Peart names leader, hits camp circut

Caleb Peart isn't ready to set a hard timetable for a decision. He notes that his outlook would be different if he were a five-star prospect with 25 offers in his hip pocket. Instead, the Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton defensive end has eight options as things stand now and would like to see that list expand before he sets a commitment date.

It's why he's hitting the team camp circuit, a tour that will start in the South.

"This Friday, I'm going down to Vanderbilt for their Friday Night Lights camp," Peart said. "They want to see me play outside linebacker there. They are really interested and will most likely offer when they see me play in space. The good thing for me is that I have been doing a lot of 7-on-7 with my team throughout the summer. I'm used to moving in space. I've actually gotten good at it. I feel pretty confident."

Peart also intends to camp at Stanford in the week ahead and is contemplating stops at other campuses as well. But while new offers could easily shake up his recruitment, the three-star prospect has a favorite in mind for the time being.

Staying in state? That would be fine by Peart.

"At this point right now, I really do like Arizona a lot." He said. "They are recruiting me really hard. I guess you could say that they are probably my top school right now."

Most colleges see Peart as a defensive end-linebacker hybrid of sorts. Vanderbilt hopes to play him at outside linebacker almost exclusively and other schools, including Stanford, Kansas and Notre Dame, are waiting to get a one more look at him in pads before making the call.

"A lot of schools, the only thing that is holding them back from offering is seeing if I can play linebacker or not," Peart said. "That's almost the only reason Notre Dame hasn't offered. This year is going to b e different because I'm going to play D-end and linebacker in the fall. The film is going to be different. It's going to be pretty cool doing both."

As a junior at Hamilton, Peart helped lead the Huskies to an appearance in the Arizona division-I state title game. He was part of a championship team as a sophomore. Peart is ranked as the No. 24 weakside defensive end in America.