Dye content with offers

With his father and older brother having already experienced the ups and downs of the recruiting process, Troy Dye has the support to remain patient.

The three-star safety from Norco, Calif., is up to five scholarship offers and other programs appear to be on the prowl as well, stopping by his school during the spring evaluation period. Wisconsin assistant Dave Aranda dropped by last week and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Dye expects the Badgers to get more involved after he sends in his academic transcripts for further inspection.

Colorado, Colorado State, Nevada, Oregon State and Washington State have offered, and Duke could be on the verge to join the chase, too.

"Right now it's kind of slow, but I'm not going to complain about it because it's going to come either way," Dye said. "I'm just happy to have the opportunity to play football at a few places. Some schools see me as a linebacker, some see me as a safety -- I'll do whatever to get on the field. I just want to play, to be honest.

"I'm going with the flow. If schools come in to talk to me, they come in and talk. If they don't, it's not going to bring me down. I'm just going to live life and I've got the offers I have now, so I'd just go off those."

Dye's brother, Tony, played safety at UCLA a few years ago and his father, Mark, played football at San Jose State and professional baseball with the Houston Astros. Those two are the reason why the younger Dye is confident he'll be able to make the best decision down the road.

"My brother has helped me out a lot, actually," Dye said. "He's been through the process. My dad helps me out a lot, too, because he went through this in high school. Having people with me is a great thing because they help me weed through some of the stuff coaches say. It's helping me pick out the right school for me."

Though Dye sounds very nonchalant about the process, he's quite enthusiastic about some of the options that he has on the table. Of the five offers,

"Nevada, Colorado and Oregon State seem like they have a great environments," Dye said. "Colorado was my first offer and I fell in love with them right away. It's a beautiful place up there. The same is true with Oregon State, where the coaches are really welcoming. I just love how it's a small town and everybody rallies around the school. I'm from Norco and it's a small town, so that's something that is great about these schools.

"Every school is playing big games regardless, so for me conferences don't really matter. It doesn't matter whether I go to a big school or a small school. It's a free education and I'm there to get my degree. After football, that's all you have."

Dye was credited with 106 total tackles as a junior last season.