Four-star athlete narrows things down

Four-star athlete prospect Hayes Pullard (6-2, 220, 4.5) from Los Angeles (Calif.) Crenshaw has been a known commodity since freshman season. Now going into his senior season the two-way standout has 11 offers on the table and he is beginning to narrow his list of college choice down.

Pullard has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Nebraska, Notre Dame and New Mexico State.

"I've narrowed my schools down to a top seven," Pullard said. "They are Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, USC, Washington, Notre Dame and Florida."

The only school out of Pullard's top seven that hasn't offered him as of yet is Florida and the reason for that is they haven't seen enough tape. It is a good bet that once the Gator staff sees Pullard in action that they will follow suit.

What is it about these seven schools that have grabbed Pullard's attention?

"UCLA and USC are in my backyard," Pullard said. "I grew up watching them my whole life. They're close to home and I'm familiar with both schools and their programs.

"Regarding Arizona and Arizona State," Pullard said. "I was researching them on the web and they seem to have good programs, both academically and athletically, plus Arizona and Arizona State recruits players that are not afraid of USC.

"With Washington, I have a great vibe about them," Pullard said. "I like (Washington assistant coach) Demetrice Martin and Washington has a great graduation rate for their athletes. Washington is looking for athletes like me that can help them become the cream of the crop.

"I was talking to my friend (Notre Dame bound receiver) Shaquelle Evans and he was telling me when he arrived in town, he saw his name all over the place," Pullard said. "That made Shaq feel real good, and proved they love football and their players, but more importantly Notre Dame has graduation rate of 94 percent for their players.

"Florida was like UCLA and USC," Pullard said. "I liked them growing up. When I was growing up, the Gators were beating everybody. The Gators were the first team that I saw win the national championship in both football and basketball in the same year."

Even though Pullard is getting his schools down to a reasonable number, that doesn't mean, he's going to commit anytime soon.

"I will be a late commit," Pullard said. "I don't see myself committing until late January or early February."

Pullard earned all-city, all-league and City Junior Player of the year award after accounting for 110 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception. As a running back, Pullard rushed for 900-plus yards and scored 11 touchdowns.

In the weight room, Pullard's current bench is 285, squats 400 and his vertical is 36-inches. He is also very good in the classroom with his 3.4 GPA and 1200 SAT.