Ohio WR likes three

Shaker Heights, Ohio, three-star receiver Perez Ashford is one of the top returning pass-catchers in the Midwest. He had 53 receptions for 900 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, helping him rank by Rivals.com as the No. 65 player in Ohio.

Those numbers have also helped him get quite a bit of attention from college coaches.

"I'm hearing Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and other big schools that just haven't offered," he said. "I believe Wisconsin and Michigan are close to offering. I'm not sure about Ohio State and Penn State, though. A lot of schools are really waiting on my first game and see how I do during the season before they make a decision."

With offers from Iowa, Syracuse, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Ohio, he said a top group has emerged.

"My top 3 for the schools that have offered me are Syracuse, Iowa and Bowling Green," he said. "The top 3 that have not offered me that Louisville, Ohio State, and I really like Penn State, too."

Each of his top three schools have something he likes.

"With Syracuse, I like the dome and that it's in New York," he said. "With Iowa, I like its tradition and its winning records. Bowling Green, I like how it's close by and how it has my major that I'm majoring in. I'm trying to major in criminal justice."

Iowa's coaches have done a good job of making a big impression on him, too.

"Coach Ken O'Keefe from Iowa is a great guy," Ashford said. "Coach Ferentz from Iowa and I had a conversation with him, and he was just explaining a bunch of things to me. He made me interested just by having a conversation with him. He was telling me what Iowa would do for me."

Ashford is also already thinking about trips he's going to take this fall.

"One weekend during the season I'm supposed to go to Syracuse," he said. "I wanted to commit to a school before my senior season, but I didn't get to look at any of my schools so I'm going to do that during my senior season."

"I'm going to decide then and if I can't then I'll wait it out until the end. I've been to most schools who have offered me except the furthest schools like Iowa and Syracuse. I want to commit to one of Bowling Green, Syracuse and Iowa, but I want to see Syracuse first. If I don't quite like what I see, I'll go to Iowa."