QB Stanley likes four

For Teresita (Okla.) Tahlequah three-star quarterback Nathan Stanley the journey to the start of his senior season has been a long one. Not only will he be a four-year starter for Tahlequah, he's spent almost his entire summer on the road checking out schools all over the country.

But now it's time to lace the pads on, and Stanley, who is the nation's No. 19 quarterback, has big goals for the 2007 season.

"I've accomplished a lot here," he said. "But just most of all I want to get a state championship. That would mean so much to everybody in this entire community and everybody around the school. I'm excited about the season. We start on August 7. We're ready for it. We lost quite a few guys, but we replaced everybody with better players."

Stanley's journey across the country this summer included places like at TCU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Purdue, Michigan, the Elite 11 Regional Camp in Las Vegas and many more places. With scholarship offers from Kansas State, Northwestern and Oklahoma State, he's started to narrow his focus down on schools not too far from home.

"I'm thinking about recruiting all the time," he said. "The narrowed down list is probably Kansas State, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. I plan on taking some official visits and seeing some of the schools in person again this fall before I make any decision. I think they're all even about now. I think I'll know more as I go through the process more."

But make no mistake about it, Stanley, ranked as the No. 8 player in Oklahoma, does like what each of the schools bring to the table.

Kansas State coach James Franklin and Tim McCarty have been recruiting Stanley for quite some time and he likes what he sees in Manhattan. The Wildcats do have one quarterback already committed in Collin Klein, but they've been clear that multiple quarterbacks in this year's class is a must.

"I really like coach Franklin and coach McCarty," Stanley said. "Coach Franklin has really treated me well every time I've been up there. I've been up there several times, and I really like what I see. The campus is great, and I like the way the team is looking. I think with the quarterback situation, I could also go up there, get in and compete for a starting spot really early."

Arkansas already has two quarterbacks committed in Kale Pick and Jim Youngblood, but Stanley said he is still interested in the Razorbacks. He doesn't know if an offer will come through, though.

"They've not really talked to me about an offer," he said. "But I think they will. I haven't talked to them a whole lot lately. I really like the facilities up there. I've also gotten close with David Lee."

Oklahoma State is the other school on his final list that has offered him. Just like the Wildcats, OSU already has one quarterback in this class with Kody Spano jumping on board early on. But Stanley is very impressed with how close OSU is and how the Cowboys have done some dramatic improvements to their facilities.

"Those facilities are going to be unreal," Stanley said. "That's what kind of jumps out at me. I also really like Gunter Brewer and Larry Fedora. They're both really great guys, and I feel comfortable being around those guys."

Oklahoma already has a four-star quarterback prospect, Landry Jones, committed and it's unclear whether or not the Sooners will take another quarterback in this year's class. If they do, Stanley would definitely be interested in the Sooners.

"I haven't heard a whole lot from them lately either, but it is kind of a dead period," he said. "I know my coach talks all the time to the OU coaches, and it would definitely be an attractive school to be at."