Carlisle to keep options open
Even though he showed up a little late to the Palo Alto NIKE Camp, Amir Carlisle jumped right into the drills and was having fun, making incredibly fast moves to get by the linebackers during one-on-ones and proving himself as one of the West Coast's top running backs.
Carlisle, a Rivals 250 to watch member from Sunnyvale (Calif.) Kings Academy, has been committed to Stanford since late June and he remains solid to the Cardinal but more teams have gotten involved and Carlisle is walking the fine line of staying true to his pledge and listening to other programs.
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"I'm still solid to Stanford but out there is Cal, USC, UCLA and Alabama," said Carlisle, whose father, Duane, is the strength and conditioning coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. "I've been talking to them so that's probably my top five right now."
Stanford has two other running backs committed in Lodi, Calif., prospect Jordan Perkins and Kelsey Young from Norco, Calif., and even though Perkins won the running back MVP award at the Palo Alto NIKE Camp, Carlisle could have the most upside in that bunch.
He's so fast and has such outstanding moves that linebackers had a tough time even getting close to him Sunday on the Stanford practice fields.
But will he end up playing for the Cardinal?
"Right now I'm solid but I'm keeping my options open," Carlisle said. "I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket so I'm looking around to see what each school has to offer, I'm getting to know the coaching staff so that's how it is right now."
Coach Jim Harbaugh's future could play a big role in Carlisle's decision. If Harbaugh were to leave Stanford then the northern California prospect might be more likely to look elsewhere. If Harbaugh sticks with the Cardinal, chances are good Carlisle will stay committed.
But it doesn't look like Stanford is done recruiting running backs, either, because South Jordon (Utah) Bingham prospect Harvey Langi said Sunday the Cardinal have jumped to the top of his list after an unofficial visit this weekend.
He also said Stanford is recruiting him to play running back. UCLA and BYU are also high on Langi's list.