Texas Receiver's stock on the rise

SAN ANTONIO -- When it comes to athletic, highly skilled play-making receivers, there are few prospects in the country who are more intriguing than San Antonio Madison's Nate Askew. After completing his junior season with a team-leading 51 receptions for 856 yards and 8 touchdowns, he was surprised when he had just three offers.

Despite having a chiseled physique and putting up impressive numbers, colleges were not knocking down the door to get Askew into their program. The big concern was straight-line speed. Many coaches asked him if he would be open to moving to tight end.

One look at his highlight reel and it doesn't take long to see that Askew's ball skills are as good as any that you'll find. His vertical leap is off the charts and that allows him to be one of Madison's best weapons inside the redzone.

See Askew's slideshow here.

"I don't see myself as a tight end. I've always thought of myself as a receiver" Askew replied. To his credit he decided the best way to dispel the myth that he wasn't fast was to go out for track.

He started to run the 100-meter, 4 x 100 relay and 4 x 200 relay, and he said the results surprised him.

"I came in knowing I'm a competitor, so I thought I would do well," Askew said. "But then, after a few races, I started coming in first. I didn't think it would happen so fast."

Askew currently has a personal record of 10.9 seconds in the 100, which is tops on the team. His recent success running track has helped immensely. His offer list has grown from just 3 schools to 11, including Florida State, Arkansas and Minnesota. Although he's on record as saying that distance isn't a factor, most insiders believe he's headed to Texas A&M.

"I'd like to get this wrapped up sometime in the summer. I've seen how stressful and distracting it can be with some of my teammates to have recruiting extend through the fall. We have a great team coming back and a real shot at winning a state title" he said.

Date of Article: Fri May 01, 2009 11:08 am

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