Utah offers pair of Arizona juniors

Two birds with one stone, a double dip, two is better than one; pick your silly cliché. They all apply here.

On Friday afternoon, Utah offered Tucson (Ariz.) Sabino High School teammates Andrew Mike and Matt Bushman. For efficiency's sake, the task was handled with a single phone call. The Class of 2014 duo was instructed to call Utes assistant Dan Finn by their high school coach, and when they reached him, the conversation was short. Finn cut to the chase.

"He asked about our game last week and said he'd really like it if we both played for him," said Bushman, a 6-foot-5 tight end. "He said we both had a spot on the team."

The Utah offer is Bushman's first. Mike, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound tackle, now claims five. Neither is in any hurry to name a favorite, but both have been on the Utah campus before. The impression the summer trip to Salt Lake City made on Bushman is apparent.

"We went there and got a little tour and talked to the coaches," he said. "It's a nice little school. I'd like to go there."

When pressed, Bushman backed away from his "I'd like to go there" line. He says it's not to be taken as a hint that a commitment to the Utes is inevitable. He feels offers from BYU, Arizona State and Arizona may arrive in the near future and isn't in a hurry to handcuff himself to any school just yet.

"I'm just going to keep my options open, but Utah is a really good school," he said. "I'm glad I got the offer."

Mike's recruiting picture is a bit more muddied than Bushman's. He holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU and California in addition to Utah. His stance on the process is the same as his teammates', though. No favorites. No lean. No hurry to make a decision.

"I'm just trying to see what fits right now," Mike said.

What Mike does have is a loose itinerary of unofficial visits for the season. He says he plans to visit California when the Golden Bears host Stanford on Oct. 20. The rest of his travel plans are still being finalized.

"I'm going to go see an ASU game and a couple U of A games this season," he said.

Just juniors at Sabino, Mike and Bushman have plenty of time to iron out the details. But at this point, more than a full year before their high school careers conclude, the idea of attending the same college is being considered.

"It would be a great bonus, but we haven't really decided yet if we really want to do that," Mike said.