Demontre Hurst, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound three-star cornerback from Lancaster, Texas, is getting ready to go on his first official visit later this week, as he will be visiting Arizona on Oct. 18.
"I went to their camp during the summer and really liked it," Hurst said of the Wildcats. "It seemed like a good place and I want to go see what it's like when school is going on. I want to get a feel for what it would be like to go there and see how I'd fit in."
Besides the campus, Hurst says that he also likes the coaches at Arizona and the Wildcat program as a whole. "I like the way they are playing," he said. "They are looking pretty good and I love their coaching staff.
"They are all real laid-back, family guys," Hurst said. "They like interacting with the players on and off the field."
Although it's not an official visit yet, Hurst says he's likely to visit Wake Forest in November. "I get tons of mail from Wake Forest," he said.
"They are definitely recruiting me the most right now," he said. "The coaches call every week and I really like talking to (defensive back) coach Tim Billings. He's a good guy and he tells me about the team and how he sees me playing there.
"Coach Billings told me to watch (senior cornerback) Alphonso Smith," Hurst said. "He said that he sees me being like him for them."
The Demon Deacons have also impressed Hurst on the field as well. "They are playing exceptionally well right now," he said. "I really like their defense and their style of play. I see them as a program coming up."
Hurst, Scout.com's No. 38 cornerback, says he remains fairly open but has a solid top four. He still favors No. 21 Wake Forest slightly over Kansas State, No. 8 Oklahoma State and Arizona. These four lead clearly over South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, No. 18 North Carolina and Wisconsin. All have offered.
"It's hard to narrow things down," he said. "My list is more like a top ten and I'm hoping the visits will help me."
Another Wildcat team that has caught Hurst's eye is Kansas State. "They've really started recruiting me hard recently," he said. "I've talked with all the coaches and they said that I could come up there and help them out early. They've been recruiting me since the spring, but really picked things up recently."
Also new on Hurst's list is Oklahoma State. "They've really surprised me," he said. "I like their style of play and they've kind of shocked everybody this season. I don't think I expected them to be so good."
Hurst says he doesn't plan on making a decision until after he takes all five official visits. "I'm looking for coaches that are close to their players and a place where I can just be a student-athlete and have fun," he said.
"If I wasn't to play football I'd still want to go to a good school and get a degree," Hurst said.
With offers from coast-to-coast, will location be a factor for Hurst? "I try not to let distance be a factor," he said. "My mom said to go wherever I want and not worry about where it is."
Hurst has helped lead his team to a 4-3 record with 30 tackles, two fumbles recovered and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown). He also has two kick returns for scores (80 and 108 yards) and one blocked field goal for another score.
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1290 SAT.