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Pericak says he'll be a tight end

Posted January 23, 2008

I spent a few minutes talking with Boulder High School linebacker standout Will Pericak the other day. He said Colorado coaches recruited him to CU to play tight end and that's where he expects to be when fall camp opens in August.

Pericak said he's excited about turning his attention to offense fulltime, but he might miss playing defense a little.

"You can still pound people on the offensive side," he said. "I love both positions. There is not really any, like, drawbacks. You can still hit people and that's pretty much what I do.

"The plus for tight end is you get to catch some balls and score some touchdowns."

Even though scout.com ranks Pericak as the 26th best linebacker in the nation and rivals.com puts him at No. 33, CU does have four other linebackers in the incoming class. So having Pericak play tight end seems to make sense.

As of now, there is only one other tight end in the 2008 class, four-star prospect Ryan Deehan, from California. CU won't have a lot of depth at tight end behind Riar Geer and Nate Solder in spring drills. Converted quarterback Patrick Devenny and walk-on Devin Shanahan are next on the depth chart.

CU has offers out to two other tight ends, Ryan Wallace from Bowling Green, Ky., and Konrad Reuland, a transfer from Notre Dame. Reuland would be an attractive option because he could probably contribute right away while the younger guys learn and work hard in the weightroom. He's also considering Stanford.

Honestly, Pericak strikes me as the type of guy who would line up anywhere he was asked to and do it with a smile on his face.

...I wrote a story for today's paper about defensive lineman Drew Hudgins and his rehabilitation from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Hudgins is itching to get back on the field.

I wanted to share this nugget with readers but it didn't really fit well in the story. Hudgins is now 6-foot-4 and about 230 pounds. He hopes to be heavier and stronger by the time the season arrives.

Did you know when he was a freshman in high school he was just a little guy, who wrestled at 103 pounds? He had an unbelievable growth spurt in high school. He just missed medaling at the Kansas state wrestling tournament as a senior in high school at 171 pounds. He said he was actually closer to 190 at the time.

I'm looking forward to seeing him play.

...So a few people e-mailed me on Wednesday afternoon and told me they had heard defensive lineman Christopher Perri had quit the team or was kicked off the team for some sort of altercation.

This was news to me because I just saw Chris on Tuesday and he looked about as upbeat as I've ever seen him. We shook hands in passing and he said everything was going great.

I asked CU sports information director Dave Plati about the rumor. He said no player has been kicked off the team or quit other than those who came to a mutual decision with Hawkins to part ways with CU at the end of the season.

I hope you're all happy. Now I feel like a gossip columnist. Have a good day.