Ash continues to pick up offers

Robert Ash continues to pick up offers and remains one of the hottest names in the west as Colorado, San Diego State and Nevada have joined the growing list for the Elk Grove (Calif.) Cosumnes Oaks defensive end.

"He's soaking it all in," coach Ryan Gomes said. "I don't know if he's narrowed it down to one school by any means because he has a lot of great relationships with a lot of those coaches."

By any measure, Ash remains open in his recruitment as offers and interest continue to pour in - and many major Pac-10 programs are expected to stop by the school during the spring period. That could be when a bunch of other major offers pop up.

Colorado, San Diego State and Nevada join Boise State, Cal Poly, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State on the offer list for Ash, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound prospect who finished with 53 tackles and four sacks in his junior season.

Ash has gone on unofficial visits to Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Boise State and Cal Poly so far and there continues to be high interest from the Golden Bears, Ducks, Arizona, Arizona State and Southern Cal, many of which are expected to visit with Ash in the coming weeks. USC quarterbacks coach Clay Helton has told Gomes that the Trojans will be up to see his star defensive end.

"We've talked to him about remaining humble and being gracious about all these offers that he's getting," Gomes said.

"A lot of our other kids have aspirations to play college football as well and we will have some Division I players in the next few years. He's very open. I've been setting appointments and I expect everybody on the West Coast to come through."

Gomes said Ash plays "fast and violent" and that's exactly what the Cosumnes Oaks coaching staff wants out of their players. Ash is an outstanding leader, too, setting an example for the rest of his teammates. At this point in his recruitment, Ash seems to be listening to all programs.

"He's tenacious on the field, he has a great motor," Gomes said. "Any time you ask for a d-lineman or even an offensive lineman, you want a kid that's going to finish, that will run his feet consistently, he's a competitor, he likes to take on the challenge of the guy across from him and the team we're playing.

"He plays fast and violent. We talk to our kids about playing fast and violent and those two things really describe him."