washington State, UCLA and Washington.

"I did get a chance to meet with Randy Shannon, the Miami head coach, a few weeks back. He was in town recruiting another player, and I happened to be there. So it was pretty cool to meet them. They had a player this past year that played basketball and played football at Miami."

On the gridiron, Armstead racked up 39 tackles, four pass deflects, two sacks and one fumble recovery.