Edwardsville's Vincent Valentine is trying not to focus on the recruiting process until after his senior season, but that is difficult to do when you are a sought-after prospect.
"Right now I've kind of put recruiting on hold," he said Monday. "I've been talking to a couple coaches, like Nebraska and Illinois, but for the most part I've put recruiting on hold."
That hasn't been easy for senior standout who is rated by Rivals.com as the 30th-best defensive tackle prospect in the Class of 2012. He still receives plenty of phone calls.
"It's definitely a lot of calls," he said. "It's more than usual. They've been calling me day in and day out. I've been trying to put it off because I really want to focus on my season and do the best for my senior year. But there have been crazy amounts of calls."
Valentine (6-4, 317) has yet to schedule any of his five official visits, but he is planning to make an unofficial visit to Champaign to watch the Illini play Ohio State on Oct. 15.
Valentine could take an official visit to Illinois at some point, but he may not because the campus is close enough to visit whenever he wants. Illinois is one of the defensive tackle's favorites.
"I'm pretty sure my top three schools are Nebraska, Illinois and Florida," he said. "But I'm pretty sure I'll take officials to two or three more schools, like Tennessee, Arkansas and I'm thinking Wisconsin."
But first, he is focused on his senior season. The Tigers are 2-3 overall and 1-2 in Southwestern Conference play with four games remaining. Valentine has made an impact at defensive tackle and as a blocking tight end.
"I think my senior season is going pretty good," he said. "Our record isn't as good as I want it to be, but I think I'm playing at a better level than I did last year. I'm seeing triple teams and double teams, but I'm opening up a lot of things for my linebackers and my defensive ends to go one-on-one and get their shine, so I think I'm doing pretty good."
COLLEGES STILL CALLING KIRKWOOD STANDOUT
Kirkwood senior wide receiver Mike McHugh committed to Northwestern in June, but that hasn't stopped other colleges from continuing to recruit the playmaker.
"There are some Division I-A's kind of sniffing around a little bit on Mike and trying to see how committed he is," Kirkwood coach Matt Irvin said. "I'd rather not say who those are. But he really feels like, and his family does too, that the Northwestern thing is a top-shelf opportunity that will be a good choice for him in 40 years, much less four years. Coach (Pat) Fitzgerald was in last week."
McHugh (6-2, 185) recorded a 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash at a camp this summer, and he's opened more eyes with his production this fall. He has caught 15 passes for 523 yards, averaging 34.9 yards per reception, and has scored nine touchdowns, including a punt return and an interception return.
"The recruiting process is still going on," McHugh said. "A lot of schools are still calling."
McHugh is committed to Northwestern, but that hasn't stopped coaches from trying to get him to reconsider his decision.
"I tell them I'm committed at the beginning of the conversation and usually they respect that," he said. "But sometimes they say they respect that and continue to talk and try to sell their program."
LADUE'S CHESSON DOWN TO SIX
Ladue wide receiver Jehu Chesson (6-3, 185) recently told WildcatReport.com, a Rivals.com affiliate that covers Northwestern, that he has narrowed his list of schools from 12 to six: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Northwestern and Oklahoma State.
Chesson is off to a strong start to his senior season. He has 23 catches for 305 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per reception, and two touchdowns. He also has 18 tackles and an interception on defense.
TWO BASEBALL PROSPECTS MAKE PLEDGES
Two members of the Rawlings Prospects recently made verbal commitments to colleges: Fort Zumwalt West outfielder Tommy Hager committed to Austin Peay, and Ritenour outfielder Carson Coffey pledged to Freed-Hardeman University, an NAIA school in Tennessee.
The left-handed hitting Hager batted .412 (35 hits in 85 at-bats) with 12 doubles, two home runs, 28 RBIs, 20 runs scored and a .425 on-base percentage as a junior.
Hager hit .362 (25 hits in 69 at-bats) with four doubles, 17 RBIs, 18 runs scored, nine stolen bases and .429 OBP as a sophomore. He hit .273 (six hits in 22 at-bats) with one double, four RBIs, three runs scored and .333 OBP as a freshman.
Coffey, also a left-handed hitter, hit .438 (42 hits in 96 at-bats) with 14 doubles, two triples, one home run, 27 RBIs, 24 runs, nine stolen bases and .486 OBP as a junior.
He batted .400 (10 hits in 25-bats) with five doubles, six RBIs and .464 OBP as a sophomore and hit .318 (28 hits in 88 at-bats) with nine doubles, one triple, one home run, 24 RBIs, 23 runs scored and .394 OBP as a freshman.
Freed-Hardeman coach Jonathan Estes is the former coach at Harris-Stowe and is the son of former Ritenour coach Ron Estes. Jonathan Estes pitched at St. Louis University before transferring to Freed-Hardeman and spent parts of three seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
