Rand has eyes for Stanford, others

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Garrett Rand fielded his share of social media messages on Sept. 1. Ohio State and Nebraska reached out. As did Arizona State, Tennessee, USC and Washington. Michigan State, Utah, Florida State, California and Arizona were accounted for as well.

Point is, the 2016 four-star defensive lineman is not hurting for recruiting interest. He already holds four scholarship offers and more could be on the way. But when you talk to Rand, he talks about his grades and the work he is doing to improve an already strong transcript. Rand, you see, has his eyes on a certain academically prestigious institution.

"Stanford is a college that I … it's an offer that I really, really want bad," Rand said. "There has been some mail, but that's it. Casey Tucker, [Rand's former high school teammate], goes there and he keeps me updated on where I am on the board and what they are thinking. He tells me about how practices and workouts go.

"Stanford is an amazing university, but I'm open to any school right now."

Rand's final two offseason visits were to Notre Dame and Michigan State. The Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High School junior camped in South Bend before his trip to East Lansing. He lists both among schools from which he would like to receive offers, even if one coaching staff seems closer to making that a reality than the other.

"Michigan State likes me a lot," Rand said. "I hear that from them a lot," Rand said. "I haven't really heard much from Notre Dame yet, but hopefully they talk to me more. At Michigan State, they showed me a lot of attention and told me how bad they want me to come back. I liked that."

As a sophomore at Chandler Hamilton, the 275-pound Rand helped lead Hamilton to an appearance in the Arizona state title game.