Pitt junior favors the Big Ten

Junior linebacker Mike Caprara of Pittsburgh (Pa.) Woodland Hills has made his presence felt ever since he stepped on the football field. With the guidance of several family members who have played BCS level football, Caprara is hoping to make the same presence in the world of recruiting.

"Recruiting is slow so far, to be honest," said Caprara, who is 6-foot-0 and 210 pounds. "I think most of the colleges are focusing on the 2011 class. I've heard from Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State and Syracuse, but they wanna see film and my coach hasn't released it just yet. That's what most colleges want to see."

During the fall, Caprara was able to take visits to Ohio State, Michigan State and Pittsburgh.

"The visits were smooth," he said. "Just long sometimes, from my body aching from playing the night before."

While nothing is finalized, Caprara has a couple of visis in mind for the winter and spring.

"Most likely Penn State and Michigan State," he said. "I like the Big Ten the most. A lot of my uncles played there."

Caprara's listing of uncles who played at the next level is an impressive one.

"My two uncles, Emil Caprara and Fran Rogel, played at Penn State, my uncle Greg Caprara played at Michigan State, my uncle Tony Caprara played at Georgia and my uncle Joe Caprara played at Notre Dame," he said.

Following in his family's footsteps Mike has already made his mark at the high school level.

"I think my junior season went pretty well," said Caprara. "I finished the season with 120 tackles, eight sacks and one interception. It was the second year in a row that I made 1st Team All-Conference and my first time for the Fab 22 and 1st Team All-State. I also finished the season as the all-time leading tackler in Woodland Hills history."

Caprara lined up at linebacker, tight end and fullback during his junior season.

"We lost a lot of guys from the 2010 season, but we brought ourselves together," said Caprara. "Unfortunately we came up short in the end."