SoCal WR gets national love

Junior to Watch: Michael Bumpas

School: Culver City, Calif.

Position: Wide receiver/Defensive back.

Size and Speed: Bumpas stands 6-foot-0 and weighs in at 185 pounds. He has been consistently in the 4.4 range.

Honors: As a junior Bumpas was selected first-team all-CIF, all-area and was an all-league member for the second year in a row. He was also a sophomore All-American two years ago.

Statistics: Bumpas caught 75 passes for 1,081 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also called upon to run the ball as he had 192 rushing yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns while averaging 11.2 yards per carry. Bumpas will also be able to help a team as a punt returner as he returned eight punts for 102 yards for an average of 12.7 per punt return.

Favorite Colleges: Bumpas started receiving recruiting interest from the Pac10 as a junior and now he getting interest from likes of Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, FSU and Michigan. Local schools UCLA and USC are also heavily recruiting this talented wide receiver.

Skinny: Bumpas has been a known commodity since his freshman year. He started the last game his freshman year and has been starting ever since.

“Michael is one of those players who come along every ten to twenty years,” Culver City quarterback coach Greg Goodyear said. “I’ve seen every wide receiver that has come through Culver City over the last 35 years and Michael has the best hands I’ve seen.”

“Michael is phenomenal after the catch,” Goodyear said. “He has great timing and leaping ability. Michael makes the spectacular catch routine.”

If Bumpas wasn’t such a great wide receiver prospect, he would make a great safety.

Bumpas is an outstanding all-around athlete who has played baseball, soccer, basketball as well as football at one time or another during his career at Culver City high.

Bumpas has the talent to on the soccer pitch to be a recruit in that sport as well.