Three more offers for Pike

Zeke Pike had yet to take a snap at quarterback as a varsity starter when he received his first scholarship offer. Less than a year later, the heralded Edgewood (Ky.) Dixie Heights junior now has 20-plus offers after throwing for more than 2,500 yards in 2010.

Last week, three more arrived.

They came from Florida State, Miami and Michigan.

"I thought it had kind of slowed down," Dixie Heights coach Tom Spritzky said. "But I took five phone calls yesterday."

By pulling the trigger, the Seminoles, Hurricanes and Wolverines joined the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Florida, LSU, Penn State, USC and Wisconsin, which all previously offered. As of now, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Pike has yet to begin narrowing things down. According to Spritzky, his signal caller has been unofficially to schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee.

"It's getting to the point now, there's so many," Spritzky said. "It's, 'Where do I start?' His list is so large."

The trimming should begin once Pike is done with basketball season.

"Because he's in the middle of the season, he's not too caught up in [his recruitment]," Spritzky said. "Once basketball gets over, he'll kind of take a little time, put a list together and rank them, and actually be able to breathe."

Last April, Kentucky was the first to offer Pike. He had started for Dixie Heights the previous fall, but on defense. Pike also played tight end in 2009, and took only a handful of varsity snaps at quarterback. All the while, though, he also saw significant action for the junior varsity.

"He played the whole JV schedule," Spritzky said. "We allowed him to play on offense just so he'd get some snaps."

That got the ball rolling for Pike. On the field and off.

"His dad is a former college and NFL player," Spritzky said. "He started sending out [Zeke's] JV video and people looking at it were like, 'Gee, I'd like to see this kid in person.' "

After that, Pike's recruitment "kind of went nuts," Spritzky recalled.

In the fall of 2010, Pike compiled nearly 3,500 yards of total offense while helping lead his team to the second round of the state playoffs, where it lost to the eventual champs.

"He started off the season a little rough, but he hadn't played in a varsity game much at that position," Spritzky said. "He was making some bad decisions, and trying to make heroic plays instead of the right play. But after a few games, he began to settle in finally. And by the time the year ended, he was playing really well. And he was using his ability to run to make things happen."