Pac-12 school first to offer Lane

Akron (Ohio) Firestone linebacker Jerome Lane went into this past weekend's Adidas Invitational well under the radar. Just a few days later his name is buzzing in recruiting circles and the 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect has his first offer in hand from a Pac-12 program.

"The good news I received today was I got an offer from Washington," Lane reported Monday night. "I feel a weight has been lifted, I feel blessed and humbled and I feel good I get to compete at the highest level of football."

The offer from Washington starts Lane's process of learning more about the Huskies' program. He is not sure when he will be able to visit the Pac-12 school, but has heard good things about the area.

"I don't know too much, so I am looking to learn more about them," Lane said. "My mom was stationed out there, so she knows more about it than I do. She told me it is a real nice area and I should go for a visit."

Lane's showing at the Adidas Invitational this past weekend was cited as a catalyst for Washington assistant coach Peter Sirmon extending the offer. The Akron native was confident coming into Saturday's event, and had hoped to generate the kind of buzz he has seen in recent days.

"There was a lot of real good talent out there and I felt I could compete with anyone out there," Lane said. "I feel it is going to help my recruiting real well. I feel it helped me stand out from the crowd and I just hope people take notice of it."

College coaches obviously have started taking notice of Lane's performance this past weekend, but the recent events almost did not take place. Football was not Lane's first sport coming into high school, and only in the last year has he turned his focus from the basketball court to the gridiron.

"I always liked football, but my dad was a basketball player so I tried to follow in his footsteps," Lane said. "I realized that me being 6-4, that is an average basketball guy, but in football that is pretty nice size so I decided to go more into football."

Lane's father is the former Pitt Panther and first round NBA draft pick of the same name. The younger Lane started to turn his attention towards football last year. He came out in his junior season and rushed 129 times for 979 yards from the running back position while tallying 88 tackles on defense as a linebacker.

Besides Washington, Lane is also hearing from the likes of West Virginia, Ohio State, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan State and Cincinnati.

"I'm going to Michigan State in a few weeks," Lane said. "I just want to check out their football program and their academics."

Lane will look to increase the buzz he started at the Adidas Invitational when he takes part in the VTO Elite 100 Showcase this coming weekend in Pittsburgh.