Andrews gets another look at U of A

Mark Andrews is 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds. The Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain wide receiver looks to be few bench press reps short of a tight end. He's thick, he's tall, he's physical. That's all to say wowing him in the weight room isn't easy. If he hasn't done it all in there, he's certainly seen it.

That's what makes his reaction to Arizona's junior day so surprising. There was plenty to see at the event and even more to process. What jumped out to him, though, was the Wildcats' work on the weights. Even Andrews, an absolute tower of a player, had to take a step back when observing.

"That weight room was extremely intense," Andrews said. "The conditioning and weight, strength guys were very, very good. They were intense. I was very impressed by that. I was very impressed by them."

The visit was more than bunch of clanging weights. It wasn't his first stroll around the Tucson-based campus. He had a handful of trips to U of A under his belt before Saturday. It was, however, the most comprehensive.

"We started off tailgating a little bit," Andrews said. "We got to talk to the coaches. They showed us around. That was fun. We took a tour of the campus and see all of that. Then, they just showed us the players and what drills they do and how hard they work."

Andrews, a four-star prospect, describes the event as a whole as "really good." That kind of statement is tired and, at this point, means little to a recruiting story. It's all that can be expected from a player determined to take things slowly, though. It's not that he doesn't want to tip his hand. It's just that there's currently no hand to tip.

Not yet, anyway.

"I don't have any favorites at all," Andrews said. "U of A and Arizona State have both been recruiting me very hard. Both in-state schools are going hard. They're home and in-state, and it's nice that they are home.

Future plans for Andrews include unofficial visits to Oklahoma and Notre Dame this spring, but he hasn't finalized dates for those as of now. He currently holds 14 scholarship offers and projects as one of the top players in the state of Arizona of 2014.

Andrews has a pair of brothers that attended Arizona as non-athletes but says that won't figure heavily into his decision.

"I'm just going to go where I feel I fit," he said.