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Jersey Jumping Bean ready to choose

J.J. Bedle, from Keyport, N.J., is one of the top athletes in the class of 2004 and is well known for his astonishing 42-inch vertical leap. The three-star prospect, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds, is nearly ready to make his decision. Which schools are in the running?
“My top three are Michigan State, Colorado, and Syracuse, in that order,” he said. “But really, it is very close between the three of them.”
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What does he like about his three schools?
“Michigan State runs a West Coast offense, which I would love to be in. They don’t really have a wide receiver like me, so I feel I can come in and compete right away.
“Colorado, I like what they did with Jeremy Bloom. He is my size, a smaller guy, but he can fly. They have him doing everything, like punt returns, reverses, trick plays. I could see myself doing that.
“Syracuse has been showing me tons of interest from day one. I have gotten kind of attached to them. They really have been recruiting me the hardest.”
Of those three, only Colorado hasn’t offered him, but according to Bedle they are just filling out the papers now. Once he gets their offer, he will take a visit out to Boulder during a bye week. He has already taken a few unofficial visits, one to Syracuse and one to East Lansing. He went to see the Orangemen play Toledo, and liked everything.
At Michigan State, he didn’t see a game, but still had a good time.
“I got to meet some players and the coaches. And then of course we went around campus, went to some classes, and watched them practice. It was really nice.”
After taking his visit to Colorado, he will come back and decide fairly quickly. He says he wants to go and make an impact instantly, either at wide receiver or as a return man.
Bedle had a very busy summer. He attended the prestigious Nike camp, where was the second-best receiver.
“They had great competition there, and players from all over. Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, you name it.”
Additionally at that camp, he ran the 40-yard dash in a sensational 4.31 seconds. Bedle also plays basketball, his favorite sport growing up. In fact, he never really played football until last year. But when he started excelling on the field, he realized his future was there, and not on the court.
"Football is where it's at for me," he said. "I still love to dunk and play hoops, but I fell in love with football."
Bedle had an amazing junior season, as he was named all-shore, all-county, all-division, and secondd team all-state, while leading his team to an 11-0 record.
So far this season, Keyport is 6-0, while Bedle has 27 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns. Bedle is the 44th-best wide receiver in the country, the No. 10 player in New Jersey, and the 77th-best overall player in the Atlantic East as ranked by Rivals.com
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