Gulley out with several early offers

Akron (Ohio) Garfield head coach Bob Sax fielded a team heavy with senior talent last year, but the player who ended up getting a bulk of the headlines was junior running back Tyson Gulley. The 5-9, 175-pound Gulley has attracted college interest and several offers after his junior year performance.

"He's got Toledo, Akron, Ball State, Akron and Kansas," Coach Bob Sax said. "He's gotten a lot of mail from Alabama, Illinois, Ohio State sends stuff. He's gotten mail from just about everyone.

"Like any kid, he wants to go to the biggest, best school that offers him, but he's really highly interested in Cincinnati and Ohio State, of course."

The coaching staff at Ohio State has invited Gulley in for their senior camp in June. Cincinnati, meanwhile, showed considerable early interest before a coaching change slowed the communication.

"Cincinnati is a real high interest," Coach Sax noted. "The recruiter that had our area, I've got a pretty good relationship with him, but he's down at South Florida now. I just got in contact about two weeks ago with the new recruiter that has our school and sent him a bunch of stuff. I'm guessing come May when those guys get back out again that they'll probably offer him."

Gulley filled up the stat sheet as a junior, rushing 173 times for 1,376 yards and 18 touchdowns and returning two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns.

"He's an amazing, amazing player," Coach Sax said. "He's one of those guys who makes everyone around him better. He's a competitor and he wills the team to win. There's no quit in him.

"He's got great speed, he's really quick and he can lower his shoulder and get the tough yards too. The biggest thing is he's just really quick on the field and he's got the long range speed. We didn't throw the ball much this year, but he's got great hands too and he can play in the slot."

His size and speed could afford Gulley the opportunity to compete at several positions when he reaches the college level. While running back is his primary position, Coach Sax feels he may fit better at other positions depending on the school he decides to attend.

"At the next level I think he could play running back at certain places," Coach Sax said. "I could see him in the slot and he's a great corner too. We didn't have to play him much this year on defense because we had a real good senior class. He's an excellent punt returner – he took a couple of them back this year – and kick returner."