Hoosiers lead for Cincinnati receiver

Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder wide receiver Tim O'Conner has been receiving a lot of attention from schools across the Midwest, but the Indiana Hoosiers were the first to come through with an offer. That show of confidence has the Hoosiers leading the way for the 6-4, 190-pound receiver's services.

"They are at the top of my list," O'Conner said. "It's pretty big that they were the first to offer me. I've had a lot of schools telling me they want me to come to camp and earn a scholarship, so that with Indiana I didn't have to come to camp was pretty big for me.

"Nobody else has officially offered me. I'm hearing a lot from UConn lately. UC has always been there and they've been talking to me pretty consistently from the beginning."

Among the other schools that are showing consistent interest are Michigan State, Northwestern, Bowling Green, Akron, Kent State, Toledo and Central Michigan. The offer from Indiana, though, made a big impression on O'Conner.

"It came through about two weeks ago and I got it in the mail about a week after that," O'Conner said. "Coach (Mike) Yeager emailed me and told me to give him a call, so I called him that night. He was telling me how much they liked my tape and how much they want me. He said I can do it all and that was the biggest thing. I can go across the middle and run the deep routes."

The Hoosiers solidified their position at the top of O'Conner's list after the Cincinnati native made an unofficial visit to Bloomington to see a spring practice this past Friday.

"I thought it was great and was probably my best visit so far," O'Conner said. "I got to see a bunch of different stuff and the coaches were great. It sounded like they really want me."

O'Conner has already made several unofficial visits to schools and he plans to make it to Ohio State's spring game later this month, but most of his remaining visits will be held until the summer because O'Conner is currently in the midst of his baseball season. O'Conner plays centerfield for a 3-3 Elder team and is batting .450 on the season.

O'Conner also put up big numbers on the football field last fall. He finished the season with 71 catches for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns. O'Conner runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and holds a 3.4 GPA in the classroom.