Grady working on a top five

Seffner (Fla.) Armwood athlete Joshua Grady has led his team to an 8-0 start on the season as a quarterback. He continued his strong senior campaign scoring four touchdowns on Friday night. Through the air, he was 6-for-6 for 205 yards.

Due to his size, 6-foot-1, 192-pounds, Grady hears the questions on whether he plays quarterback in college or moves to another position, possibly wide receiver or safety. At this point, he is pretty steadfast in playing under center.

"Personally, right now I honestly think I can play quarterback at the next level," Grady said. "I see guys, for example (Thursday) night, (N.C. State's) Russell Wilson is the same type of quarterback and he is doing big things at the next level. So right now it is up in the air, but I really do I have the ability to play quarterback at the next level."

With numerous offers in hand, Grady has narrowed his list to just a handful of schools.

"Right now I have narrowed it down to about a top five," Grady said. "It is Iowa State, Wake Forest, USF, Syracuse, and there are one or two others that will sneak in there. I really like Iowa. I really like West Virginia but I haven't been offered by them, but I still like them a lot. Right now those are my top five or six teams."

With regards to his future position, all of those favorites want him as a signal-caller but one.

"The only one that doesn't want me as a quarterback is USF," Grady said. "But since they are the hometown team and me and Coach (Skip) Holtz have a good relationship, so that is definitely one of the reasons they are amongst my top schools even though they don't want me as a quarterback."

With Armwood focused on earning another state championship, Grady said his official visits will have to wait. He does intend to ake all five and knows a few likely destinations.

"I know that I will take a visit to Syracuse and Wake Forest for sure, but I don't know when. I think I will also take one to Iowa State," Grady said. "The majority of them will probably come after the season. Hopefully we will have a long season so that might be in January."

Amongst his current list of favorites, one schools is recruiting him more aggressively than any other and pitching early playing time.

"The school that has talked to me the most is probably Syracuse about their early playing time situation," Grady said. "They really want me on the offensive side of the ball, primarily at quarterback. I am not sure what year their quarterback is in, but I know that when he leaves it would pretty much be my job to lose."

While the promise of early playing time is appealing for the three-star athlete, he believes that no matter where he ends up it is his job to lose.

"I feel that way despite what college it is I go to," Grady added. "To me I just feel I can out-compete, out-work any quarterback despite what year they are in."

With his primary focus on the field, Grady said a decision will likely come very late in the process. At this point, he claims no leader.

"USF was a leader at one point, Wake Forest was a leader at one point, but right now everything is just up in the air," Grady said. "It fluctuates weekly."

Grady is fully qualified, having earned a more than satisfactory SAT score.