Nevada back focused on season

For Las Vegas Cimarron-Memorial running back Eddie Wide, the recruiting process is still a little bit of a mystery. While most kids were busy during the spring evaluation period taking to coaches on the phone, taking unofficial visits and then spending their summer at camps, Wide spent the summer working out school.

"I've read on NevadaPreps.com that I have offers, but I don't know if I have them or not," said Wide, who is ranked as Nevada's No. 8 player and a two-star running back prospect. "I had some schools call me during the spring, but I didn't call anybody back or talk to anybody because I was too busy training.

"I think Cal, Colorado State, UNLV, Nevada and Oregon State are the ones that are showing me the most interest. I get mail from teams like them all the time, but I don't know where I stand with offers. I'm just so focused on getting ready for the season."

Wide did rush for 1,403 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. He has a monster goal of racking up 2,000 yards in 2006. He knows he'll have to get some help from his teammates, but he's also preparing to do his part.

"I have to be well conditioned," he said. "I need to be ready to carry the ball more and just go out there and do it. I have to keep stepping it up a little bit. Nobody has said anything about how good we're going to be, so I'm hoping we surprise some people and cause some damage."

Along with getting better conditioned, Wide has worked hard on the smaller points of being a successful running back.

"I've been working on my vision," he said. "I also knew that I needed quicker feet and the ability to read without having to take too many extra steps. Improving on that would help me explode into the hole quicker."

Wide did look good at the Los Angeles NIKE Training Camp. He measured in at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, and he clocked a 4.48-second time in the 40-yard dash.