Plano East QB ready for more camps

Plano (Texas) East always seems to have talented players each and every year and one of its best offerings for the class of 2008 is quarterback Riko Smalls.

The 6-foot, 183-pound dual-threat quarterback has a 4.4-second time in the 40-yard dash, plus he said he just recently increased his squat max to 375 pounds and his bench press to 225 pounds.

He's also recently became more and more of a hot target with the college coaches, picking up offers from Air Force, Colorado State, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa.

"Recently Air Force, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa have been showing me the most interest," he said. "SMU has been holding out for a while. But I'm going to their camp on Saturday, and I'll be at TCU's camp this Friday. I expect and hope that both of them will offer me."

Smalls said he's not quite ready to name a leader in the race to land his commitment. He's also not sure what will be the deciding factor in his decision.

"I don't want to say I have any favorites yet," he said. "All the schools that are recruiting me want me to come visit. Me and my dad might take some trips to some of the closer ones like the Texas schools, Georgia and Louisiana schools."

"I don't think location will be a factor at all. My family cares, but I don't know if it's that big of a deal to me. They want me to stay close enough so they can come to my games, but it's whatever is the best decision for me. Tulsa is the only school recruiting me to play safety. All the other schools are talking about me playing quarterback. I'd rather play quarterback, but I'm not going to discriminate. That's just what I think I'm most effective at."

He does hope to have a decision finally out of the way by the time the season starts, though. He's also getting interest from Houston, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and UTEP.

Speaking of the season, what will Plano East be like in 2007?

"Defensively we're looking outstanding," he said. "Our defense has a lot of athletes so whenever we develop some chemistry, because we just got a new defensive coordinator, we're going to be real good."