Dutra motivated by lack of offers

Brownsburg, Ind., athlete Chase Dutra had several impressive off-season camp performances, and brought his game to several college camps during the summer. Yet, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound two-way prospect holds just one FBS offer to date.

"Obviously it is aggravating, but it just makes me push myself harder in the weight room and in the off-season," Dutra said.

Dutra has heard from most of the college programs in the Midwest and several from outside his region. He has attended camps when asked, but only Western Michigan has responded with an offer.

"I have the Western Michigan offer and if that's all I get, that's perfectly fine by me," Dutra said. "If I end up committed to Western Michigan, it will make me push harder to prove those teams wrong."

The Broncos extended Dutra a scholarship offer in the spring, and the three-star athlete has grown fond of their program and coaching staff since.

"I like them and obviously they were my first offer. That is a big statement when it comes to the recruiting process," Dutra said. "Coach [Amp] Campbell has a lot of knowledge, so it would be great to work with him. Coach [Lou] Esposito, Coach [Rich] Nagy… they are a cool staff and they are a team on the rise I feel."

The in-state Indiana Hoosiers are a team that is still showing interest in Dutra, and he made an unofficial visit to Bloomington last week.

"They are one of the few schools that are still showing interest," Dutra said. "I made a trip down, watched practice and talked to the coaches. They said they want to keep watching me and getting more in-depth. In this recruiting class they are looking for kids who can play, but who are good kids as well who aren't going to get in trouble and can better the team on the field as well as off the field.

"It's good news, but then again it is a waiting process."

At Indiana's camp this summer, Dutra worked out at both wide receiver and defensive back and drew interest from coaches on both sides of the football so the Hoosiers classify him as an athlete prospect at this time.

Beyond Western Michigan and Indiana, Dutra also holds an offer from FCS program Indiana State. Other teams are still hanging around on the fringes of his recruitment.

"It's really slimmed down over the summer," Dutra said. "It is pretty much IU, Western Michigan and Indiana State.

"I just got word that the university of South Florida is heavily interested, so that's a new one. I'm not sure what's going on there yet. Purdue I'm guessing still wants to see a little more of the senior highlight film. Then there are MAC schools like Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green and Toledo."