Will it be baseball or football for Szpyrka

A year ago, New Hampton (N.H.) New Hampton Prep star Scott Szpyrka thought he knew exactly what sport he would be playing in college. But after a remarkable season recording 110 tackles, five sacks and four interceptions in just eight games, things have changed for the 5-foot-11, 227-pounder and he is starting to think football may be his true calling.

"I just sent out 40 copies of my tape last month because I wasn't even thinking I was going to play football in college," he said. "Then I had such a great year and I said wait a minute, I think I could play Division I football at the highest level."

The linebacker prospect is also one of the top baseball talents in the country with an impressive .656 batting average as a third baseman and outfielder.

"I'm one of the top baseball recruits in the country," he said. "Baseball takes up a lot of my time and this means I haven't had a lot of time to expose myself to colleges for football as much as I should. I should probably have 15 offers for football, but I'm a huge sleeper. Put me against anyone though and I'll show them what's up. My heart is bigger than anything."

As for a decision of which sport he'll play in college, Szpyrka is still not sure.

"I haven't made a choice on baseball or football," he said. "I probably won't play both because I want to maximize my potential in one sport, although I think I could do it. It's either baseball or football and I want to see where I can go for both. If Michigan offers for football, I would take that in a second. I'm expecting to make a pretty late decision in the fall, but right now every day changes, one day I'll want to play football and the next is baseball."

Szpyrka made a step towards his dream of playing for the Wolverines by attending their football camp this summer.

"I went to their camp and they didn't offer, but I could tell they were very interested and they want to see my senior season first," he said. "I love Michigan. My family and I are huge Michigan fans. We've been to some of the Rose Bowl games and I'm very impressed with the school. I've met a lot of the Michigan heroes and I could feel the tradition when I was there."

Other schools at the top of Szpyrka's list are Central Michigan, Boston College, Miami (Ohio) and maybe Michigan State.

"I visited Boston College in the winter and they have a great campus. I love the city of Boston, that's a lot better than my home city of Detroit. I know they have great facilities and they are also a good academic school. I also know the graduation percentage is really high," he said. "Central Michigan has offered me for both baseball and football. I love the coaches; I talked to coach Brian Kelly on the phone the other day. I've known him for a while. They have high expectations for me as a freshman and I have a great opportunity to start as a freshman linebacker there. They told me that I'm their number one recruit and I think it would be a good match for me and I could try to dominate in the MAC."

Szpyrka is being recruited on both sides of the ball at linebacker and fullback. Which does he prefer?

"I'd prefer to play on defense," he said. "I want to be the guy that makes all the tackles. I'm more of a defensive person because of my aggressiveness."

Szpyrka was named an all-New England linebacker and was the Defensive Player of the Year for his league. He's also been captain of New Hampton Prep since his sophomore year and the leading tackler since his freshman season.

The prospect added 12 receptions, six touchdowns receiving and three touchdowns rushing as a junior.