Beaver ready for Army Bowl opportunity
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Brandon Beaver called playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime and the Compton (Calif.) Dominguez cornerback doesn't plan to waste it.
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Beaver, a four-star prospect who doesn't plan to commit until National Signing Day, was presented with his Army game jersey Thursday during a ceremony at his high school. He cannot wait to get to San Antonio.
"It's the greatest honor," Beaver said. "I'm really excited because it's a national thing and I have friends and family from other states that know about it. It's a real big honor and I'm really excited about it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I can't wait to play.
"It's going to be life-changing. To play in front of all those people, and to play for a really good cause at the Army game, there is a lot of pressure on my shoulders but at the end of the day, I'm going to have fun. I'm going to be ready for it."
Playing in Southern California, Beaver routinely defends some of the nation's best wide receivers but he thinks the competition at the Army game is going to be something he's never seen before.
Rated as the No. 13 cornerback and No. 136 in the 2012 class by Rivals.com, Beaver said he cannot wait to go up against some of the nation's best receivers. He's looking forward to the opportunity to prove himself.
"I'm ready," Beaver said.
"There is going to be great competition and there is going to be very good talent. It's going to be my first taste of Division I football. I have to come out with my A-game but I'm definitely ready."
One thing Beaver isn't ready for is making his commitment. Arizona, Arizona State, Nebraska, California, USC, UCLA and Washington have emerged as the favorites but the Compton Dominguez cornerback doesn't intend to make his decision until signing day.
That means he's cautious on naming a leader but said Cal and USC have started to recruit him harder recently.
"Cal is recruiting me more and I've started conversing with USC more and there is a lot more communication with those two schools," Beaver said.
Arizona State has also stepped it up even more.
"I didn't have a lot of contact with them but now I'm talking to them a lot more," Beaver said. "Arizona State is a team on the rise, they're a young team, they win a lot of games so I think that's a really good team."
Arizona was one of the frontrunners for a while and Beaver said he's still interested in the Wildcats but wants to see who they hire as their new coach after firing Mike Stoops earlier this week. Since he has months before a decision, Beaver isn't too concerned about the timing.
"I talked to my coach and he was updating me about the situation because I was confused about how everything was going," Beaver said.
"He was telling me it's a Pac-12 school so they're always going to have a good coach there. I'm going to wait to see who they hire and hopefully I can talk to them. I hope they have the same DB coach that I'm really close with. I'm just waiting on Arizona right now."
Beaver will wait to make his college decision until February. Before that is the Army Bowl and he cannot wait for that one.
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