Oklahoma offer on the way
With already six offers in his back pocket Plano (Texas) East offensive line standout Jake Brendel received a visit to his Dallas school this week from one of his suitors.
"Actually today coach Adam Cushing from Northwestern came by school," Brandel, who is 6-foot-4 and 268 pounds, said.
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"They're probably my hardest recruiters right now and second to them is Oklahoma. We talk at least once or twice a week, and Iowa is another big school that has come on."
To date Brendel stands as the Wildcats coaching staff's only offer at the center position on the offensive line, and he reciprocates the interest shown by the Big 10 school.
"We just talk about random stuff, life, a little about football as well. They run and do lot of stuff we kind of do here. It's the same style of game here. I know that first hand because I use to live in Wisconsin.
"They do a nice job of looking for good men. They really want to get to know you as a person. They want to get to know my family, my girlfriend. That's really something different that Northwestern does compared to other schools."
And while he doesn't currently hold an offer from Oklahoma, a visit from offensive line coach James Patton could change that drastically.
"I talk to coach Josh Heupel from OU basically once or twice a week," he said. "It's pretty much on schedule every Monday or Tuesday that we talk. Tomorrow their offensive line coach is coming to practice."
Could O-line coach James Patton be bringing with him an offer to go along with the offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Northwestern and Texas Tech?
"If I do well, yes, I feel like an offer would come," he said. "It's something I'll just have to wait out. I'm very interested (in an Oklahoma offer)."
Also joining the Brendel sweepstakes is another Big 12 school.
"Coach J.B. Grimes at Kansas is another one that I have been talking to," he said. "I actually have ties with the Kansas program in that Toben Opurum was the running back here when I was a freshmen and sophomore."
And while the two weren't "super close" Brendel does admit that its nice to know someone with ties to the program if any queries were to arise.
But for now offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Northwestern and Texas Tech remain plentiful for Brendel who also gives a lot of credit to his current coaches at Plano East.
"(Most college coaches) pretty much say when they watch the lifts we do and practice that it is the same tempo and energy level that their programs go through," Brendel said. "I really do feel very grateful for my coaches here preparing me for that next level."
With that next level still on the horizon Brendel does plan on visiting schools during the dog days of summer.
"The budget, I'm not going to say is tight, but my parents don't want me to go to places that haven't offered," Brendel said. "I know I am going to get to Arkansas early during the summer and then I'm going to visit the Big 10 schools around mid-July when I go back up to Wisconsin."
Even without his summer plans set in stone the Lone Star state talent knows what, it is exactly, he will be looking for upon his arrival to a campus near you.
"I'm going to look for how structured it is, the intensity level, and how good the players are just as people," he said. "Spending time with the players is important because I'll be with them a big portion of the day. Especially the guys on the offensive line… We have to be together working as a unit."
And it will be that same ideology of working together as unit that he and his Plano East teammates will be looking for as they finish spring practice in anticipation of the upcoming fall.
"(Spring practice) is 15 days of full practice running this week until Thursday and then next week through Monday or Tuesday."
"Then our spring game is on Thursday or maybe Friday next week. Its usually about half the people we have at a game. And we come out of the tunnel, breakout the helmet that we run through on actual Friday nights. It should be a lot of fun."