'09 CO DE Nick Kasa (Official Offer)

[Heavystarch]

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Broomfield (CO) Legacy

Ht: 6'7"
Wt: 235
40: 4.6

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6-7 230 pound defensive end Nick Kasa of Legacy High School in Broomfield, Colorado has a skill set that has already caught the eyes of recruiters and may put him in a position to be a top recruit for the class of 2009. Check out the tape and judge for yourself.

Rated the top player in the state of Colorado for 2009.

Offers: Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado State, Utah

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[GoRU]

The Denver Post - Kasa cream of '09 crop

Kasa has been offered scholarships by Colorado, CSU, Florida and Utah, in addition to the attention he got as a sophomore from Iowa State and Kansas State. Nebraska and Miami are in the hunt, as is USC, which just sent coach Pete Carroll and a four-man entourage for a visit last week.

It's all further affirmation that the race to woo recruits is happening younger in their prep careers and is not contained to certain states or regions. Dan Hawkins can watch clips of Kasa chasing down a bootlegging quarterback on his computer in Boulder the same time Urban Meyer is watching the clip in Gainesville, Fla.

by the bucketful and Legacy coach Wayne Vorhees says he has stacks of requests on his desk for tapes of Kasa's plentiful highlights.
So where is Kasa leaning toward committing to? He has a variety of answers.

The New York native admits he loves Colorado, and if he stays local the Buffaloes have him sold, a feeling Kasa credits to the rebuilding Buffs and enthusiasm of Hawkins.

Kasa likes the ocean, which helps USC and Florida. And then there's Boston, where most of his family is from.

"I like Boston," Kasa said. "I was thinking (Boston College) but I haven't really talked to them."

[HotMic]

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3/5

From the ND site. Kasa talks about how excited he was to get an offer from Notre Dame, and what it would mean to him to play at a Catholic school.

[GoRU]

Buffs eye speedy DE just down the road : Top Stories : Boulder Daily Camera

Nick Kasa is a 6-foot-7, 250-pound, fun-loving speedster from Legacy High Schoolabout 15 miles from the CU campus. He has two full walls in his bedroom wallpapered with a recruiting letter from each different school he has heard from so far. Kasa said he considers himself a fan of both CU and the University of Florida, and those two programs are among his top-five 11 months before he must settle on one. The others are Notre Dame, Southern Cal and Boston College.

Kasa said he attends the Colorado-Colorado State game every year and always roots for the Buffs even though his older brother Sean is a CSU student and art major. Kasa liked CU long before Hawkins arrived, but the coach has added an element to the program to which Kasa and other young men seem to be drawn.

"I really like coach Hawkins. I think he's one the best coaches I've ever seen so far," Kasa said. "He's turning around Colorado a ton, obviously with all the recruiting he's done and stuff like that. He's just a really cool guy.

"He's really charismatic just like everyone says."

It might sound like a slam dunk to borrow from basketball parlance, but Kasa remains a Brett Favre Hail Mary throw from making his decision.

He is equally enamored with USC coach Pete Carroll, who brought most of his staff to Legacy High School earlier this year to talk with football coach Wayne Voorhees. Kasa and just about everyone else in the school knew Carroll was there and they knew why.

"That was a cool day," Kasa said.

In many ways Kasa is just like any other 17-year-old heading into his senior year of high school. He has a variety of music on his iPod but his favorites are in the rock genre, including the band Incubus. He loves Will Farrell movies, just about any sport and spending time with his friends.

But Kasa caught the attention of Hawkins and Carroll, Florida coach Urban Meyer and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis because he has remarkable athletic ability. He is running track this spring competing in the 100-meter dash and the 200 meters. He hopes to better his personal best time of 11 seconds-flat in the 100, despite adding about 25 pounds since he ran that time a year ago.

Speed also is his best asset on the football field.

"He's tough to run at, but it might be tougher to run away from him," Voorhees said. "He makes plays chasing kids down from behind that a lot of guys can't make."

Kasa said he plans to use all five of his official visits next fall and he hopes to attend summer football camps at Florida, USC and CU, though he doesn't know if getting to all three is realistic. He said he already has spent plenty of time at CU on unofficial visits on game weekends last fall. He is familiar with the coaching staff, the program and what the school has to offer.

