Mouton up to five offers

Although it's still very early in the recruiting process, Los Angeles (Calif.) Venice defensive back Jonas Mouton will likely be rated among the top three safeties in the state next year. Mouton is now up to five scholarship offers and could hit double digits by the end of the summer.

Few safeties out west have Mouton's combination of size (6-2, 210 pounds), speed and hitting ability. Mouton is a huge hitter in the running game but is also excellent in pass coverage and covers a lot of ground in the secondary.

As a junior, Mouton earned league defensive player of the year, all-city and second team all-state underclass honors. He finished the year with 87 tackles and six interceptions including three that he returned for touchdowns.

On the recruiting front, Mouton is hearing from schools all over the country including the entire Pac 10 minus Stanford plus Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

"I have five offers right now," Mouton said. "Washington State was the most recent and I also have them from Nebraska, Arizona, Mississippi and Mississippi State. Recruiting is going well right now and I'm enjoying the process. I'm definitely planning to take all my trips before I commit anywhere.

"I don't really have a favorite right now. I know a lot of people think I'm a huge USC lean but honestly, I'm from Louisiana so it's not like I grew up watching them play or I have all these ties to the west coast. I mean, I do like SC a lot, it's a good school but I'm not a lock to go there or anything.

"I like all the schools that are showing me interest and that have offered me right now. I'm planning to go the Nike camp at Stanford and will also attend USC's team camp. After that, I'm not sure about the rest of my summer camp plans. Right now, I'm looking for a school that has a winning tradition and a place where I can play early."