San Diego State close on juco WR

San Diego State may have found a diamond in the rough, as they look for one more piece to the puzzle for the upcoming season. The Aztecs are very close to signing all-state wide receiver Justin Amaral and could have an answer by Monday.

Amaral led the California JUCO ranks with 13 touchdowns and 177 all-purpose yards per game in 2004 while playing for Los Medanos College in Northern California. He had 61 catches for 1,104 yards and finished fourth in kickoff returns with a 32.6 average.

"I should have my decision by Monday," said Amaral. "I'm leaning towards San Diego State because they throw it a lot."

Amaral recently worked out for scouts and drew heavy interest following the workout. He received an offer from SMU on Thursday, the San Diego State offer on Friday and awaits word from Oregon and Washington over the weekend. Utah also expressed interest and wants him to wait until Wednesday to make his decision.

"I'm waiting to hear what Oregon and Washington have to say," said Amaral. "I sent them some tape last week but haven't heard from them yet."

Amaral is 5-foot-10, 195 lbs. and runs the 40-yard dash around 4.4. He has a 38.5-inch vertical, runs a 4.03 short-shuttle and can bench 20 reps of 225 lbs.

Amaral had plans to walk on at Cal because he always dreamed of playing for the Bears, but after many sources told him that he likely would not play as a walk-on, he decided late to look at other options. He turned down offers by Toledo, Northern Illinois and Buffalo without even taking a trip.

"Yea, I had to wake up," said Amaral. "A bunch of people were telling me the same thing but I wasn't hearing it."

Amaral wants to stay in California or close to home so that his parents can watch him play. He likes the idea of playing for the Aztecs.

"I think it's a good choice and my family can come and watch me play," said Amaral. "They support me in whatever I decide."

Amaral is expected to compete for playing time right away should he decide on San Diego State. He said Aztec coaches like his chances.

"They said I could be playing right away," said Amaral. "They told me they were surprised that I flew under the radar so long."

One place that did not have Amaral flying under the radar was The JuCal Transfer, which named Amaral as an all-state player in November following the 2004 campaign. He also made the coaches all-region 2 team.

Amaral attended Pittsburg High School and was recruited by Portland State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo out of high school.