The chance to play early isn't a big concern to him, but it is appealing. There are dozens of factors he will consider in making his decision. He said he will know the right fit when he finds it.

"I really like the coasts just because of beaches and stuff, but I'm not really sure," he said. "I really like Notre Dame, too, because it's a great education besides football. If I don't go to the NFL, and there is a good chance I won't go to the NFL, I want to have a good education behind it, which USC is good for that, too."

Voorhees said Kasa is a humble and quiet kid who is fun to be around. His parents, who are Florida fans and came to the Denver area from Tampa 15 years ago, have done a good job raising a son who has everything in perspective, Voorhees said.

Kasa said he the best advice he has received about the recruiting process came from his parents and Voorhees.

"I'm a pretty modest guy I like to think," Kasa said. "Like, I'm not too hot-headed or anything like that. I just try and keep my cool. I know I'm not the best. I've gone to the Army combines and stuff, and there are kids there better than me that aren't getting as much (attention) as I am because they live in California or Florida or something like that and everyone there is good.

"I don't think highly of myself because I play good football. I just play good football."

[wadc45]

Buffzone Blog: Kasa not a fan of Terrelle Pryor : News : Boulder Daily Camera

By Kyle Ringo

Kasa not a fan of Terrelle Pryor
Posted March 9, 2008

Nick Kasa, perhaps the best prep football player from the state of Colorado in the 2009 recruiting cycle, isn't real impressed with the No. 1 recruit in the nation in 2008.

I wrote about Kasa for today's paper. I spent some time with him last week one afternoon at track practice at Legacy High School in Broomfield, and I had some interesting material left over after writing the story about the speedy defensive end. I thought I would share it here.

While talking with Kasa we got on the topic of how best to handle the recruiting process while not letting it take over your life and not allowing yourself to get a big head from the all the attention. He seems like a pretty level-headed, easy going guy to me.

Let's face it, egos can be easily inflated with young men who haven't really fully matured being told over and over again for several years how great they are.

Anyway, Kasa brought up Pryor, the dual-threat quarterback from Jeanette, Pa., who was rated as the No. 1 football recruit in the nation for 2008 but still hasn't picked a school. He is said to be debating between Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

A few articles and blogs have been written about ugly incidents Pryor has been involved in during the basketball season. Yes, he's quite a basketball player, too. And some have suggested Pryor is enjoying his status and all the attention that comes with it just a little too much.

I've never met Pryor and don't know how valid any of those criticisms are. I do know plenty of people have defended him and he must be a target for fans in the stands everywhere he goes. That seems to come with the territory these days,which is a shame.

Somethng about Pryor doesn't sit well with Kasa. Most recruits seem to be happy when national signing day arrives and they can put the circus behind them. For whatever reason that isn't the case with Pryor and that rubs Kasa the wrong way. I asked Kasa what his parents have said to him about being so highly recruited and this was his answer:

“Don’t get big-headed like some of these guys,” Kasa said. “Like, I’m not picking on guys, but this Terrelle Pryor guy, I really don’t like him. I don’t think anyone does right now. He’s being like a little girl about his recruiting. I think that’s just taking it too far. You don’t get that big-headed. You’re not at the top of the world already. He’s in high school.”

[wadc45]

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4/15

From IrishEyes...talks about the academic hurdles that have been laid out for him if he wants to play at ND and plans to talks to Coach Weis to discuss.

[HotMic]

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Two New Offers
by Jason Jewell, April 18, 2008 at 4:45pm ET


Scout.com has been informed by Legacy HS (Broomfield, CO) that Scout.com top junior 100 defensive end Nick Kasa has received two new offers. Tennessee and Clemson are the latest to offer the 6-7 235 pounder.
Nick now holds offers from Clemson, Tennessee, New Mexico State, Arizona State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Miami, Oregon, Nebraska, Florida, Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Kansas State and Iowa State.

He was named 2nd Team Front Range League as a sophomore and 1st Team as a junior.

[GoRU]

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5/7

Top 3 of ND, Florida, and Colorado.

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7/3

Colorado slightly leads. Thinking about visits to Oregon and Cal.