A beast from the east is open to the west

There is no doubt that offensive guard Khalil Wilkes (6-3, 285, 5.0) from Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep is a true beast from the east who is very open to the west.

Wilkes has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, UConn, Rutgers, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

There is a rumor going around that UCLA is about to join the fray and tender an offer. It is always tough for a young man from one side of the country to attend school on the other side, but Wilkes thus far appears open to the prospect of attending school and continuing his football career on the west coast.

"It is going to come down to where I feel comfortable," Wilkes said. "It could be at Rutgers here in New Jersey or a school on the west coast like UCLA or Stanford.

"I'm looking for a school with great academics, a good environment and tradition," Wilkes said. "There are a lot of schools on the west coast that have those qualities.

"I'm not going to turn out any west coast schools because there location is far from home," Wilkes said. "I am very open and interested in all schools.

"I'm definitely going to take an unofficial visit to Stanford and if UCLA offers me I'll go down there when I'm on the west coast.

"I'm beginning to narrow my schools down," Wilkes said. "I would like to have that done before school lets out on June 3rd so that is coming up quickly. I would like to make my college decision before my senior year so I can concentrate fully on the season."

On the gridiron, Wilkes earned first-team all-state, first-team all-group, first-team all-parochial, all-county and earned County Lineman of the Year.

The scouting report on Wilkes is he's very athletic, competitive and has great footwork. He's also a very intelligent football player and has a high knowledge for the game. Another thing to like about Wilkes is he has that nasty attitude that you love in an offensive lineman, but he's a gentleman off the field.

Wilkes is an outstanding student who carries a 3.5 GPA and has scored 1520 SAT, but his competitive nature has propelled him to take the test again.