College football recruiting heats up

Football recruiting is picking up in the post-May evaluation period as colleges zero in on Chicago area prospects in the Class of 2010 who impressed on film or at one-day camps or combines.

Defensive end Louis Trinca-Pasat of Lane Tech made an oral commitment to Iowa. Coach Kirk Ferentz was the first one to offer the 6-2, 230-pounder and Trinca-Pasat never forgot it. He chose Iowa over Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Proviso West wide receiver Kyle Prater, who stood out with Illinois-bound quarterback Chandler Whitmer at last Saturday's Nike training camp in Champaign, has narrowed his list of schools from 40 to 10 -- Illinois, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Miami, Alabama, Auburn and Missouri.

"I feel relieved. It wasn't easy to narrow my list to 10 and it will be even tougher to narrow my list to five by the end of the summer," said Prater, who earlier indicated the Oklahoma and USC would definitely be on his list of finalists.

Wheaton North quarterback Taylor Graham was excited to receive an offer from UCLA. But he still likes Iowa and also is considering Michigan State, Ohio State and Colorado.

"I was a little worried when they didn't offer me right away (after UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow made a rare visit to Wheaton North to evaluate Graham's film)," he said. "But this opens up another option for me. I'm really happy with the opportunities I have."

Lane Tech offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson, Trinca-Pasat's teammate, received a pleasant surprise when Ohio State offered. The 6-5, 285-pound offensive guard/defensive tackle has 20 offers but appears to be most interested in Ohio State, Wisconsin, Duke and Arizona.

"The Ohio State offer was an eye-opener," Tomlinson said. "I didn't expect it. But I'm blessed that it came. Now I'm driven to work even harder."