Strickland firmly on the radar

Dallas (Texas) Skyline 2015 wide receiver Carlos Strickland entered the season a little bit under the radar. It is safe to say he is flying high now.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound pass catcher held two offers at the start of the season. Now he counts offers from LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU, SMU, and Illinois, and has several schools showing interest. The attention tends to come when you average 23-yards a reception and 9 touchdowns.

"I really wanted to show people I am one of the top players in the nation," Strickland said. "I just wanted to answer the bell for everybody and show I could play."

In order to show he was one of the nation's best, he has put in a lot of work on and off the field.

"I've just been working on my game and trying to get better," Strickland said. "I have the size so I'm just trying to take advantage of that every day in the weight room and on the practice field and every day get better and improve my skills with my team."

On the recruiting front, he is keeping an open mind right now, but he does have a few schools who have caught his attention.

"I kind of like TCU, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech right now," Strickland said. "I kind of fell in love with those schools right now out of the schools that have offered me already."

What stands out about each of the three schools?

"I like that they're rebuilding and I can come in and play as a freshman," Strickland said of TCU. "They should be a good team. They play in the Big 12. I like coach Luper, he's a cool coach. He used to coach at Auburn and won a national championship at Auburn so I really like him. I like coach Patterson and the coaching staff. And it's close too so that's good."

"I like coach Morris, he's pretty cool," he said of Texas Tech. "He came to see me play a couple of weeks ago. He really liked my game. He said it's me and another guy they're going to be recruiting hard so I like that about coach Morris. I haven't been there yet so I'm going to try to go to one of their games before the season ends."

"I like Oklahoma State," he said. "I like coach Dunn, he's a pretty cool coach. I've been talking to coach Dunn since last year, before I got all the attention and stuff. He was one of the first people to recruit me. He's really cool. Ra'Shaad's there so it would be nice for me and Ra'Shaad to play with each other again."

Strickland visited TCU when the Horned Frogs hosted West Virginia, and also attended Notre Dame's contest with Arizona State. He also mentioned he would like to take trips to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, LSU, and Cal, and of the schools who have not offered Cal, USC, Stanford, Florida State, Oklahoma, and Georgia are showing the most interest.

This weekend though his plans are strictly Skyline football related as the Raiders take on Sachse in the second round of the playoffs Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.