2012 New York ATH looking ahead

Mastic Beach (N.Y.) William Floyd athlete Stacey Bedell performed well at the summer camps he attended over the past couple of months and now he is entering his junior season with a much bigger spotlight than he had at this time last year.

This summer Bedell attended the NIKE Combine in Baltimore, an Under Armour combine, and one of the National Underclassmen events. He also camped at Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple and Penn State, so he didn't have nearly as much free time as most high school kids his age do. Nonetheless, he's happy he took the time to work out at all those places because he did himself plenty of good.

"I performed well at all the camps," Bedell explained. "A lot of the coaches said they'd be watching me this year."

This fall Bedell will be spending time at both safety and running back. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound athlete believes most schools will be recruiting him as a running back.

He started last year as a sophomore for William Floyd and carried the ball 106 times for 869 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Though most of his attention will be devoted to his junior season for the next few months he is starting to look ahead to the future.

"I want to try to visit a couple of colleges this fall," he said. "I'd like to go to games at Rutgers and Penn State."