6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker Jake Hanks of Fort Collins (Colo.) lists Tulsa as one of his top two choices, and he made an official visit to the Golden Hurricane campus last month for Tulsa's homecoming win over Rice.

"It was awesome," he said. "I liked the coaches and the guys a lot. The coaches are really level headed, and the players really liked them. Tulsa is a really great school. My favorite thing was the family atmosphere.

"The campus was small but nice, and the facilities were great. They said they expect to build an indoor practice facility with a new weight room soon."

Aside from Tulsa, Hanks also holds scholarship offers from Wyoming, Air Force and Northern Colorado, while also getting interest from Colorado and Colorado State.

"Tulsa and Wyoming are my top two," he explained. "North Dakota State said if I take a visit they will have an offer. Ivy League schools are still recruiting me, and I have heard from Missouri recently."

Hanks expects to make his college choice by January and will be focused on two main criteria.

"The biggest thing is a family atmosphere and what kind of education I'll receive," he added.

Fort Collins defeated Lakewood (CO) 24-17 last weekend in the opening round of the playoffs. On Friday evening, they have a second round match-up at Arvada (CO) Ralston Valley.

"The season has been going really well," said Hanks. "Playing defensive end was new to me, but I think I did I pretty good job, and we are currently on a seven game win streak."

Hanks moved up to the defensive line from linebacker and has accumulated 54 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 8 quarterback hurries this season. He has also broken up three passes, made one interception and a fumble recovery.

"My strengths are my explosiveness and my speed," he described. "I'll have to improve my open field tackling and just get back into playing linebacker after not playing it all year."

Hanks also helps out on offense at Fort Collins. He has carried the ball 78 times for 335 yards and four touchdowns. He also has 39 receiving yards on seven catches.


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