Bass heads new direction

Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College three-star offensive lineman Jamar Bass was slated to be at Illinois in the spring semester. He even signed with the mid-term junior college prospects.

However, the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder didn't meet all of his academic requirements and is now heading a different direction.

"He's going to sign with USF on Wednesday," Hutch coach Rion Rhoades said. "He was intending to enroll at Illinois last month, but he ran into some complications. He had some academic issues that didn't allow him to get in at Illinois.

"So now he's going to USF."

South Florida had always been a factor for the nation's No. 62 junior college player. Bass visited the Bulls back in mid-December, and he's originally from Florida.

He was clocked at 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard dash this past spring and reeled in offers from programs like UAB, South Florida, Florida International, Troy, Middle Tennessee and Illinois before picking the Illini originally on Jan. 1.

"You just don't see guys that are that big that can move like he does," Rhoades said.

"We signed him at Fort Scott, and he redshirted for us there. Then when we left, he left and went to Northwest Mississippi. He's been around a little bit, but in that time since I first met Jamar, he's grown up. He's a kid that whoever gets him is going to be real fortunate. He's going to be a great player, and he's a good kid."