New offers keeping 2014 athlete busy

With the state playoffs approaching and his 8-1 Phoenix Mountain Pointe team jostling for a top seed, 2014 athlete Jalen Brown doesn't need anybody tossing more on his plate. That's not to say the offers he pulled in from Washington and Northwestern on Monday night weren't welcomed, though. It's just that he'll need wait to do research on both.

For now, his knowledge of the Huskies and Wildcats will remain limited. Brown, a rising junior, will have plenty of time to gather information down the road.

"I just know the locations of where they're at," Brown said on Monday. "I really don't know too much else about either of them. I'll learn about the schools later."

The two newest scholarship offers brought Brown's total to 18. It's not a shabby haul for a player in the midst of his junior year. He refuses to name any sort of favorites at such an early juncture, but his evaluation process is in full swing.

He attended the UCLA-Nebraska tilt in Southern California early in the season. Last week, he took in games at both Arizona and Arizona State and spouted the usual pleasantries about each visit. The fact that he was somewhat forthright when asked about the differences between the two in-state programs is a bit of a surprise.

"U of A has been pushing for me a lot more than ASU and showing a lot of interest," he said. "Each week, I'll get a handwritten letter from them."

Brown already has a return trip to Arizona planned for the Wildcats' home game with USC on Oct. 27. As for other visits, those won't take place until the spring. When asked for dates and possible destinations, he offers the verbal equivalent of a shoulder shrug.

"I'm not really sure," Brown said. "I still want to get down to the South and get more to the Midwest."

Depending on how he defines the regions, Brown's offers from "Southern" and "Midwestern" schools include Colorado, Arkansas, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. But which of those programs may get a look during his tour is unclear.<>

"I'm still real open for every school," Brown said. "I'm letting my options come in and hanging off about what I'm looking for or where I want to go."

Brown says that he grew up without a favorite college football team and that he's a player without a true "dream school." He has not set a timetable for a decision and says a commitment won't come until next fall at the earliest.

"Probably mid-senior season," he said. "I might wait until after. I'm just going to do it whenever it feels right."

Brown projects as one of the top 2014 prospects in the state of Arizona and plays both wide receiver and safety at Mountain Pointe.