Nick Rowland, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive guard from Centennial High School in Peoria, Ariz., grew up following Arizona State and both his parents are Sun Devils. But ASU isn’t in the catbird seat yet according to Rowland.
“It’s too early to have a favorite,” he said. “I haven’t seen all the schools I want to.”
Although he continues to denies a favorite, Rowland admits to liking Arizona State, Arizona, Stanford, California and Oregon. All of his favorites have offered as well as Washington, Colorado and Colorado State.
A few weeks ago Rowland visited Stanford and attended the Cal Junior Day.
“Stanford is great,” Rowland said. “They are recruiting me the hardest right now. The coaches keep in contact with me a lot. They send a lot of emails.”
Besides the coaches, Rowland says he was very impressed by the campus in Palo Alto. “I loved how green it was,” he said. “There are trees everywhere.” Appropriate for a school whose mascot is a tree.
While in the Golden State, Rowland was also impressed by the California Junior Day. “It was really cool,” he said. “I liked it there, but the highlight was getting to go to the UCLA (basketball) game that night. The ESPN crew was there. It was huge.”
Next up for Rowland is the Arizona State Junior Day on April 4. “I used to watch Arizona State all the time,” he said. “Since my parents went there we’d always go to their games and tailgate and all that.”
Another thing the Sun Devils have going for them is their location. “It’s only like 45 minutes away,” he said. “It would be great to stay close and play in front of my friends. But the distance doesn’t really matter. I’ll go anywhere.”
Although he grew up following Arizona State, Rowland says he still likes Arizona as well. “They have a good program,” he said. “It’s really an up-and-coming team.
“I’ve been to a couple games there too and I like how it seems like the whole town shows up,” he said. “Tucson really gets riled up when the Wildcats are playing.”
The only school in his top five that Rowland hasn’t visited yet is Oregon, but he has seen a game at Autzen Stadium. “My biological dad is from Oregon,” he said. “So I’ve seen a game there.
“Autzen Stadium is crazy,” he said. “It’s just loud. That’s the only way to describe it…very loud.
“I also like their uniforms,” he said. “Who can’t love the Ducks jerseys? They’re great.”
This summer Rowland says he plans on attending the USC Rising Stars camp and admits the Trojans are another program he’s interested in.
“They haven’t offered yet,” he said. “But I’ve talked with them before and they said they just want to get some tape so they can evaluate me. They said they’ll definitely keep an eye on me.”
Notre Dame is another school that hasn’t offered Rowland yet but is recruiting him. “If I get a chance to visit them this summer I’ll go,” he said. “I love their history and they are recruiting me a too.”
“I just want to feel comfortable,” said Rowland when describing what he’s looking for. “Obviously, I’d love to go to a program that plays in bowl games, but most of all it’s my comfort level.”
He says he doesn’t expect to make an early decision. “I plan on going through the whole process,” he said. “But plans can change. I’m not against committing early and if some schools totally wows me then I’ll commit.”
Rowland says he can bench 365-pounds, squat 480 and has a 24-inch vertical jump.
“I’m a great pass blocker and play with a lot of tenacity,” he said. “I play aggressive all the time and when I make contact I don’t let go.”
Rowland is hoping to improve on his 5.2 forty. “The faster you are,” he said. “The better you are. I definitely want to improve my speed and quickness.”
Rowland plans on majoring in business and reports a 3.7 core GPA and a 1780 SAT.