Juco QB getting calls

Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. quarterback Bryan Savage is off to a solid start this season, leading his team to 2-1 record and having a quarterback rating of 101.

Savage, a Wisconsin transfer, said he would rather be 3-0, but admits that things are still going well, especially now that some new teams are starting to recruit him heavily.

"I've been doing well, and we've been throwing the ball a lot," he said. "I think I've got three touchdowns so far. Each week I just try to keep getting better. I was nine of 14 for 120 yards last week."

So who are the teams checking in on the 6-foot-3, 215-pound pro-style quarterback?

"So far I've heard from Oklahoma," Savage said. "And Colorado and Kansas State have talked to my head coach and asked to see film on me. Personally, I've talked to Oklahoma and everyone else has talked to my coach. I've talked to Josh Heupel, the quarterback's coach. He said they're going to get some of my early tapes and then go from there."

At this point, though, Savage admits he would love to get back toward the Midwest, especially Pennsylvania, where he's originally from. But he also wouldn't rule out the Big 12 at all.

"I really like Colorado," he said. "Colorado and Oklahoma are my top two teams. I also would like to look at Pittsburgh because it's close to home and they have a senior quarterback that is leaving."

Louisville, Toledo, Nebraska and Tulsa have also been in contact via the mail, but not through the phone quite yet. Savage is still waiting on his first offer, but he knows what the perfect school will have when it does come.

"I'll be basically looking at my relationship with the quarterbacks coach and the offensive coordinator because those are the two people I spend most of my time with," he said. "Also I just want a chance to compete for a starting job. I've been to Wisconsin, so I've been to a big time place. I just want a fair chance and opportunity to lead a team."

Savage was ranked as the nation's No. 23 pro-style quarterback and a three-star prospect when he signed with the Badgers in 2004. He turned down offers from Duke, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Notre Dame to pick the Badgers.

However, things didn't work out when the Badgers hired a new coach and changed their style of offense. That caused him to look around at several different options, and that right option ended up being Coffeyville, which one of the top juco programs in the nation.

"The coaching change at Wisconsin and that they're going to a little different style of offense made him look around," Coffeyville assistant Rico Cherico said. "He just didn't think he'd be fitting into the mix, so he started shopping around at four or five different junior colleges. He went and took visits there and did it all on his own, trying to find a place. He came here and decided to come to Coffeyville. We're very lucky to have him."

Lucky because Savage instantly becomes one of the top players in the always competitive Jayhawk Conference. He could also become one of the most heavily recruited juco quarterbacks in the class of 2007.

"Shoot, he does everything we're looking for," Cherico said. "He's going to be a good player for us no doubt. He's a great team leader on and off the field. He's a real student of the game and understands what he needs to do. He's going to be a big-time factor for someone when he gets there."