Lineman has one Big 12 at the top

Vancouver (Wash.) Skyview's Josh Tschirgi is receiving attention from all over the West. As would stand to reason for a Washington resident his primary interest lies in the Northwest, but he is giving serious consideration to one Big 12 school.

The 6-foot-4 and 275 pound Tschirgi is primarily an offensive guard. In his junior season, he had 45 pancakes as an offensive lineman. He played sparingly at defensive tackle. For his senior season he will be playing full time on the offensive and defensive lines.

"I'm good at pulling and getting out in front. I'm also very good at pass blocking - both the three and five step drops. I'm pretty sound on that. You won't see anyone beat me," Tschirgi said.

He has heard from the likes of Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford, Arizona State, California, Idaho, Idaho State, Duke and San Diego State. Though he has no offers yet, several of his top schools have stopped by his school or called him.

"All four northwestern schools plus Nebraska have been by my school. For Washington it was Coach Hart, for Washington State it was Coach Levenseller, for Oregon it was Coach Neal Zoumboukos, for Oregon State it was offensive line Coach Smith and for Nebraska it was Coach Darlington. All said 'Hi', dropped off some stuff to our coaches and went on their way."

As to his favorites at this time he said:

Washington State - "I like their spread offense. I like how they're making improvements every year to their program. I talked to Coach Levenseller when he called me at home and he is real cool. He's a younger guy and he played with my high school offensive line coach at Washington State. He's a very personable guy."

Oregon State - "I like the small town type atmosphere in Corvallis. I like how their fans like their football so much. They really get into it."

Washington - "I have always loved the Huskies. My best friend, Taylor Johnson, plays baseball up there and he talks about it all the time. Washington is my favorite school to watch on TV, but that doesn't make them a favorite over the others."

Oregon - "I really like Autzen Stadium and how they've expanded their weight room."

Stanford - "I know a couple guys who play there and they like it. I like their academics. I think I'd fit in pretty well there with the grades I have and the classes I've taken. They also have nice weather."

When asked for his dream visit Tschirgi said, "Nebraska. They are consistent title contenders. They're a winning program. A lot of my friends like them and would love to see go there. I also like the size of their stadium and that they have tons fans. And they have huge weight room. Coach Darlington called last Thursday. He talked about their tradition, facilities, weight room, graduation rate and all the positives of their school and football program.

As for this summer he said, "I plan to go to each of the four northwestern schools for one day camps. I want to get a taste of each camp and school. I'm also going to go to the Nike Oregon combine and the Reebok camp in Tacoma."

"I would possibly make a commitment before football season starts if the right school offered me. I do like closer to home schools, but I'm not ruling anything out for the really top schools."

His priorities on his college choice are, "Being close to home, with exceptions for the top schools. The academics and the quality of the football program."