Concord (Calif.) De La Salle was known for their running game a year ago, with two stellar backs in Terron Ward and Tyler Anderson.
This year, Antoine Pickett (6-0, 175) will likely be taking their place in the Spartans backfield, but it is on defense that Pickett is getting most of his recruiting attention.
Last weekend at the Stanford NFTC, he was one of the top defensive backs in attendance and earned praise from DB coach Tony Perry for his footwork and ball skills.
While Pickett is still waiting for his first offer to come in, he’s happy with where things are going.
“Recruiting has been going very well for me,” said Pickett. “In the last two weeks, Colorado, Northwestern, Army, Cal Poly, Utah, UNLV, Oregon and Washington have been by.”
Pickett said schools have been pretty up front with him.
“A lot of schools have been interested in me but most of the schools want to see me at their camps,” said Pickett. “They like my grades and my highlight film but they said they just need to see more of me.”
Five schools are standing out for Pickett, four from the Pac-10.
“My top five as of right now, in no order, is Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Arizona and Northwestern,” said Pickett. “I’m trying to camp at all of them this summer.”
Pickett said he likes the offensive side of the ball, but knows his future is likely on defense.
“I feel I can play anywhere on the field but on defense, probably safety is where I’ll play, specifically strong safety,” said Pickett. “But if they had to throw me at corner, I’d play there too. I just love football.”
Pickett said he’d like to experience the whole recruiting process and take some official visits.
During his 2009 junior year, he helped the Spartans to the CIF State Open Division title and had 37 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions.
Academically, he has a 3.1 GPA and took the SAT earlier this month.