Russell has early offers

Washington, Washington State and Wyoming have already offered KeiVarae Russell, a 2012 all-purpose back from Everett (Wash.) Mariner, and the 6-foot, 170-pound prospect is hearing from many other programs from across the country.

Russell said Oregon sends him recruiting mail almost every day. USC, LSU and Nebraska are keeping close tabs on him as well. For now, Russell is enjoying the recruiting process and slowly starting to focus on things that he wants - which includes a quality education and a winning football team.

"I'm letting the offers flow in and taking it all in so later on it's a little easier to pick and choose," Russell said. "I'm kind of narrowing it down a little bit because my coaches and I are sitting down each and every day talking about what I really want to do.

"Pac-10 is probably a good fit right now because I see myself as a Pac-10 player. If I have the team around me I could play in the SEC. I probably need a little bit more speed to play in that league. I see myself as a Pac-10 player right now."

With the three offers and all the interest, Russell should be able to be picky when selecting a school. So many programs are already involved that Russell might feel a little overwhelmed but since he knows what he wants in a team it hasn't been too bad yet.

Among his offers Washington stands out the most but Russell said he'd like to possibly leave his home state and do a little exploring before making his commitment. That's why Cal is standing out so much to him at this point. The Golden Bears certainly have Russell's attention heading into the off-season.

"I like Cal," Russell said. "They send me a lot of letters as well. I like Cal because I maintain at least a 3.7 GPA so academics are really important to me. Stanford and Cal, graduating from there would be great, so the academics have to be good and it has to be a good overall place. I see Cal as that kind of place.

"Washington is standing out because that's the hometown team, all my family is from Washington and it's a good place. I went to a few of their games this year. I walked around the campus and it's a good atmosphere, I know Seattle really well, but I've been here my whole life so I might want to take some official visits and check out some other places."