Berthelot will decide soon

St. Petersburg safety Steve Berthelot attended the NIKE camp in Miami without much ballyhoo. However, after having a solid NIKE camp and a solid spring, he picked up his first major offer and is now closing in on a decision.

"Iowa State is way out in front right now," Berthelot said. "I am also looking at Ohio, South Florida and Purdue because they are sending me handwritten mail and showing a lot of interest. Iowa State has offered and they are recruiting me extremely hard."

The 6-foot-0, 184-pound Berthelot attended the Miami NIKE camp where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds, ran the shuttle in 4.5 seconds and posted a 33-inch vertical jump.

"I've been talking to Iowa State a lot," Berthelot said. "I'll call them up and ask them questions and they are always willing to talk. I have done a lot of research on the program and the school and it sounds like it would be a great place for me to go to school. I would say that right now there is a 70-percent chance that I will end up at Iowa State."

The decision to commit to the Cyclones appears like it is going to come sooner rather than later.

"My coach told me that if I don't get any new offers here soon that I should go ahead and commit to Iowa State," Berthelot said. "We talked about it and I will probably be committed to them by the second game of the season."

Berthelot plays quarterback and safety for his high school team, but his college future is at defensive back.

"The biggest factor in my decision is academics," Berthelot said. "I want to go to a school that has a good business school. I also want to play for a program that is going to win a lot of games in the time that I am there and Iowa State does that. They almost won the Big 12 North last year and this year they may do it."