Talented Texan awaits first offer

Nacogdoches, Texas, is one of those East Texas football towns that are crazy about their football. And there is a 6-foot-2 1/2, 215-pound athlete that college coaches are crazy about when talking about his future. But for one reason or another Jamarcus Skillern is still seeking his first scholarship offer.

Skillern has camped this summer at Houston, UTEP and will be heading off to North Texas later this month. In May he got calls from Texas, Iowa State, UTEP and Houston. While he doesn't have an offer yet, he feels his strong spring and summer will produce one soon.

"I don't have any offers right now, but UTEP was talking about offering me," he said. "I'm not sure what happened with that, but UTEP has shown the most interest in me."

Skillern said a reason why some people have questions about him is that he does play a lot of quarterback in high school, but with his athletic ability most teams are projecting him at the tight end spot. He describes himself as a "pure athlete."

"More than likely I'll play tight end in college," he said. "Last year I started at quarterback, but I've been playing tight end lately. We have a new coach, so he might make me play quarterback and I'd probably rather play that. But if I do play tight end in college, I want to make sure a school wants me as a receiving tight end.

"I haven't spent a lot of time working on my blocking. Receiving comes natural to me. If I play quarterback, I want to be in a spread-type offense."

At the Houston and UTEP camps, Skillern said he impressed.

"I feel like I did real well at the University of Houston camp," he said. "They had me playing quarterback there. UTEP wants me to play tight end. I'd rather play quarterback, but I would play anywhere a school wants me to play."

Skillern also mentioned Texas A&M as a team he likes. He attended a junior day in College Station, but he's not received a lot of attention lately from the Aggies.