SoCal TE lands first offer

Long Beach Wilson (Calif.) is home to one of the top tight ends in the state this year. Howard Croom, 6-4, 235 pounds is a talented pass catcher who recently picked up his first scholarship offer.

Croom has a nice combination of size, speed and hands and had solid showing at both the Nike camps at USC and Oregon. He has a nice frame and will have no problem packing on the size when he gets to the next level.

As a junior, Croom played in a run oriented offense and wasn't featured much. He still caught 16 balls for 156 yards and three touchdowns and should double those numbers as a senior. The athlete took the pro-active approach to recruiting this past spring and was busy camping at several colleges all over the region.

"I went to Junior Days at USC and UCLA and camped at Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, USC and UCLA," Croom said. "Oregon State offered me after their camp and Arizona said they're close to offering as well. Colorado is another school that said they could offer me soon. Right now, my top five would be UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, USC and Oregon.

"I want to take all five of my trips before I make my decision. Now if one of the local schools like USC or UCLA were to offer me, I would have to seriously think about making an early decision but right now, my plan is to take my trips."

In addition to the schools Croom camped with, the tight end also received calls in May from Oregon State, Wyoming, Arizona, USC and Tulsa. Academically, he's carrying a 2.7 GPA and scored a 900 on the SAT.