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Recruiting buzz: Running back quite a catch | Denton Record-Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Sports: Colleges: Recruiting

The more that college coaches watch Toben Opurum's DVD highlights, the more they see beyond his 6-3, 230-pound body.

They see a versatile running back who was one of Plano East's most dependable pass-catchers last season.

Toben Opurum "Obviously, a lot of what schools see in me comes with my size and power," Opurum said. "But I think they also like my versatility. I do a really good job of making the yards after contact but also catching the ball out of the backfield."

Opurum has already picked up scholarship offers from Kansas, Nebraska, Purdue, Tulsa and Wake Forest. Texas and Texas A&M have also shown interest.

He is mostly being recruited at tailback, though Texas has talked to him about playing fullback.

Opurum, who played fullback as a sophomore, switched to tailback last year and had 600 yards on 99 carries, splitting time with D'Lyle Washington. But it was Opurum's receiving totals that jump out.

He had 574 yards on 27 receptions, scoring six touchdowns. Opurum is good at screens, but his 21.3 yards per receptions shows that he also has such good hands that Plano East uses him on deeper routes.