Recruiting Spotlight - Nick Santa

Lately, every day is Christmas for the aptly-named Nick Santa. For the 6-foot-2, 230-pound lineman from Bellevue, Wash., Santa was a big part of the Wolverines' 2011 State 3A title run, earning all-state honors on offense. But it's defense where he'll make his biggest impact in college.

"He's just one of those kids…he's just growing," said Matt Razore, Bellevue's defensive backs coach and the one that takes care of a lot of the college recruiting duties for the Wolverines when asked by Scout.com recently about. "He's a hard-nosed offensive lineman and we throw him in on defense and he's great on defense too. He'll most likely be a d-end in college, because he just gets bigger and bigger every month. He's just a hard-nosed football player who is smart and loves the game, is a great leader.

"He's just a meathead; he just love to hit people," added Razore, characterizing Santa in what can only be considered a term of endearment. "You just don't find that as much nowadays, so when you find that, it's awesome."

There's a reason Santa is considered a solid prospect; he plays the game with no fear. He likes defense especially, because, in his words, it's like playing with 'no rules'. Santa has two brothers that played football at Central Washington, so there's no question the game flows through his veins.

When it comes to recruiting, this 2012 prospect is already hearing from Pac-12 schools, and he's already visited one of them. "Washington State is heating up," said Santa. "I've been getting a lot of letters and interest. I've talked to coach (Eric) Russell, and he's talked about me playing defensive end. I'm going to head out to their camp in June, and hopefully if I do well enough I can get an offer.

"I already visited UCLA a few weeks ago," he added. "It's a cool campus and a cool place. It was a great place to visit." Santa said he spoke with Jim Mora and Marques Tuiasosopo about playing defensive end.

He is also being recruited by Oregon State and Washington.

Nick Santa Scout.com Profile

Nick Santa 2011 Highlights