Big Ten school first to offer Mathis
Joe Mathis is having a strong start to his junior season and is quickly becoming a big-time name in Southern California's 2013 class. Things got even better for the Upland, Calif., defensive end in the last couple weeks when Indiana decided to offer.
It was a complete surprise to Mathis, who hadn't been hearing much from the Hoosiers, but after their coaching staff took a look at some film they decided to be first on board with an offer.
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It's definitely an exciting opportunity for Mathis, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound prospect. With five-star quarterback Gunner Kiel committed, Mathis said Indiana is under strong consideration but that it's still extremely early in his recruitment.
"They saw the highlight video I had and they offered me," Mathis said. "I was like, 'What?' I'm only a junior so I was really excited about it.
"I did some research, I watched one of their games and their program is about to blow up. They have the No. 1 (pro-style) quarterback in the nation committed to them and so that is definitely one of my options."
Arizona State and Oregon have also been showing interest in Mathis who could start getting recruited by more Pac-12 schools by the end of this season. On an Upland team that's 5-0, Mathis is definitely one of the biggest contributors on defense.
Mathis took an unofficial visit to Arizona State recently so the Sun Devils are sticking out in his recruitment and he said Oregon is sending a lot of letters so there is some interest with both programs.
Since it's still only midway through his junior season - and his recruitment is just about to take off - Mathis said he's willing to be patient with things.
"When I took my unofficial visit to ASU I liked it a lot," Mathis said. "It was one of my top schools so I like them a lot but I like Oregon, too. Those two are my top two schools. It's a little bit too early for me."