Cory Harkey, the 6-foot-4, 230 pound tight end/defensive end from Chino Hills (Calif.), has nine scholarship offers already, but says he plans to take his time before deciding. "I don't plan on committing too early," Harkey said. "I won't commit until I feel 100% ready."
Harkey favors UCLA slightly over Boise State, Oregon and Arizona State. All four have offered him, as well as Arizona, Oregon State, Utah and Ole Miss.
"UCLA has a really good education and there are just a lot of nice things about the school," he said. "The coaches are down-to-earth and know what they are doing. The team is really coming around and getting better every year. Ideally, I'd like to stay close and play in the Pac-10. That's my goal.
"Every college has a good education and I just want to make sure I'm happy wherever I go," Harkey said. "I want to be within driving distance and feel at home."
Harkey attended junior days at UCLA, USC and San Diego State and will be at the Trojan camp on June 9. He plans on visiting Oregon as well. "I really want to go to Oregon sometime this spring," he said. "I hear great things about them and I just want to check it out for myself."
He's also already visited Arizona State. "I really like it there," he said. "It's a nice school and they have great facilities and the campus is really nice too. The people are really friendly and made me feel at home."
Harkey's first scholarship offer came in November from Mississippi, however an offer from Boise State soon followed. "Boise State has been on me since the beginning," Harkey said. "The coaches are amazing and they are really showing me a lot of attention. I think I'd be able to play early there."
He finished his junior season with 21 receptions for 329 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, he had 51 tackles and six sacks. He benches 240 pounds and runs the 40 yard dash in 4.8 seconds.
"I do what needs to get done to win," Harkey said. "I block, catch, have good hands and run good routes. I'm pretty solid all-around.
"I want to work on my quickness and bulk up," he said. "In college, there are a lot of freakish athletes and I think getting bigger and stronger would help me compete."
Although he's being recruited for both tight end and defensive end, he says he'll most likely end up playing offense. "As far as I know, everybody is recruiting me for tight end."
Harkey's father, Mike, played for the Chicago Cubs and his brother (Tony) is a freshman defensive end at Utah State.
He reports a 3.3 core GPA and is taking the SAT in May.