Sawyer a sleeper to watch for

Looking for one of the best kept secrets in the Heartland?

Then check out Shawnee (Kan.) Shawnee Mission North two-star safety Aaron Sawyer. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder impressed as a junior at both receiver and safety. He also had a strong performance at the NIKE Training Camp in Columbia, Mo., helping him pick up scholarship offers from both Wyoming and Army.

But don't be surprised if more schools – especially local Big 12 schools – start to get more involved.

"Lately I've been getting a lot of mail from Kansas and K-State," he said. "That's the main teams so far. During school last year I was getting mail from Illinois, Ball State, Missouri, places like that. I got a few letters from Harvard and Princeton and places like that and Wyoming and Army offered me a full scholarship.

"I'm most definitely interested in Kansas and K-State. It's not too far away from home and the family can come out and watch me play. I always liked the school atmospheres there and really the distance doesn't bother me, but it would still be great."

Sawyer said he thinks he could play his way into an offer from the Jayhawks or Wildcats.

"KU and K-State basically were looking forward to seeing me play this year," he said." They said they would most definitely talk to me after the season. I was supposed to work out at the Kansas camp, but I couldn't make it out since they asked me spur of the moment, but they seem very interested.

"I think I'm going to make it out to Wyoming for a visit. I want to check out the campus and I want to check out the state of Wyoming. I don't know too much. I know they're in the Mountain West Conference or something like that, but they got on me early so I'm definitely interested."

Sawyer thinks he could play on either side of the ball in college, making him even more valuable.

"I'm wide receiver and starting free safety," he said. "I'm on the field pretty much all the time. I have kickoffs off to have a breather. But that's the way I want it. I want to be on the field every chance possible to make as many plays as I can to help the team.

"I definitely want to look for a team that passes the ball. Some are saying they want me to be safety and some saying they want me at receiver. I wouldn't mind playing either one. It doesn't really matter me. I mean, I do like receiver better. I love to get the long passes, the long bombs. I like the offense, but I love playing defense. The communication on the field and hitting somebody without getting in trouble for it is great."