DB Figueroa Picks Up Interest

Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central Joseph Figueroa is starting to gain interest from a handful of FBS schools and isn't letting the lack of BCS notice detract him from his goal. The productive defensive back picked up recent offers from Marshall and Western Michigan last week.

The Broncos were one of the many schools that saw him last spring, but didn't offer because they thought he would be hearing from some bigger schools.

Figueroa said, "When Western Michigan came by to my practice in the spring, Boise State was here, so they held off offering because they figured they didn't have a chance."

The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder took unofficial visits to Memphis and Temple this summer, but hasn't been to a college campus since.

It looks like that is changing as he is making plans to visit the Thundering Herd on November 3 when they play Memphis. He is planning a trip to Bowling Green sometime in December and is working on a date.

Northern Illinois and Western Kentucky are heavily recruiting him in and he plans to take official visits to both programs in addition to the aforementioned schools.

One date he has circled is his trip to Huntington, West Virginia when Marshall takes on Memphis. The Tigers offered this fall, but decided to back off. Figueroa points out, "I'm looking forward to going up there and show them that Marshall sees something in me that they didn't and they really want me."

Last fall, he registered 92 tackles, 8 interceptions while returning three for scores, and two punt return schools en route to making the Class 7A all-state team. This year, he has already collected 42 tackles to go with two forced fumbles and two interceptions through five games.

He doesn't have a time frame on his decision and doesn't want to rule out any new suitors. The hard-hitting safety echoed this sentiment, "The school that gets me is getting a tough player that is going to work hard. I've had a few college coaches tell me that my height will hold me back. If was 6-1, I would have 20 offers. I can't worry about that. I will do whatever it takes to succeed at the next level."