Arizona DE up to 31 offers

There is a good claim that the Grand Canyon State has two of the hottest prospects on the recruiting trail. One of them is defensive end Craig Roh (6-5, 235, 4.5) from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral. The fast rising prospect now has 31 offers on the table and there is a good chance that will rise before spring evaluation is over.

Roh picked up his first offer in mid-February and it has been a steady stream of offers ever since. He is averaging three to four offers a week since that time.

The Oklahoma Sooners was ahead of the recruiting curve and were first out of the box with offer the Sooners were followed in succession by Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Missouri, Miami, Washington State, Kansas, Iowa State, Miami, Baylor, Utah, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Colorado, USC, Northwestern, Central Florida, Penn State, West Virginia, San Diego State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Michigan, LSU, Florida State, and Nebraska.

Texas and Georgia are also showing a lot of interest in Roh and offers could be forthcoming.

Roh has had a busy spring visiting schools unofficially. He visited Arizona, Stanford, USC, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Notre Dame and most recently UCLA.

These seven schools are serious considerations, but not necessarily the favorites.

"Overall, all the schools I visited are great programs, with tremendous plusses, and they are all different in their own way," Roh said. "Arizona was my first visit that I took and we went to their Junior Day.

"I've always liked U of A and I think they will turn the corner in their program this year," Roh said. "I was really impressed with the things they are doing in their strength and conditioning program, how they are reducing injuries.

"Stanford has a great campus, weather (cooler than Arizona in the summer) architecture and academics," Roh said. "I spent time with professors who are really supportive of the football program. I actually attended a class with the professor who is on the history channel and spent time with D.J. Durkin, the defensive end coach and went over tape. I spent time one-on-one with Coach Jim Harbaugh also.

"Seems like they really know what they are doing and I think they will build the program into a Pac 10 contender," Roh said. "I like great academics and you can get it at Stanford.

"We drove over to USC to watch a Sunday practice," Roh said. "This was the most energetic practice I've ever seen.

"Pete Carroll is so positive and looks he like a player's coach.

"I spent about 45 minutes in Coach Carroll's office with Coach Carroll and the d-line coach, Nick Holt. He's really easy to talk to.

"During practice he (Holt) yelled at me on the sidelines to come in a play defensive end. I was shocked.

"The locker room and the practice is so high energy. Very cool campus. Obviously, great program that plays for the national championship most every year.

"Oklahoma is a first class program," Roh said. "My main impression was how nice the fans are and the people in Oklahoma. I came in the day before junior day and also went to junior day.

"Their trophy room and statutes of Heisman winners were awesome. Talked a lot with Bob Stoops, he is a real down to earth guy, easy to talk to. The history is amazing.

"I went down after school to see a practice at Arizona State," Roh said. "Even though I've been to ASU many times, I really was impressed with the campus tour.

"Great looking girls at ASU and obviously they are a program on the rise. I will be going back down to spend more time with Coach Dennis Erickson and the d-line coach.

"You really feel the history at Notre Dame," Roh said. "I came in the day before the Blue/Gold game and got the personal tour.

"They took me into the locker room and stood at the top of the stairs, they told me to go down and touch the "Play like a champion" sign. My knees wobbled. It was great.

"The next day before the game was crazy," Roh said. "Other recruits came in, the fans are nuts. We were signing autographs, taking pictures with fans. We were like celebrities. Spent time with all the coaches and they look like they can really teach you how to play the game."

"My dad and I went to a UCLA practice and it was great energy," Roh said. "The campus is amazing and in a great part of LA.

"It looks like UCLA has put together a great coaching staff. I got the personal campus tour by Coach Rick Neuheisel.

"He (Neuheisel) is really easy to talk to but runs a tough practice. He is very positive.

"There is so much NFL experience on their coaching staff. I think you can really learn how to play the game at UCLA."

Roh earned first-team all-state, first-team all-area and first-team all-region after racking up 99 tackles, 45 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks and five fumble recoveries.

His current bench is 300-pounds and he has recorded a 33-inch vertical jump.