First BCS offer is in for TN backer

The first BCS offer is in for linebacker David Helton. The 6-foot-3, 226-pounder pulled the scholarship on Tuesday from the Big East.

"I got the offer from Syracuse," he said. "They are a really prominent program and have brought out some really good players, Donovan McNabb, Dwight Freeney and Marvin Harrison. They've had some great players and it's a great honor.

"I know of course they had Jim Brown way back and won several national championships as well as several Big East championships."

Helton confirmed he hasn't talked to the coaches much yet, but plans to very soon.

In the meantime, Helton is in the middle of an unofficial visit tour. He recently made trips to Arkansas and Tennessee and has plans to go to Vanderbilt this weekend, Cincinnati on April 1st, Illinois on April 3rd, North Carolina on April 10th and Michigan or Virginia Tech on April 17th.

"I loved both of the campuses at Arkansas and Tennessee," he said. "I really like Arkansas. Fayetteville is a scary awesome city and I got to know their linebacker coach really well as well as my area coach. They have a great program out there and always have a huge fan base. They are one of the best in the nation it seems like. The best thing about Arkansas though was that all the people generally liked the school, they loved going there.

"For Knoxville, I was pretty knowledgeable about it since I've gone up there. I loved Coach Dooley. He's a really good guy and I liked the new staff too. They are really coming together well."

With even more visits coming up, what does Helton want to see over the next few weeks?

"I want to see the general happiness on campus," he said. "I'm going to be living there for the next four or five years of my life. I want to have a nice time when I'm there. I'll definitely look at the fanbase and academics too."

A versatile prospect, Helton is getting looks for a number of positions at the next level.

"A lot of schools are looking as an outside linebacker or defensive end," he said. "There are some looking at tight end. Honestly, I don't care where I'm playing."

Helton recently wrapped up wrestling and now heads into track season.