Mississippi OL picks up two SEC offers

One of the most unique prospects in the 2010 class is Gulfport (Miss.) Harrison Central offensive lineman Wes Rea. Not only is Rea unique in that he is a 6-foot-5, 290-pounder with quick feet and great athleticism, but he is also unique in that he spends his offseason playing pitcher and first base at that size. Football programs are recognizing his ability and now Rea is up to three scholarship offers.

Duke was the first school to offer the big offensive tackle and recently Mississippi State offered followed by Tennessee.

"I was just going to get my mail from my coach and I didn't even open them," Rea said. "I was thinking it was just regular mail and I opened them today and it was the official letters. That was the first thing I've ever gotten from Tennessee. Is sent them video and they just sent me the offer."

With the offer in hand, Rea intends to take a serious look at the Knoxville program.

"It was a shock," he said of the offer. "Usually you get a letter for the first time it's a questionnaire or something and I was pretty pumped about it. I heard some really good things about them and I'm going to look into them a little more."

Rea was also very happy to get his first in-state offer from the Bulldogs.

"It's an in-state school so it's pretty cool for them to offer," he said.

Along with his three offers, Rea has been getting heavy attention from Alabama and LSU. He has already visited LSU for its junior day and an offer could be in store with a strong camp showing.

"Me and coach had a talk and stuff saying how much he likes guys to come to the camp and he likes to work with them and coach them up and make sure that they're what they're looking for," he said of his LSU visit.

The big tackle would love to see offers come from both LSU and Alabama. He is also hoping to attend junior days at Mississippi State and Georgia. However, he is not sure if those visits will fit into his schedule now that he is getting into his baseball season.

"We open that up next weekend and after that I'm just going to be rolling with that pretty much into April," he said. "It's nice getting out there and just getting ready for the season to start. It's hard practicing baseball for five hours and not having games in the middle of it."

Rea, a first baseman and catcher on his baseball team, is not just playing to pass the time. He is good enough to consider playing in college along with football.

"I bring that up right off the bat (whenever he talks to coaches). I think it's just fair for them to know that I play both sports so if the opportunity arises for me to play both, that would be great. Every coach understands and they're looking for what's best for me too. I also understand that it's going to be tough to play offensive line and baseball so I know at some point I may have to make a choice."

Until then, Rea will have plenty of schools to choose from as well as his offer list continues to grow.