2013 WR has big-time offers

In the fourth quarter of his team's playoff win last Friday night, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity receiver James Quick hurt his left knee and had to be helped off the field at game's end.

"I felt something pop," Quick said. "Then it tightened up."

Naturally, the talented junior feared the worst. But when he went to a doctor Saturday, the news wasn't too bad.

"I'm playing this week," Quick said. "I sprained the MCL in my knee. If I had pulled something, I might have been done. I was worried after I got hurt, but I'm fine. It was a lot of weight lifted off my back."

Right now, Quick's focus is on helping nationally ranked Trinity win a second straight state title. Meanwhile, several major college programs have taken an interest in him.

To date, the 6-feet-1, 180-pounder, who has 69 receptions for 1,206 yards and 16 touchdowns, holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Illinois, Kentucky and Louisville. Louisville, which offered when Quick was a freshman, was first to pull the trigger. The Tide was the most recent, doing so "in the middle of the season," according to Quick.

"I really didn't think I'd get an offer from Alabama this soon," Quick said. "When I did, I was excited."

Who is recruiting him the hardest?

"It seems like Louisville is," Quick said. "They want to keep all the kids in Kentucky."

Asked if he had a leader or leaders, Quick replied, "No sir, I don't have a top list yet. I'm completely open at this point."

Thus far this fall, Quick has attended games at Illinois and Louisville.

"Alabama and Auburn wanted me to come to their games, but I wasn't able to because we had football practice," Quick said. "Next year, I'll be sure to get to most of the games. [A decision] will probably come toward the end of next season."

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at kneebs01@aol.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KeithRIVALS.